This list includes 37 Mythical creatures that start with T, from “Taniwha” to “Tzitzimime”. They come from diverse traditions and often appear as guardians, spirits, monsters, or tricksters. Use this list for research, worldbuilding, class projects, or game and story inspiration.
Mythical creatures that start with T are legendary beings and spirits whose names begin with T, rooted in global folklore and myth. For example, the Māori “Taniwha” can be both protective and dangerous in local stories.
Below you’ll find the table with Name, Origin, Description, and Famous stories.
Name: The creature’s common name or English form, which you can use to search or cite it.
Origin: A brief note of cultural or geographic origin, so you see where a creature comes from at a glance.
Description: A concise summary of appearance, abilities, and typical behavior to help you compare creatures quickly.
Famous stories: Titles or traditions where the creature appears, which you can follow for deeper reading.
Also known as: Alternate names or epithets that you can use when searching or cross-referencing variants.
Mythical creatures that start with T
| Name | Alternate names | Origin | Famous stories/sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| Taotie | Taotieh | Ancient China | Shang bronzes, Classic of Mountains and Seas |
| Taniwha | Tangaroa descendants (varied) | Māori (New Zealand) | Māori iwi stories, oral tradition |
| Tanuki | Japanese raccoon dog | Japan | Japanese folktales, bunraku stories |
| Tartalo | One-eyed giant | Basque Country | Basque folktales, oral tradition |
| Tarasque | Dragon-turtle hybrid | French Provençal | Saint Martha legend, Golden Legend |
| Tatzelwurm | Alpine serpent-cat | Alpine Europe | Alpine folk tales, naturalist reports |
| Teju Jagua | Seven-headed lizard-dog | Guaraní (Paraguay) | Guaraní oral tradition, Paraguayan folklore |
| Teumessian Fox | Inescapable fox | Ancient Greece | Greek myths, Aeschylus references |
| Tiangou | Heavenly dog | China | Chinese eclipse myths, ancient folktales |
| Tiamat | Saltwater dragon/goddess | Mesopotamia (Babylon) | Enuma Elish, Babylonian myth |
| Typhon | Gigantic storm monster | Ancient Greece | Hesiod’s Theogony, Homeric hymns |
| Tlaltecuhtli | Earth monster | Aztec/Mesoamerica | Codex Borgia, Florentine Codex |
| Tlahuelpuchi | Vampiric witch | Central Mexico | Mexican folklore, Veracruz tales |
| Tiyanak | Infant-devil | Philippines | Philippine folktales, Visayan legends |
| Tikbalang | Horse-headed trickster | Philippines | Philippine folktales, Luzon legends |
| Tokoloshe | Dwarf water spirit | Zulu, Xhosa (Southern Africa) | Southern African folktales, Zulu oral tradition |
| Tupilaq | Avenging spirit-construct | Inuit (Greenland) | Greenlandic Inuit tales, shamanic lore |
| Tzitzimime | Star demons | Aztec (Mesoamerica) | Florentine Codex, Aztec codices |
| Tannin | Sea serpent/dragon | Hebrew, Near East | Hebrew Bible, Ugaritic texts |
| Thunderbird | Storm bird | Various North American Indigenous | Plains and Pacific Northwest myths, Ojibwe lore |
| Tengu | Yamabushi-like yokai | Japan | Heian tales, Noh theatre, folklore |
| Troll | Giant/forest being | Norse, Scandinavian | Norse sagas, Icelandic folktales |
| Trow | Shetland/Orkney folktale fairy | Orkney, Shetland (Scotland) | Orkney folktales, Norse-Scottish lore |
| Tomte | Household spirit | Scandinavia | Swedish folktales, Christmas lore |
| Tylwyth Teg | Fair folk | Wales | Welsh folktales, Mabinogion-adjacent tales |
| Tilberi | Witch’s familiar | Iceland | Icelandic folk beliefs, sagas |
| Tulpar | Winged horse | Turkic Steppe | Turkic epics, Kazakh oral tradition |
| Tulpa | Thought-form entity | Tibetan Buddhism, occult | Tibetan esoteric texts, later occult literature |
| Tsukumogami | Animated tools/yokai | Japan | Gazu Hyakki Yagyō, folktales |
| Tsuchinoko | Snakelike cryptid | Japan (Kyushu) | Local folk tales, eyewitness lore |
| Tsuchigumo | Earth spider yokai | Japan | Heian-era tales, yokai legends |
| Tsurara-onna | Icicle woman yokai | Japan | Japanese folktales, Edo-period stories |
| Tommyknocker | Mine spirit | Cornish, Appalachian | Cornish mining lore, American mining folktales |
| Trauco | Forest/river dwarf | Chilote (Chiloé, Chile) | Chilote mythology, local folktales |
| Triton | Merman/sea spirit | Ancient Greece | Homeric hymns, classical art |
| Tibicena | Hellhound/giant dog | Guanche (Canary Islands) | Guanche myths, Canarian folklore |
| Tuchulcha | Underworld demon | Etruscan | Etruscan tomb art, ancient Etruscan sources |
Descriptions
Taotie
A voracious mask-monster motif on bronze vessels, symbolizing gluttony and chaos in Chinese myth and ritual art, often without a full-bodied depiction.
