A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- UKTENA

Yes! Come warrior, you think as the lithe man appears.  He has traveled far to face you.

He has no idea how easy it will be to destroy him.  He will die trying to take your life, to claim the stone you possess.

He won't succeed. You will dazzle him and the warrior shall perish.



The Uktena, in one legend, was a man who was transformed by the Little Men (maybe it was the Yunwi Tsunsdi' aka Little People).  As this creature he was sent to kill the Sun.  She has sent down a sickness because man angered her.  He failed and was angry and jealous that Rattlesnake was sent instead.

Pronounced ook-tay-nah, this creature is the one of the deadliest among the creatures of the Cherokee.  It has a body of a snake and has rings or spots of color going down its body.  One description also has it having buzzard wings and deer horns.

They are hunted for the crystal on their forhead.  As an object of great power, the Ulunsuti or Ulun'suti stone has great magic for good and evil.

It dazzles the person and even asleep it can render death.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- QANDISA

You smirk as you watch the fool stumble away. He cannot put two words together after what you did to him.

He was too easy to lure like all the others.  They want nothing but a beautiful face and body.  His lust will be his doom.

He will crave you until his is mad with it.

You melt back into the water as you wait for your next victim.

The Qandisa is a Jinn (or djinn, heh heh heh).  One story had her as a woman shaman who broke laws and was turned into a Jinn.  She is also associated with the goddess of love, Astarte, in which she maybe an updated or older version.

She is a demon of lust of Morocco.  She lures young men to seduce them and steals their sanity.  She can be found in rivers and springs.

Also called Aisa Qandisa or Quadias.  Her appearance is of a beautiful woman, but in one version I found, she may have mare or mule feet.

One region was said to sacrifice to her to prevent her from attacking.  It took place on the summer solstice.

gh

My second choice of the day isn't a monster.  I was having trouble finding a blood and guts killer like the rest of my posts. So I was going to settle with something less creepy.

 Q'wati is the Quileute creation being.  Well, he didn't just create them.  The story I found had him creating other tribes like the Hoh.  You can go HERE to read a version of the story.

What is truly fascinating is that when Q'wati came upon two wolves he turned them into humans.  He named them the Quileute.  Although they are not the werewolves of the Stephenie Meyers' books.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- KEE-WAKW

The stew fills the air with its delicious odor.  You dish some into an eating vessel. 

Your eyes flick the person far across the clearing. Sadness and pity are in the eyes as he watches you partake your meal.

He is weak from starvation.  Barely alive.  A smirk turns your lips cruel as he looks to what's left of his wife.  Horror fills his gaze in realization as you continue to eat the stew.

You watch as the the breaths become shallower.  The eyes grow dim as the spirit leaves the body.

You laugh.  The frigid coldness grows in your chest as you contemplate your next meal.


This is one of the ways that a Kee-wakw are created.  They are creatures that were once human that have committed some terrible crime, especially of the taboo act of cannibalism or allowing a person to starve.  Another way to turn into these horrible creatures is to have been possessed.

Their hearts turn to ice and they become cannabilistic ice giants.  These creatures are from the North Eastern tribes like  Abenaki, Penobscot, Maliseet, Passamaquoddy

They have many names including Giwakwa. Its pronounced gee-wock-wah (in Abenaki-Penobscot) and keh-wah-kwoo (in Maliseet-Passamaquoddy.)

They are related to these others creatures Chenoos (Micmac), Windigos (Anishinabe), Witikos (Cree), Stonecoats (Iroquois) because of their similar characteristics.

A TO Z CHALLENGE 2016 -- DULLAHAN, DRY HANDS

Your stomach ties into knots as you rush down the deserted road.  The midnight hour is nigh. Galloping hooves approach. A cold breeze sweeps over you.  A rider in black draws near enough to see his cloak dancing behind him.

You want to run, but your body betrays you.  The rider has no head. Staring helplessly, your heart stops as the last thing you see is the flash of his whip.

The Dullahan is considered to be an Unseelie fairy.  He rides with his head (full of razor like teeth and complete with creepy grin) under his arm and a whip made of a spinal column.  His is sent to collect souls of the dead (and/or to kidnap them and bring them into the realm of the fey.)

This dark creature will only stop to kill.  He does not like to be witnessed and will blind a person (whiplash . . . heh heh heh) or splash them with blood as punishment.  Some believe those marked will be the next to die.  And if he calls out a name --BAM! History. Gone. Dead. There are no ifs, ands, or buts about it.

No locked door or bar across the road can stop a Dullahan.  He only has one weakness.  Gold.  Gold frightens him. Toss a bit of gold at him and run like the devil is after you . . .  because he is.

At one time, it was believed that he was under the command of the queen of the fairies.  She would send him to wither a limb or blind a person who betrayed the secrets of the fey court (aka those lucky few that escaped back to the human realm).

His severed head is described as to be like moldy cheese and sometimes glows like phosphorous.  Hie eyes are supposed to dart like flies.

Also called Gan Ceann, Durahan, Dark Man.  He is associated with the Celtic god Crom Dubh.  This god wanted human sacrifice each year.  When his worship dwindled it is believed he became the Dullahan to continue receiving souls.

The Dullahan is also said to be the driver of the Cóiste Bodhar. A great example is the Disney movie Darby O'Gill and the Little People.

gh

"I never liked him," your friend says as she works a ripe corn cob from the stalk. "He wanted to marry me, but I did not want him.  His hands were cold and clammy.  They made my skin crawl."

Your gaze does not move from your own plant. "You should not speak ill of the dead.  It will bring trouble."

Something flashes into your view.

Her scoffing noise turns into a frightened squeal.   You look to her. Your scream echoes through the field.

A disembodied hand grips your friend withering face.

Dry Hands or Fingers is a legend from the Seneca, Cayuga, and Iroquois. Oniate (oh-nee-ah-ten) is a mummified hand that will come to punish a person who behaves badly, which includes speaking ill of the dead, is a busy body that can't stay out of people's business, or tries to sow discord within the tribe.

It is an appartion that can fly.  It's withered finger can blind, give illness, or kill a person.

Maybe Oniate is Thing's zombified cousin?