Fantasy Fiction 101: Creatures of Myth and Legend

Written By Noelle Hollar

"The monster, at its best, transforms and transforms, like a dream-mate, responding to every nuance of desire."

Clive Barker


We started this series by asking the basic question “What is fantasy fiction?” and continued with the slightly more complicated question “Why write fantasy fiction?” The answer to both, simply stated, is that fantasy fiction is the ultimate “What if?” This is the genre that brings dragons to life, fills forests with fairies and ancient guardians, and creates worlds where magic flourishes and fantastical, mythical creatures occupy the same earth as you or I. The world is not restrained by the limitations of reality, but only by the boundaries you weave into the fiber and construct of the world you create.

Once a fantasy reader starts a new journey into being a fantasy writer, however, the joy can quickly turn to terror. Worldbuilding alone is intimidating and overwhelming, not to mention your cast of characters, magic systems, and then of course your favorite part of the process, actually writing the bloody thing. 

By this point, we’ve broadly addressed the initial stages of imagining, planning, and plotting your novel, as well as spent time talking about the different character archetypes found in fantasy fiction and the general purpose they serve for your story (see “Casting Your Characters”). In the last post, we covered a broad introduction to hard worldbuilding and soft worldbuilding, including a discussion about which style might work best for your story. For the final entry in “Fantasy Fiction 101,” we’re going to celebrate the month of October by talking about creatures of myth and legend! 

This post will address the role of mythical beasts and fantastical creatures in fantasy fiction, then it will cover the two primary options for incorporating mythical and fantastical creatures in your work: designing original mythical creatures from scratch or using creatures of myth and legend from around the world to populate your fantastical realm. At the end of the post, you’ll find additional resources for tips and tricks on how to create these incredible beasts, beings, and creatures to their greatest potential. I will not be introducing specific creatures of myth and legend in this post, but if you are interested in furthering the Halloween experience, check out my post from last year on boogeymen characters in folklore and mythology from around the world.

Let’s get started.

The Role of Mythical Beasts and Fantastical Creatures

In Writing Fantasy, C.J. Solomon wrote, “Creatures from legends and folk-tales are often symbolic or take on a particular role, something fantasy writers might use.” (2023, 146) A popular example of this, especially around Halloween, is the 2000 Canadian film “Ginger Snaps,” in which the werewolf transformation (as it relates to the protagonists) has been praised as a clever metaphor for puberty. In other cultures from around the world, some creatures like the Kelpie, Werehyena, and Baba Yaga serve as warnings to curb children’s mischief or natural curiosity about what lurks in uncharted parts of their homeland. Meanwhile, other folktales and legends create social views of and cultural regard for animals that exist in the natural world, including eagles, coyotes, wolves, ravens, whales, and seals, just to name a few.

When incorporating mythical beasts and fantastical creatures into fantasy fiction, there is a multitude of roles that they could serve, including:

  • Character Arcs: an ancient and malevolent spirit deals a devastating blow against the heroine’s sense of strength and safety and leaves deep, terrible scars that she carries through the rest of her journey.

  • Climatic Triumph: a destructive and evil dragon is conquered by a great hero of humble origins who has traversed through many trials and tribulations.

  • Traveling Companions: the protagonist forms a friendship with a loyal and noble giant, and the duo proceeds to have a series of delightfully wild adventures together.

  • Worldbuilding: different kingdoms use the visage of different mythical creatures which represent the traits that each one holds in high regard.

Designing Your Own Mythical Creatures

In Writing Fantasy, Solomon addresses a key point before incorporating mythical beasts and fantastical creatures in your story: know your audience. For books aimed at children, limit the population to creatures they’re both familiar and comfortable with. In other words, give them unicorns, griffins, and dragons, but steer clear of werehyenas, wendigos, and unnatural horrors like the Nuckelavee of Scottish folklore. However, if you’re writing an urban fantasy novel or an epic fantasy trilogy, you’re given the creative flexibility to pull in a diverse selection of creatures from mythologies and folklore across the world. With this, you have the option to use this selection directly in your story or use it as reference material to build a unique brand of original creatures.

Now, creating an original brand of mythical beasts falls under the umbrella of worldbuilding, and as with anything related to fantasy worldbuilding, there are pros and cons to this approach. On one hand, you get to send your imagination and creativity into overdrive, pulling from your favorite myths, folktales, and legends to invent something no one has ever seen before. The possibilities here are endless! On the other hand…you’re inventing something no one has ever seen before. It can be so much fun to deploy your creative forces to conceive a creature on par with Frankenstein’s monster (metaphorically speaking), but it also means you will have to spend time mapping out every detail of your creation, including:

  1. The creature’s specific name;

  2. What species they belong to;

  3. What they look like;

  4. What sounds they make;

  5. The habitat they can be found in;

  6. Their behavior traits, temperament, and general demeanor; and

  7. Their purpose in your novel.

Reference Solomon chapter 6, subsection 3, “Creating Your Own Creatures,” for more information. 

