Copperfox
Well-known member
Human imagination actually HAS come up with other monsters _besides_ vampires and werewolves.
For instance, in Japan, they imagined humanoid monsters called Kappa, which lived in swamps, and which might be anything from harmlessly mischievous to murderously cruel. Each Kappa had a hollow in the top of its head, which contained water from its home swamp. The Kappa (note, Japanese has no plural form of nouns) were both very strong physically, and able to use magic spells. In fact, they were virtually unbeatable... except for their one weakness: if they lost the water from their head-hollow, they instantly became powerless.
If anyone seeing this is familiar with the _Chinese_ legend of the Monkey King, the Japanese also love this legend. In it, the Monkey King "tames" several monsters and makes them join him on his spiritual mission to help spread Buddhism. The Japanese once produced a Monkey King television series (live actors, not animation), in which they featured a Kappa as one of the converted monsters.
Speaking of the Monkey King: the one movie I know of in which kung-fu stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li appeared _together_ was a fantasy which involved the Monkey King legend.
For instance, in Japan, they imagined humanoid monsters called Kappa, which lived in swamps, and which might be anything from harmlessly mischievous to murderously cruel. Each Kappa had a hollow in the top of its head, which contained water from its home swamp. The Kappa (note, Japanese has no plural form of nouns) were both very strong physically, and able to use magic spells. In fact, they were virtually unbeatable... except for their one weakness: if they lost the water from their head-hollow, they instantly became powerless.
If anyone seeing this is familiar with the _Chinese_ legend of the Monkey King, the Japanese also love this legend. In it, the Monkey King "tames" several monsters and makes them join him on his spiritual mission to help spread Buddhism. The Japanese once produced a Monkey King television series (live actors, not animation), in which they featured a Kappa as one of the converted monsters.
Speaking of the Monkey King: the one movie I know of in which kung-fu stars Jackie Chan and Jet Li appeared _together_ was a fantasy which involved the Monkey King legend.