Sunday 3 April 2016

Mythical Beast Wars

I've always been fascinated by mythical or apocryphal creatures, whether they're the stuff of serious literature (as in Borges' Book of Imaginary Beings) or in the movies of Ray Harryhausen. Now there's a site that I'm sure will appeal to folk like me. Mythical Beast Wars sees artists create drawings of various unlikely creatures, then pits them against each other. 

It's easier when the combatants have something in common. Like chickenosity...

Baba Yaga Vs Pollo Maligno March Header

Baba Yaga I'd heard of, but not Pollo Maligno, a giant jungle chicken from Colombia that lures in hunters and eats them. I'm not sure how it does the luring, but I inevitably thought of this scene from a favourite film.


Hobgoblins, elves, and the automatons of Hephaestus (rather classy) all feature in Mythical Beast Wars. If I had a tithe of artistic ability I'd join in myself. It's also a good site to test your knowledge of cryptozoology, because there are quite a few supposedly real creatures I'd never heard of, such as the Pigsie, the Beast of Bray Road, and the Murphysboro Mud Monster. No, really.

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'Schalken the Painter' by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

A reading by yours truly of one of the all-time classics. I hope you enjoy it!  I'm told my voice sends people to sleep so maybe try it ...