This list includes 40 Mythological creatures that start with B, from “Bahamut” to “Bygul”. It collects beasts, spirits, hybrids, and legendary animals across cultures, useful for writers, teachers, game designers, and researchers. You will also find rarer regional names like “Trjegul”.
Mythological creatures that start with B are non-human beings from folklore and legend, including monsters, spirits, and hybrids. One notable example is “Bahamut”, a colossal figure in medieval Arabic cosmology later adapted into modern fantasy.
Below you’ll find the table with Origin, Description, and Famous stories.
Origin: Shows the culture or region where the creature appears, helping you place it in historical or geographic context.
Description: Summarizes key traits and appearance so you can quickly judge suitability for research or creative use.
Famous stories: Lists one or two named myths or works where the creature appears, giving you starting points for deeper reading.
Mythological creatures that start with B
| Name | Origin | Alternate names | Famous stories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Banshee | Irish | Bean sídhe, Bean chaointe | Legends of the O’Neill and O’Brien clans |
| Basilisk | Greek-Roman, European | Cockatrice, King of Serpents | Pliny the Elder’s ‘Naturalis Historia’, medieval bestiaries |
| Baku | Japanese (from Chinese) | The Dream Eater | Folktales about consuming nightmares |
| Barghest | Northern English | Bargtjest, Bargest, Barguest | Folklore of Yorkshire and the North of England |
| Brownie | Scottish, English | Urisk (Scottish), Bwca (Welsh) | The Tale of the Brownie |
| Bunyip | Indigenous Australian | Kianpraty | Aboriginal Dreamtime stories |
| Boggart | English, Scottish | Bogle, Bogill | The Farmer and the Boggart |
| Behemoth | Jewish, Christian | (none common) | The Book of Job (Job 40:15–24) |
| Bakeneko | Japanese | Monster Cat, Nekomata | The Vampire Cat of Nabeshima |
| Bakunawa | Philippine | Moon Eater, Laho | Visayan myths of the cause of eclipses |
| Barong | Balinese (Indonesian) | Barong Ket | The Calon Arang dance-drama |
| Black Dog | British | Black Shuck, Gytrash, Padfoot | Legends of Black Shuck in East Anglia |
| Bean-nighe | Scottish | Washer at the Ford, The Washerwoman | Various Highland folktales |
| Blemmyae | Ancient Greek, Roman | Akephaloi, Sternophthalmoi | Herodotus’ ‘Histories’, Pliny the Elder’s ‘Naturalis Historia’ |
| Boitatá | Brazilian (Tupi-Guarani) | Mboitatá, Biatatá | Tupi-Guarani folklore of the Amazon |
| Buraq | Islamic | Al-Buraq | The Prophet Muhammad’s Night Journey (Isra’ and Mi’raj) |
| Bugbear | English | Bogeyman | General folklore to frighten children |
| Bahamut | Arabian | Bahamoot | Al-Qazwini’s cosmography writings |
| Bies | Slavic | Bes, Czart | Pushkin’s ‘Demons’ |
| Bonnacon | Medieval European | Bonasus | Medieval bestiaries, such as the Aberdeen Bestiary |
| Buggane | Manx (Isle of Man) | (none common) | The Buggane of St Trinian’s |
| Basan | Japanese | Basabasa, Inu-hōō | Ehon Hyaku Monogatari |
| Bluecap | English, Scottish | Blue Bonnet | Folklore of the Anglo-Scottish border |
| Barbegazi | Swiss, French | Ice-beards | Alpine folklore |
| Bixie | Chinese | Pixiu | Han Dynasty art and legends |
| Bodach | Scottish, Irish | The Old Man | General folklore to frighten children |
| Bhut | Indian subcontinent | Bhoot, Bhuta | Various ghost stories from India |
| Bokkenrijders | Dutch, Belgian, German | Buck-riders | Legends of 18th-century robber gangs |
| Brag | Northern English | (none common) | Folklore of Northumberland and County Durham |
| Broxa | Jewish | (none common) | Medieval Jewish folklore |
| Bucentaur | Greek | Bull-centaur | Claudius Aelianus’ ‘On the Nature of Animals’ |
| Bygul and Trjegul | Norse | Freyja’s Cats | Prose Edda |
| Batibat | Philippine (Ilocano) | Bangungot | Ilocano folklore about nightmares |
| Bolla | Albanian | Bullar | Albanian folklore of Saint George |
| Bauk | Serbian | (none common) | Serbian folklore used to scare children |
| Bogeyman | English, European | Bogieman, Bugbear | Nursery rhymes and cautionary tales |
| Berehynia | Slavic | Bereginya | Slavic folklore and neopaganism |
| Boroboroton | Japanese | Boro boro ton | Edo period yōkai scrolls |
| Bukavac | Croatian, Serbian | Water Bull | Folklore of Syrmia |
| Blodeuwedd | Welsh | Flower-face | The Mabinogion (Fourth Branch) |
Descriptions
Banshee
A female spirit whose mournful wail, or “keening,” foretells the imminent death of a family member. She often appears as an old hag or a beautiful woman.
Basilisk
A legendary serpent, reputed to be king of snakes, that can cause death with a single glance, its breath, or touch. Often said to be hatched by a toad from a rooster’s egg.
Baku
A benevolent spirit with a composite body—often a tiger’s paws, an ox’s tail, and an elephant’s trunk—that devours nightmares and protects people from bad dreams.
Barghest
A monstrous, spectral black dog with huge teeth and claws. It is often considered a death omen, appearing to those who are about to die or to their families.
