You Have Been Watching (Asylum appendix)

If you have read the full Asylum story, thank you and I commend you for your patience. If you haven’t read it yet, this post may contain spoilers. You can start the tale here.

Over the course of the story, Deakes encountered many cryptids. A cryptid is defined as a creature claimed to exist by some people but whose existence has never been proven by science. For the intent of this discussion, I’ll count them as ‘real’. After all, the impossibility of an egg-laying beaver with a duck’s bill was unproven until the platypus was discovered in 1799.

A lot of the fun in writing this story was learning about real cryptids I had not previously known about (and using artistic licence to adapt them). Equal fun was had in creating new cryptids for the tale.

Below is a list of all the cryptids featured, along with some accompanying notes. It’s sort of a cryptid compendium.

Basilisk, first appears in Hunted. Real.

A giant reptile which can kill a person with a single glance or with its toxic breath.

Blutsauger, first appears in Pyrobrachininae. Real.

The German translation of “blood-sucker,” often used in modern German for vampire and also used in older traditions to describe a similar undead creature.

Brownies, first appears in Rescue Mission. Real.

Technically, brownies are less cryptids and more inhabitants of fairy stories. They are tiny humanoids, akin to elves and pixies.

Buddy, the sea turtle, first appears in The Asylum. Created.

Sea turtles are actual creatures, not cryptids as proof of their existence is available. As Buddy can speak over thirty human languages, this places him firmly in cryptid territory.

Chimera, first appears in Chimera. Real.

Traditionally, the chimera was a hybrid comprising the head of a lion, body of a goat and tail of a serpent. More recently, the word has become synonymous with a mixture of any number of different monster parts.

Chrysomalls, first appears in The Asylum. Created.

In Greek mythology, the Golden Fleece (of Jason and the Argonauts fame) was named Chrysomallos. It was from this that I devised a cryptid sheep that would psychically persuade humans to attempt suicide.

Chupacabra, first appears in Guardian. Real.

About the size of a small bear, this reptilian cryptid has distinctive rows of spines extending from the neck to the base of the tail. It preys primarily on goats, killing its victims by puncturing the neck and consuming the blood.

Cubus, first appears in Enemy Within. Created.

The succubus, a female lust demon, dates back to 2400 BC Mesopotamia. Their male counterparts are called incubus. It occurred to me that each name ends the same. Maybe this refers to a hitherto unknown creature that overcharges its victims’ sex drive.

Dragon, first appears in Dragonslayer. Real.

Huge, winged reptiles with four legs and the ability to breathe fire.

Elves, first appears in Rescue Mission. Real.

Technically, elves are less cryptids and more inhabitants of fairy stories. They are tiny humanoids, akin to brownies and pixies.

Ghūl, first appears in Guardian. Real.

A shapeshifting subclass of jinn, often taking the form of animals to lure unsuspecting victims and consume their flesh.

Goblins, first appears in Harvester. Real.

Technically, goblins are less cryptids and more inhabitants of fairy stories. They are small humanoids with green skin and terrible manners.

Gorgon/gorgus, first appears in The Beast Below. Real.

Serpent-haired humanoids whose gaze can turn a person to stone.

Gnome, first appears in Rescue Mission. Real.

Technically, gnomes are less cryptids and more inhabitants of fairy stories. They are tiny humanoids who live underground. Despite what the garden centre would have you believe, they do not spend their days fishing from toadstools or bearing their backsides.

Hamramm, first appears in In Sheep’s Clothing. Real.

Hamrammr is an Old Norse word meaning shape shifter and usually refers to a person who can change form into a wolf or a bear. I dropped the last ‘r’ to ease the pronunciation.

Hindi-ardilya, first appears in The Asylum. Created.

Some characters insist themselves into a story. Click-Tut was one of these. He appeared in my imagination as a mouse-sized squirrel. Because he is best friends with Warwick, I decided he originated from the Philippines. I wanted it known that he is not a squirrel and simply looked up the Filipino for ‘non-squirrel’: hindi-ardilya.

Hobgoblin, first appears in Rescue Mission. Real.

Technically, hobgoblins are less cryptids and more inhabitants of fairy stories. Taller than a goblin, they possess the same green skin and terrible manners.

Jackalope, first appears in Hunted. Real.

Hailing from North America, a jackalope is a hare with the antlers of a deer.

Jörmungandr, first appears in Guardian. Real.

In Norse mythology, the giant sea monster whose venomous bite was the only thing to injure the god Thor.

Kelpie, first appears in Hunted. Real.

A Scottish water spirit that takes the form of a horse.

Kobaloi, first appears in Children. Real.

In Greek mythology, kobaloi were mischievous child-like creatures who delighted in tricking mortals.

Landvættir, first appears in The Asylum. Real.

Landvættir (pronounced land-vat-tier) are Scandinavian land spirits. They help forests grow and are benevolent to those who respect the land.

Light moles, first appears in The Asylum. Created.

Exactly like a mole but for its bioluminescent appearance.

Lobizón, first appears in Hunted. Real.

A werewolf-like creature from South America. Any seventh son of a seventh son is cursed to transform on a full moon. In 1974, a law was passed in Argentina that required the current president to become godfather to the seventh child of a seventh child and thereby offering protection from the curse. What is more shocking; that belief in cryptids effected the law as recently as fifty years ago, or that the Argentinians were forward thinking enough to incorporate daughters into said law?

Manticore, first appears in Guardian. Real.

A creature with the body of a lion, the face of a human, and the tail of a scorpion.

Megavatrach, first appears in The Asylum. Created.

Just a giant frog. According to Google Translate, “big frog” in Greek is “megálos vátrachos”. From this, I devised the name mega-vatrach.

