This list includes 33 mythical creatures that start with K, from “Kachina” to “Kushtaka”. They range from household spirits and protective figures to sea monsters and clever shapeshifters. You can use this list for stories, games, teaching, and quick reference.

Mythical creatures that start with K are legendary beings, spirits, or monsters whose names begin with the letter K. Many reflect local beliefs, like the Japanese kitsune, a clever fox spirit that appears in countless folktales.

Below you’ll find the table with Name, Origin, Description, and Notable stories.

Name: Shows the creature’s common English name and alternate names so you can identify entries quickly.

Origin: Gives the culture or region of origin so you can understand each creature’s mythic context.

Description: A concise 20–30 word summary of appearance and traits to help you compare creatures at a glance.

Notable stories: Lists one to three famous tales, texts, or legends where the creature appears to guide further reading.

Mythical creatures that start with K

Name Scientific name / Taxonomic note Origin Famous sources Description
Kelpie N/A Scotland Scottish folktales; Walter Scott references A shape-shifting water-horse that lures people into lochs; often appears as a beautiful horse or human, known for drowning victims and stealing children.
Kappa N/A Japan Japanese folktales; Hyakki Yagyō depictions A river-dwelling yokai with a water-filled head-dish and turtle-like traits, mischievous or dangerous and bound by etiquette around cucumbers and bowing.
Kraken N/A Norse/Scandinavian Norse sagas; Olaus Magnus’ writings A gigantic sea-monster said to drag ships under, often imagined as a colossal squid or octopus; inspired many maritime monster stories.
Kitsune N/A Japan Japanese folktales; classical literature A fox spirit renowned for intelligence and shapeshifting, often taking human form to trick or help people; many are nine-tailed and magical.
Kumiho N/A Korea Korean folktales; Goryeo legends A Korean nine-tailed fox spirit similar to kitsune, usually depicted as malicious and sometimes eating human livers, though modern tales vary.
Kobold N/A Germany German folklore; miners’ lore A household or mine-dwelling spirit that can be helpful or prankish; miners’ kobolds were blamed for good luck or accidents underground.
Kallikantzaros N/A Greece/Balkan Greek folk tradition; Byzantine-era lore Festive-season goblins that rise during Christmas to cause mischief and gnaw at the world tree; banished when Epiphany arrives.
Kapre N/A Philippines Philippine folktales; colonial-era accounts A tall, dark, tree-dwelling giant who smokes cigars, often seen at night; sometimes mischievous, sometimes protective of its tree.
Krampus N/A Austria/Germany Alpine folklore; Saint Nicholas traditions A horned, demonic companion to Saint Nicholas who punishes naughty children, depicted with chains, birch switches, and a long tongue.
Kikimora N/A Slavic (Russia) Russian folktales; household lore A female household spirit who can be helpful or spiteful, blamed for nighttime noises and tangled flax; associated with dream omens.
Kodama N/A Japan Shinto beliefs; Japanese folktales Tree spirits that inhabit ancient trees; harming the tree brings misfortune, and kodama often signal sacred groves.
Konaki-jijii N/A Japan Yōkai compendia; Japanese folktales An old man yokai that cries like a baby to lure rescuers, then becomes unbearably heavy, crushing or drowning victims who pick it up.
Kasa-obake (Karakasa) N/A Japan Tsukumogami tales; yōkai art A haunted umbrella (tsukumogami) with one eye and a hopping leg, playful and spooky as a common household spirit animated after a hundred years.
Kamaitachi N/A Japan Japanese folktales; yōkai stories A trio of weasel-like yokai that cut people with sickle-like claws carried on sudden winds, leaving painless but mysterious wounds.
Kuda-gitsune N/A Japan Onmyōji lore; folktales A small fox spirit used by sorcerers as a familiars, often kept in bamboo tubes, associated with wealth, curses, and spiritual power.