Brownie
A helpful, domestic goblin-like spirit that inhabits houses and barns. It performs chores at night in exchange for milk or cream, but will leave if the gift is called a payment.
Bunyip
A large, amphibious creature from Aboriginal mythology said to lurk in swamps, billabongs, and rivers. Descriptions vary wildly, from a seal-dog hybrid to a long-necked beast.
Boggart
A mischievous and often malevolent household spirit or genius loci. Boggarts may cause things to disappear, milk to sour, or dogs to go lame.
Behemoth
A primeval, monstrous land creature mentioned in the Book of Job. Often depicted as a giant hippopotamus or elephant, it is the counterpart to the sea monster Leviathan.
Bakeneko
A cat yōkai that gains supernatural powers with age. It can shapeshift, speak human languages, reanimate the dead, and possess humans, often seeking revenge.
Bakunawa
A gigantic sea serpent dragon believed to cause eclipses by rising from the ocean to swallow the moon. People would make noise to frighten it into spitting the moon back out.
Barong
The king of the spirits and leader of the hosts of good in Balinese mythology. Represented as a lion-like creature, he is the eternal enemy of the demon queen Rangda.
Black Dog
A nocturnal spectral hound, often larger than a normal dog and with glowing eyes. Its appearance is widely regarded as a portend of death or a guardian of the supernatural.
Bean-nighe
A type of Scottish banshee seen at a stream, washing the bloody grave-clothes of those about to die. She is an omen of imminent death, especially in battle.
Blemmyae
A mythical tribe of headless humanoids whose faces are on their chests. They were believed to live in ancient Libya or the Nile region and appeared in medieval bestiaries.
Boitatá
A giant, fiery serpent that protects fields and forests from those who would harm them, especially by starting fires. Its eyes are said to be two great fires.
Buraq
A celestial, horse-like creature with a human face and wings that transported the prophets. Most famously, it carried the Prophet Muhammad from Mecca to Jerusalem and through the heavens.
Bugbear
A type of hobgoblin or bogeyman figure used in folklore to frighten disobedient children. It was imagined as a bear-like creature that lurked in the woods.
Bahamut
A colossal fish or whale that resides in a vast ocean, supporting the layers of the cosmos, including a giant bull and the earth itself.
Bies
A demon or evil spirit in Slavic mythology. It is a malevolent entity associated with darkness, wastelands, and causing chaos or madness in humans.
Bonnacon
A mythical beast from medieval bestiaries with a horse’s mane and the body of a bull. It defended itself by expelling a trail of caustic, burning dung over a large distance.
Buggane
A malevolent, ogre-like spirit from Manx folklore, often described as huge and covered in black hair. It was believed to live underground and could be angered by human activities.
Basan
A large, rooster-like bird from Japanese folklore that breathes a harmless, ghostly fire from its mouth. It is typically found in the mountains and makes a rustling “basabasa” sound.
Bluecap
A mythical ghost or fairy that inhabits mines and appears as a small blue flame. A helpful spirit, it would lead miners to rich mineral deposits for a share of their wages.
Barbegazi
Dwarf-like creatures from Swiss and French folklore with long white beards and enormous feet. They live in mountain caves, use their feet as skis, and warn humans of avalanches.
Bixie
A fierce, winged lion-like creature from Chinese mythology. A powerful protector, it is believed to ward off evil spirits and attract wealth from all directions.
Bodach
A malevolent bogeyman figure from Gaelic folklore, often described as an old man who comes down the chimney to snatch naughty children.
Bhut
A restless ghost or supernatural creature in the folklore of the Indian subcontinent. It is typically the spirit of a person who died an untimely or violent death.
Bokkenrijders
Demonic spirits or ghosts who rode through the sky on the backs of flying goats. The legend became associated with historical bands of thieves who used the myth to frighten people.
Brag
A mischievous shapeshifting goblin from Northumbrian folklore. It often takes the form of a horse or donkey to trick people into riding it before bucking them off into a pond.
Broxa
A nocturnal, bird-like creature from Jewish folklore. It was believed to suck the milk from goats at night, and in some tellings, the blood of sleeping humans.
Bucentaur
A mythological creature with the upper body of a man and the lower body of a bull. A lesser-known counterpart to the more famous centaur (half-man, half-horse).
Bygul and Trjegul
The two cats that pull the chariot of the goddess Freyja. Described as large and strong, they were a gift from Thor and symbolize the goddess’s connection to magic and independence.
Batibat
A large, fat, vengeful demon from Ilocano folklore that lives in trees. If its tree is cut down for a house post, it causes a sleeper to die from nightmares.
Bolla
A serpent-like dragon from Albanian folklore that sleeps for a whole year. On Saint George’s Day, it awakens and devours a human, eventually evolving into the multi-headed Kulshedra.
Bauk
An animal-like mythical creature from Serbian folklore that hides in dark places, holes, or abandoned houses. It is clumsy and afraid of light and noise.
Bogeyman
A generic mythical creature used by adults to frighten children into good behavior. It has no specific appearance and embodies a child’s amorphous fears of the dark.
Berehynia
A female spirit in Slavic mythology, originally a hearth protectress. In modern interpretations, she is often seen as a water spirit who protects riverbanks and shores.
Boroboroton
A type of tsukumogami, an object that comes to life on its 100th birthday. It is a tattered sleeping futon that animates and poses a threat to people.
Bukavac
A six-legged, gnarled-horned monster that lives in lakes and swamps. It emerges at night to make a loud noise, strangling people and animals it encounters.
Blodeuwedd
A woman made from flowers by magicians who was transformed into an owl as punishment for her betrayal. She became a nocturnal predator, hated by all other birds.