Of course, if you’re already hip-deep in hard worldbuilding for your fantasy realm, identifying the different kinds of creatures found in different regions should already be included in your worldbuilding handbook. If, however, you’re taking the soft worldbuilding approach and conceiving wondrous creatures on par with Spirited Away or the Princess Ai manga that simply exist without being closely associated with a specific region or environment, I recommend preparing a section of your novel’s master file just for the creatures that occupy your world. As wild and fantastical as the world of Spirited Away is, the occupants therein are still bound by some rules, and you’ll want to incorporate the same principle for yours. 

Solomon also addresses another aspect of creature creation that enriches their purposes in your story: what is their place and purpose in the fantasy world you’re creating? Some helpful considerations for you to ponder include:

  • Which animals are prey, which are predators, and which can be both?

  • Are they regularly hunted by people or left to their own devices?

  • Are some kept as pets by humans or do they possess superior intellect and try to tame humans?

  • Are they average, everyday citizens like in Spirited Away, or are they treated as second class and enslaved as labor workers or for raw biological materials like the Dougen in Princess Ai? 

Remember, everything in your fantasy world has a place and purpose, and mythical creatures and fantastical beasts are no different. The way you design an original species, from the region(s) they call home to the way they’re perceived by the humans in your world, should speak volumes about their role in nature without ever uttering a single word.

Using Creatures of Myth and Legend from Around the World

Using legendary and mythical creatures from around the world is arguably the most popular approach for writers of fantasy, horror, and science fiction. Our world is wonderfully rich with diverse cultures, and from these cultures, we can pull a wealth of creatures to use in our stories (Card, Athans, Lake, 2013, 310). In these folktales, myths, and legends you’ll certainly find monsters, but you’ll also find creatures and beings that range from fantastic, wondrous, to downright strange.

Using preexisting creatures and mythical beings from around the world is a favorite choice because it gives you a foundation and history to research, while also offering creative flexibility for the final product. Vampires and werewolves are popular figures in horror and urban fantasy, but their depictions are delightfully varied. In film alone, you have Max Schreck’s oddly bat-like visage as Count Orlok in 1922’s “Nosferatu,” Lou Chaney Jr.’s tortured Larry Talbot in 1941’s “The Wolf Man,” Bela Lugosi’s impossibly alluring Count Dracula in the 1931 film adaptation of Bram Stoker’s iconic horror novel, and Katharine Isabelle as Gothic-teen-turned-female-werewolf Ginger Fitzgerald in the 2000 Canadian film “Ginger Snaps.” For authors looking to place their unique perspective on these iconic creatures of the night, you have the opportunity to dig deep into their history to bring something fresh to the overall design. Even something as simple as emphasizing a bat’s natural echolocation abilities can change the way your vampire lives, moves, and hunts.

Of course, not all mythical beasts and fantasy creatures are monsters or conductors of mayhem. One of my personal favorite parts of both natural animal figures and fantastical beasts is how diverse their characterizations are across different cultures and folktales. Horses can be known for loyalty and determination, such as Pegasus from Greek mythology, but their unassuming visage also makes them ideal for spirits such as the Kelpie to imitate and lure in unsuspecting victims. Owls can be great sources of wisdom, imparting noble and even compassionate advice to the hero in a moment of need, or they can be the wendigo’s companion, keeping an eye out for wayward travelers set to be the monster’s next meal. 

Mythical beasts and beings are just as diverse in their potential roles. Western Dragons, best known in fairytales such as St. George and the Dragon or figures such as Smaug in J.R.R. Tolkien’s The Hobbit, are often characterized as greedy, ruthless, and even bloodthirsty, while their cousins, the Oriental Dragons, are benevolent creatures associated with the elements. The Cyclops can be a helper of the Olympian gods or a violent obstacle for the hero to overcome. Giants can be cruel, lumbering brutes with a taste for human flesh (like in Roald Dahl’s The BFG) or towering pillars of wisdom willing to bestow aid and guidance upon the heroine when she is most in need.

Final Thoughts

"So where do the ideas - the salable ideas - come from? They come from my nightmares. Not the night-time variety, as a rule, but the ones that hide just beyond the doorway that separates the conscious from the unconscious."

Stephen King

I hope this post started turning the wheels of creativity for those of you who want to populate your world with fantastical creatures but haven’t been sure how or where to begin. As stated previously, filling my world with strange, wild, and fantastically diverse creations is one of my favorite parts of writing fantasy fiction, and I hope it might soon become one of yours as well! In a genre that invites authors to engage the farthest reaches of their imagination, creatures of myth and legend offer yet another opportunity to see just how creative you can get.

Now it’s time for you to start creating wildly original mythical species to populate your world, or to start frolicking in existing folklore and legends from around the world and see what new take you can make on the classics. Be sure to check out the Writer Resources and Further Reading below for some great tips and tricks!

Happy Writing!


Writer Resources and Further Reading

For writers who are interested in learning about creating fantasy creatures, or for those who need some inspiration to begin sketching out ideas, check out the following links:

If you’d like specific guidance on how to incorporate creatures of myth and legend into your worldbuilding, these two links are a good starting place:


For those of you interested in some inspiration from mythology and folklore, or even some tips and tricks from famous authors, check out these links:

Finally, if you’re interested in purchasing some reference books to have handy during the writing process, I highly recommend you check out these two:

Noelle Hollar
Next

Fantasy Fiction 101: Choosing a Style to Build Your Fantasy World