Taniwha
Powerful water or land beings that can be protective guardians or dangerous monsters, inhabiting rivers, seas, caves, and tribal boundaries in Māori lore.
Tanuki
A mischievous shapeshifting yokai known for trickery, magical transformations, and giant leaves used as disguises; often humorous and linked to fertility and fortune.
Tartalo
A savage, one-eyed giant who lives in mountains and devours travelers; a Basque cyclops figure feared in regional tales.
Tarasque
A fearsome six-limbed dragon subdued by Saint Martha in Provence; became a Christianized symbol incorporated into medieval miracle tales and festivals.
Tatzelwurm
A short, snake-like creature with a cat-like head and sometimes forelimbs, reported in Alpine folklore and occasional 18th–19th century eyewitness accounts.
Teju Jagua
A monstrous guardian spirit of caverns and fruit, often depicted as a giant lizard or dog with multiple heads, linked to origin myths.
Teumessian Fox
A gigantic fox destined never to be caught, set against the magical dog Laelaps in a paradoxical chase that ends with the gods’ intervention.
Tiangou
A mythic dog that eats the sun or moon during eclipses, often blamed for celestial disappearances and placated by rituals and noise.
Tiamat
Primordial chaos goddess who takes dragon form and battles Marduk in creation epic; represents the primeval sea and cosmic disorder.
Typhon
A monstrous offspring of Gaia who battles Zeus, depicted as a multi-headed, fire-breathing storm giant, embodiment of volcanic force and chaos.
Tlaltecuhtli
A monstrous earth deity often depicted as a devouring mouth; slain and dismembered to form the world in Aztec creation narratives.
Tlahuelpuchi
A shapeshifting witch—by night a blood-sucking creature, often taking insect or bat form—blamed for child illness and sudden deaths in rural folklore.
Tiyanak
A malevolent creature that mimics a crying baby to lure victims; in some tales it is an aborted spirit or a drowned infant’s ghost.
Tikbalang
Tall, humanoid creature with disproportionate limbs and a horse’s head; leads travelers astray and plays tricks, sometimes appeased with offerings.
Tokoloshe
A small, mischievous or malicious spirit invoked in witchcraft; blamed for illness, mischief, or nighttime attacks and placated by rituals.
Tupilaq
A magical effigy created by a shaman to harm enemies; often made from bones and hair and sent as a supernatural assassin in Inuit belief.
Tzitzimime
Skeleton-like celestial demons associated with stars and potential devourers of humanity during solar eclipses or the end of world cycles.
Tannin
A term for sea monsters or dragons in ancient Near Eastern texts, representing chaos and primordial monsters opposed to the gods.
Thunderbird
A massive, supernatural bird that brings thunder and lightning and controls weather; revered as a powerful protector and clan symbol among many tribes.
Tengu
Crow- or human-faced mountain spirits skilled in martial arts; ambivalent figures who are teachers, tricksters, or dangers to arrogant monks.
Troll
Variable beings from small household spirits to huge mountain giants; commonly hostile to humans, linked to rock formations and the wild landscape.
Trow
Dark, subterranean or hill-dwelling fair folk akin to trolls; blamed for mischief, cattle theft, and strange lights in the northern isles.
Tomte
Small, bearded farm guardian who protects homesteads and livestock; rewards kindness, punishes neglect, central to Scandinavian Yule traditions.
Tylwyth Teg
The Welsh “fair folk”—beautiful but dangerous fairies living in hills and mounds, known for abductions, bargains, and musical enchantments.
Tilberi
A creature made by witches from stolen church materials and milk, used to steal milk from neighbors; a uniquely Icelandic vampiric familiar.
Tulpar
A swift, sometimes winged horse in Turkic/Steppe myth, often the heroic mount of culture heroes and a symbol of freedom.
Tulpa
A sentient being created through intense visualization or thought, discussed in Tibetan mysticism and later Western occultism.
Tsukumogami
Household objects that become sentient after a hundred years, often mischievous or vengeful, central to Japanese animist folklore.
Tsuchinoko
A rare, stout snake-like cryptid said to swallow its tail, reputedly able to jump and speak; subject of regional hunts and legends.
Tsuchigumo
Gigantic, monstrous spiders in Japanese myth, sometimes portrayed as disguised humans or enemies fought by warriors in ancient tales.
Tsurara-onna
A spirit formed from an icicle who becomes a beautiful woman by day; often melts or reveals her icy nature at the wrong moment.
Tommyknocker
Small subterranean spirits believed to warn miners of danger or cause mischief; popular in Cornish and Appalachian miner traditions.
Trauco
A short, alluring male creature who seduces or bewilders women; blamed for mysterious pregnancies in Chilote island folklore.
Triton
A merman figure—often the son of Poseidon—depicted as half-human, half-fish, blowing a conch to calm or raise the sea.
Tibicena
A monstrous black dog or hellhound said to dwell in caves and attack livestock or travelers in indigenous Canary Island tales.
Tuchulcha
An underworld spirit depicted with birdlike and bat features, acting as a psychopomp or chthonic menace in Etruscan funerary art.