Merfolk, first appears in A Change of Heart. Real.

Mermaids and mermen have the top half of a human and the bottom half of a fish.

Michael Stafford and the pumpkin, first appears in Harvester. Created.

Michael is unique in his ability to talk sentience into plant life. How he came to have this power is not as interesting a question as why. The answer? Because I needed something to allow the pumpkin to realise the horror of jack-o-lanterns and attempt to rescue its brethren.

Minhocão, first appears in The Asylum. Real.

A Brazilian gigantic earth worm covered with bones, minhocão can uproot trees and leave deep trenches in its path.

Mongolian death worms, first appears in The Asylum. Real.

Giant worms that live in the Gobi Desert and prey on desert animals like camels, rodents and other wildlife.

Nāga, first appears in The Asylum. Real.

Like merfolk, nāga have the top half of a human but the bottom half of a sea-snake.

Norns, first appears in Chimera. Real.

The Norse version of the Mother, Maiden and Crone. They represent the past, the present and the future, and govern the destinies of gods and humankind.

Oho giant, first appears in Rescue Mission. Real.

A behemoth of a man, said to stalk the snowfields of Lapland while issuing his warcry, “Ho Ho Ho.”

Pegasus, first appears in The Asylum. Real.

A winged horse.

Phoenix, first appears in A Change of Heart. Real.

A bird which can rise from its ashes.

Pixies, first appears in Harvester. Real.

Technically, pixies are less cryptids and more inhabitants of fairy stories. They are tiny humanoids, akin to brownies and elves.

POC-17, first appears in The Beast Below. Created.

The only creation to escape the Proof of Concept enclosure, POC-17 is the result of crossing a centipede and a scorpion.

Pyrobrachininae, first appears in Pyrobrachininae. Created.

Looking like a common beetle, these critters have fire-breathing capabilities. To create the name, I took the scientific name for a Bombardier beetle (brachininae) and added the Ancient Greek prefix for fire (pyr).

Roc, first appears in Hunted. Real.

A gigantic bird of prey strong enough to carry off an elephant.

Sasquatch, first appears in Children. Real.

The Native American name for Bigfoot, sasquatch is an ape-like creature that walks upright like a human. In the Himalayas, they are known as yeti.

Satyr, first appears in The Heiress. Real.

From Greek mythology, a satyr is half human, half goat. They are musically inclined with a high sex drive.

Sheka, first appears in Guardian. Real.

A Slavic spirit with different coloured eyes and grass instead of hair. It appears either at noon or sunset and wears either all black or all white suits.

Shug monkey, first appears in Guardian. Real.

A cross between a large rough-coated dog and a monkey with glowing eyes.

Siren, first appears in Dead Again. Real.

Often mistaken with mermaids, sirens have enchanting singing voices which they employ to entice humans to their doom.

Therianthrope, first appears in The Heiress. Real.

A human who can change into an animal form. This includes werewolves, wereboars and werebears. Basically, any creature that begins with ‘were’ is a therianthrope.

Tikbalang, first appears in The Asylum. Real.

From the Philippines, a tikbalang has a horse’s head and hooves and the body of a man. Its limbs are disproportionately long, to the point that its knees reach above its head when it squats down.

Troll, first appears in The Heiress. Real.

Originating from Scandinavian folklore, trolls are terrifying creatures made of rock. Taller than humans, not as big as giants.

Undine, first appears in The Asylum. Real.

  A water elemental.

Vampire, first appears in Dead Again. Real.

The classic vampire is a person who has risen from the grave to drink the blood of humans. Vampires are perhaps the most portrayed supernatural creature of fiction and have been represented in many guises. Therefore, the undead blood sucker is no longer the norm.

Will-o-the-wisp, first appears in Dragonslayer. Real.

Ethereal entities that cast an inviting glow, they lead guileless travellers into dangerous parts of swamps, often with fatal consequences.

Wyvern, first appears in Dragonslayer. Real.

Winged reptiles with two legs and the ability to breathe fire.

Yeti, first appears in Dragonslayer. Real.

An ape-like creature of the Himalayas that walks upright like a human. In North America, they are known as sasquatch.

A few cryptids were mentioned in passing but not named. They were:

Adjulé, first appears in Guardian. Real.

A mysterious canid described as a wolf-like animal running in small, elusive packs,

Alux, first appears in Pyrobrachininae. Real.

A Brownie-like creature from Mayan mythology, an alux will help crops grow and patrol the fields at night to scare off predators. After seven years, the farmer must close the windows and doors of the alux’s home to prevent the alux running wild and playing tricks on people.

Cockatrice, first appears in The Asylum. Real.

With the head, crest and legs of a rooster and the body and tail of a dragon, this creature also has the ability to turn its victims to stone with its stare.

Cuélebre, first appears in Guardian. Real.

A massive, winged serpent that guards hidden treasures and ancient knowledge.

Falcanthrope, first appears in A Change of Heart. Created.

A human with the head of a kestrel. The name is derived from ‘falco,’ referring to a kestrel’s sickle-shaped claws, and ‘anthrope,’ meaning human being.

Kraken, first appears in Eddie. Real.

A giant squid or octopus with massive tentacles capable of pulling down ships. (In the story, it formed part of POC-15.)

Memegwesi, first appears in A Change of Heart. Real.

From Ojibwe culture, memegwesi are the size of a human child and covered in thick, long hair.

Ramidreju, first appears in Guardian. Real.

A cross between a weasel, a badger and a serpent.

Trasgu, first appears in Guardian. Real.

Mischievous goblins od Spain, identifiable by a hole in their left hand.

Wereboar, first appears in Pyrobrachininae. Real.

See Therianthrope.

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