English legendary creatures

thumb|upright=1.15|Giovanni Lanfranco: Norandino and Lucina Discovered by the Ogre, [[oil on canvas, c. 1624]] An ogre (feminine: ogress) is a legendary monster depicted as a large, hideous, humanoid being that eats ordinary human beings, especially infants and children. Ogres frequently feature in mythology, folklore, and fiction throughout the world. They appear in many classic works of literature, and are most often associated in fairy tales and legend.

water sprite from European mythology

thumb|A late-16th-century English illustration of a witch feeding her familiars In European folklore of the medieval and early modern periods, familiars (strictly familiar spirits, as "familiar" also meant just "close friend" or companion, and may be seen in the scientific name for dog, Canis familiaris) were believed to be supernatural entities, interdimensional beings, or spiritual guardians that would protect or assist witches and cunning folk in their practice of magic, divination, and spiritual insight. According to records of the time, those alleging to have had contact with familiar spi

mythical creature popular in folklore from Scotland and England

mythical figure common in western European legend

right|thumb|200px|Page recording a charm against a dwarf, from the Lacnunga collection, in which the dwarf is referred to as a .

personification of frost and cold weather

The lindworm (worm meaning snake), also spelled lindwyrm or lindwurm, is a mythical creature in Northern, Western and Central European folklore that traditionally has the shape of a giant serpent monster which lives deep in the forest. It can be seen as a sort of dragon.

A hobgoblin is a household spirit, appearing in English folklore, once considered helpful, but which since the spread of Christianity has often been considered mischievous. Shakespeare identifies the character of Puck in his ''A Midsummer Night's Dream'' as a hobgoblin.

fairy creature from European mythology

A boggart is a supernatural being from English folklore. The dialectologist Elizabeth Wright described the boggart as 'a generic name for an apparition'; folklorist Simon Young defines it as 'any ambivalent or evil solitary supernatural spirit'. Halifax folklorist Kai Roberts states that boggart ‘might have been used to refer to anything from a hilltop hobgoblin to a household faerie, from a headless apparition to a proto-typical poltergeist’. As these wide definitions suggest boggarts are to be found both in and out of doors, as a household spirit, or a malevolent spirit defined by local geog

thumb|Depiction of the Pwca in Wirt Sikes's book British Goblins: Welsh Folk-lore, Fairy Mythology, Legends and Traditions, 1880

legend originating in England and France

The redcap (or powrie) is a type of malevolent, murderous goblin found in folklore of the Anglo-Scottish border region. The redcap is said to inhabit ruined castles along the Anglo-Scottish border, especially those that were the scenes of tyranny or wicked deeds, and is known for soaking his cap in the blood of his victims. He is also known as Redcomb and Bloody Cap.

figure from Irish and British folklore

creature from english folklore

mythical creature

In English folklore, Grindylow or Grundylow is a creature in the counties of Yorkshire and Lancashire. The name is thought to be connected to Grendel, a name or term used in Beowulf and in many Old English charters where it is seen in connection with meres, bogs and lakes.

mythical churchyard-guardian spirit-animal

legend from North East England concerning a knight and a dragon

British folk tale

folkloric animal said to live in the Forest of Dean

A sooterkin is a fabled small creature about the size of a mouse that certain women were believed to have been capable of giving birth to. The origin of this initially jocular fantasy lies in the 18th century, and some eminent physicians of the day considered it factual. It is attributed to a tendency of Dutch women to frequently sit on stoves or use them under their petticoats to keep warm, hence causing the breeding of a small kind of animal that would mature and be born.