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Creatures, Myths & Legends

Different monsters in cultures eerily similar

By T.K. Randall
October 30, 2010 · Comment icon 10 comments

Image Credit: Anonimo
Legends and stories of monsters in different cultures around the world are surprisingly similar.
Despite their distance apart early monster myths and legends in Chinese and European cultures have been found to share striking similarities.
Two thousand plus years ago, Europeans and Chinese had very, very little contact but somehow they imagined a startlingly similar cast of frightening and fantastic creatures.


Source: NPR | Comments (10)




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Recent comments on this story
Comment icon #1 Posted by saucy 14 years ago
This really makes me wonder what things we say are "myth" really are based on real events and real monsters. Everything has its inspiration right?
Comment icon #2 Posted by marcos anthony toledo 14 years ago
I think there might have been more contake across eurasia at a earlier time than we what to believe.
Comment icon #3 Posted by Sevastiel 14 years ago
Myths and legends passed on from "first man" even before history as we know, or there's something to the idea of a shared consciousness that can span spacetime ideals similar to the idea of the Akasha(ic). Too bad both are beyond present means and/or interest.
Comment icon #4 Posted by Oniomancer 14 years ago
I think there might have been more contake across eurasia at a earlier time than we what to believe. Seconded, to an extent. We know for example that many classic fairy tales originate in China. As the article notes, most of those "European" monsters listed in fact come from classical period travelers tales supposedly placing them in Africa. Who knows where they were transmitted from in the first place and how. Ghoul for another example comes from to us from Arabic folklore.
Comment icon #5 Posted by J.B. 14 years ago
If independent batches of humans had originated in different areas, I'd be more surprised. But, we all came from a common stock in Africa, so it's possible we started with a single source, and different cultures took it in different directions with similar results. If you start with a creature that looks like a person with no neck, is it really a stretch for two distinct cultures to warp it into a creature with no head either? (That was just an example.) Besides, I saw only a few similarities talked about. A headless person, something that eats unconventionally, and a large eared creature. Com... [More]
Comment icon #6 Posted by DarthGluttonous 14 years ago
All it takes is a single traveler to tell a story
Comment icon #7 Posted by mwagila 14 years ago
How many monster types can one culture dream up that would differ from another culture, regardless of continent?
Comment icon #8 Posted by Undercoversceptic 14 years ago
Dinosaur fossils are dragons, krakens are giant squids.
Comment icon #9 Posted by AR_Nick 14 years ago
I realize this thread is recently resurrected, but both the article and the posts thus far missed something very, very important: The Silk Road
Comment icon #10 Posted by taerand 14 years ago
These things looked pretty good, and some that I can learn, and I hope to learn more on it!


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