This list includes 23 Mythological creatures that start with J, from “Jack Frost” to “Judaculla”. These entries cover spirits, monsters, and legendary animals drawn from global folklore and myth. Use this list for research, writing, teaching, or game design.
Mythological creatures that start with J are non-human beings from myths and folk traditions, including spirits, hybrids, and monsters. Some, like Jack Frost, personify natural forces or moral themes across cultures.
Below you’ll find the table with origin, description, and famous stories.
Origin: Shows the culture or region where each creature appears, so you can place it in context for research or storytelling.
Description: Brief, 20–40 word summary highlighting appearance, behavior, and role, helping you quickly assess suitability for projects.
Famous stories: Lists one or two named myths, texts, or traditions where the creature appears, guiding further reading or inspiration.
Mythological creatures that start with J
| Name | Origin | Type | Famous stories |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jinn | Arabian (Middle Eastern) | Spirit/Demon | Quran; One Thousand and One Nights |
| Jiangshi | Chinese | Undead/Corpse (Vampire) | Qing and later Chinese folktales; popular folklore |
| Jorogumo | Japanese | Yōkai/Spider spirit | Konjaku Monogatari; regional folktales |
| Jikininki | Japanese | Ghost/Corpse-eater | Kwaidan (Lafcadio Hearn); Japanese folktales |
| Jubokko | Japanese | Tree-spirit/Yōkai | Yōkai compendia; folktales |
| Jengu | Sawa (Cameroon, Gulf of Guinea) | Water spirit | Sawa folktales; coastal rituals |
| Jiaolong | Chinese | Dragon/Sea-serpent | Classic Chinese texts; mythic dragon lore |
| Jormungandr | Norse | World-serpent/Monster | Poetic Edda; Prose Edda |
| Jotunn | Norse (Scandinavian) | Giant/Monster | Poetic Edda; Prose Edda |
| Jackalope | North American (American West) | Legendary animal | American tall tales; cowboy folklore |
| Jersey Devil | American (New Jersey) | Cryptid/Monster | Pine Barrens legends; colonial-era tales |
| Jack-o’-lantern | Irish/British | Ghost/Wisp | Stingy Jack folktale; Celtic lore |
| Jack Frost | English (British Isles) | Personification/Spirit | Folk rhymes; seasonal folklore |
| Jack-in-Irons | English (Yorkshire) | Bogeyman/Giant | Yorkshire folktales; regional legends |
| Jack-in-the-Green | English (May Day tradition) | Folk spirit/Costumed figure | May Day customs; Morris dance traditions |
| Jenny Greenteeth | English | Water-hag/Monster | English folktales; lake legends |
| Jasy Jatere | Guarani (Paraguay) | Trickster/Child spirit | Guarani folktales; Paraguayan legends |
| Jingwei | Chinese | Mythical bird | Classic Chinese myth; folk tales |
| Jatayu | Hindu (Indian) | Mythical bird/Protector | Ramayana |
| Jaculus | Greco-Roman / Medieval bestiary | Serpent/Flying snake | Pliny; medieval bestiaries |
| Jinmenken | Japanese | Yōkai/Canine-human | Modern urban legends; newspapers |
| Jann | Arabian (Islamic folklore) | Jinn subtype/Spirit | Islamic folk taxonomy; medieval texts |
| Judaculla | Cherokee (Southeastern North America) | Giant/Spirit | Cherokee legends; Judaculla Rock stories |
Descriptions
Jinn
Supernatural beings of smokeless fire with free will, living parallel to humans; can be benevolent or malevolent, inhabit deserts, ruins, and households, central in many Islamic and folk tales.
Jiangshi
Reanimated corpses that hop, suck life force (qi), and wear Qing burial garments; warded off by talismans, mirrors, and sticky rice in Chinese popular belief.
Jorogumo
A spider that can shapeshift into a seductive woman to trap men, often linked to waterfalls and mountain lairs; a cautionary figure about deceit and desire.
Jikininki
Spirits cursed to consume human corpses, solitary and terrifying; often once-human beings punished for greed or impiety, haunting cemeteries and roads at night.
Jubokko
A tree-turned monster that drains blood from passersby; typically inhabits former battlefields or blood-soaked ground and appears as a normal tree until it feeds.
Jengu
Benevolent water spirits (mermaid-like) who bring healing, fertility, and good fortune; worshipped and propitiated in coastal Cameroonian communities during rites and festivals.
Jiaolong
A scaled aquatic dragon or flood-serpent associated with rivers and storms; sometimes seen as a precursor to dragons, living in deep waters and linked to power and peril.
Jormungandr
A massive sea serpent encircling Midgard, destined to battle Thor at Ragnarok; emblematic of world-encompassing danger and the cataclysmic end of the gods.
Jotunn
Race of giants and primordial beings opposing the gods; diverse in form and role, living in Jotunheim, embodying chaos, nature, and elemental forces in Norse myth.
Jackalope
Mythic horned hare said to mimic calls and elude hunters; a tall-tale hybrid combining jackrabbit and antelope traits, popular in frontier humor and taxidermy hoaxes.
Jersey Devil
Winged, hoofed creature blamed for attacks and eerie cries in the Pine Barrens; a regional bogeyman with many alleged sightings and folklore explanations.
Jack-o’-lantern
Spectral lantern or trickster spirit of lost souls, often linked to will-o’-wisps; in modern form also a carved pumpkin, origin in Irish ghost-light tales.
Jack Frost
Personified sprite of frost and winter who nips fingers and paints patterns on glass; depicted as playful or malicious in seasonal tales and poetry.
Jack-in-Irons
Iron-chained giant or scare-figure haunting roads and manor lands, depicted as menacing and club-wielding; a local folklore monster used to frighten travelers.
Jack-in-the-Green
A costumed woodland spirit or figure representing spring and fertility, paraded in May Day festivities; part ceremonial, part folkloric character.
Jenny Greenteeth
Green-skinned hag who drags children and the elderly into ponds and rivers; a cautionary bogey used to warn against dangerous water hazards.
Jasy Jatere
Small, childlike forest spirit who lures children into the woods, sometimes protects or punishes them; a central figure in Guarani oral tradition.
Jingwei
Girl transformed into a bird that tries to fill the sea with stones and twigs to avenge drowning; symbolizes persistence, futility, and transformation in Chinese lore.
Jatayu
A divine vulture-king who attempts to rescue Sita from Ravana; a heroic bird figure representing loyalty and sacrifice in the Ramayana epic.
Jaculus
A mythical serpent said to leap from trees like a javelin or fly, striking travelers; appears in ancient natural histories and medieval monster lore.
Jinmenken
A dog with a human face reported in 20th-century Japanese urban legends; often sighted near roads, blending folkloric yōkai traits and modern rumor.
Jann
A class of jinn often linked to deserts and ruins, sometimes benevolent; considered ancestral or primitive jinn in certain Arabic folk taxonomies.
Judaculla
A slant-eyed giant or spirit associated with a sacred rock in Cherokee lore; blamed for mysterious petroglyphs and stories of a powerful hill-dweller.