Komainu N/A Japan Shinto temple tradition; folklore Lion-dog guardian statues that are also mythic creatures protecting shrines; they ward off evil spirits with fierce, stylized forms.
Kudan N/A Japan Edo-period reports; yokai lore A prophetic creature with a human face on a bovine body; sightings were treated as omens, often of disaster or political change.
Koropokkuru (Koropok-guru) N/A Ainu (Hokkaido) Ainu oral tradition; indigenous tales Tiny, skilled people of Ainu myth who lived under leaves and traded with humans; often depicted as helpful but reclusive.
Kulshedra N/A Albania Albanian folk epics; oral tradition A many-headed, female storm-dragon who brings droughts and earthquakes; Albanian heroes battle the kulshedra to protect villages.
Knucker N/A England (East Anglia) East Anglian folktales; local ballads A water-dragon or serpent dwelling in “knuckerholes” who terrorized communities, eventually slain by heroes or tricked by locals.
Karakoncolos N/A Turkey/Balkans Turkish and Balkan folktales; Ottoman-era tales A bogeyman-like creature that appears at winter solstice, associated with chaos, sleep paralysis and scaring livestock or travelers.
Karkadann N/A Persian/Indian Persian bestiaries; Arabic travel lore A gigantic, one-horned beast resembling a rhinoceros, said to inhabit central Asian plains and resist capture, mixing unicorn and rhino traits.
Karkinos N/A Ancient Greece Greek mythology; Heracles and Hydra stories A giant crab that aided the Hydra against Heracles; crushed in battle, Hera immortalized it as the constellation Cancer.
Korrigan N/A Brittany (France) Breton folktales; medieval legends Small, fairy-like women or night spirits who live near standing stones, known for trickery, dancing, and luring humans into fairy-worlds.
Karura N/A Hindu/Buddhist Hindu epics; Japanese Buddhist art A bird-like, humanoid being derived from Garuda, often shown as a fierce protector or eater of serpents in Buddhist and Hindu contexts.
Krasue N/A Thailand/SE Asia Thai ghost stories; Southeast Asian folklore A female spirit whose living head flies about trailing entrails at night, feeding on blood and carrion; a famous Southeast Asian vampire-like ghost.
Krahang N/A Thailand Thai rural legends; folktales A male nocturnal spirit that flies with large baskets or planks, sometimes blamed for mysterious lights and night-time attacks on villagers.
Kushtaka N/A Tlingit/Tanana (Alaska) Tlingit oral tradition; Alaskan native tales A shapeshifting otter-man who lures people to freeze in the wilderness, sometimes saving or transforming victims into other kushtaka.
Kachina N/A Hopi/Pueblo Hopi rituals; Pueblo ceremonial tradition Ancestral and spirit beings represented in dances and dolls, embodying weather, fertility, and guidance in Pueblo religious life.
Kishi N/A Angola (Kongo/Bantu) Angolan folk tales; oral tradition A two-faced demon: a handsome human face that charms women and a hyena-like face on the back that devours victims, a dangerous seducer.
Kobalos (Kobaloi) N/A Ancient Greece Greek comedy; classical texts Mischievous sprites of ancient Greek comedy and myth who play tricks on humans, ancestors of later goblin-like figures.
Kludde N/A Belgium/Flanders Flemish folktales; regional legends A shapeshifting water-spirit that haunts rivers and bridges, sometimes helpful but often malicious, known to mislead travelers at night.
Konrul (Simurg variant) N/A Turkic/Persian Turkic epics; Persian tales A great mythic bird akin to the Simurgh, sometimes called Konrul, associated with wisdom, protection, and cyclic renewal in Central Asian tales.

Descriptions

Kelpie
Kappa
Kraken
Kitsune
Kumiho
Kobold
Kallikantzaros
Kapre
Krampus
Kikimora
Kodama
Konaki-jijii
Kasa-obake (Karakasa)
Kamaitachi
Kuda-gitsune
Komainu
Kudan
Koropokkuru (Koropok-guru)
Kulshedra
Knucker
Karakoncolos
Karkadann
Karkinos
Korrigan
Karura
Krasue
Krahang
Kushtaka
Kachina
Kishi
Kobalos (Kobaloi)
Kludde
Konrul (Simurg variant)
If you think there is a missing term, let us know using the contact form.