Need a Myhtological Monster!!!!

I'm writing a story set in WW2. It's going to involve military experiments turning people into monsters (stronger weapon) on both sides. My problem is that I can't think of a half decent monster that either looks human, or shape shifts into the monster. I absolutely will not go near werewolves or vampires, since, let's face it, they have been over used. So, if anyone knows of a mythological monster, doesn't matter where it's from, I would really appreciate it if you would let me know.

Araidne wrote:I'm writing a story set in WW2. It's going to involve military experiments turning people into monsters (stronger weapon) on both sides. My problem is that I can't think of a half decent monster that either looks human, or shape shifts into the monster. I absolutely will not go near werewolves or vampires, since, let's face it, they have been over used. So, if anyone knows of a mythological monster, doesn't matter where it's from, I would really appreciate it if you would let me know.

Changlings

Kelpies

Jersey Devil

Mermaids

Gorgons

Those are few I can think of.

Up the top of my head, if we keep humanoid or shapeshifting as the main factor:
Medusa - woman with snakes as hair, petrifying those who meet her gaze
Minotaur - man with head of a bull
Kelpie - usually depicted as either a horse, but can take up human form
Golems?

There's also chimeras, especially if you use that definition broadly like they do in the manga/anime Fullmetal Alchemist: a fusion of man and animal, retaining mostly human shape but taking on animal characteristics.

Thanks! I have an idea for a female monster, but I need one more male oriented, so that leaves out the gorgon Plus, she's already taken.

Hmm, specifically mythological, eh? I'm drawing a blank right now, but these could help!

This first one is a Medieval Bestiary, basically a list of monsters from Europe found in the huge vast period of time known as the Middle Ages. Not exactly mythological, but if you can't find anything from mythology, there's plenty there to spark ideas! This one, I just stumbled upon (er, not using stumbleupon), and looks to be a list and description of a bunch of mythical creatures - use the side-menu thing to navigate, took me a sec to find it. May not be the best place to go for definitive information, but it's also a good starting point! If those don't work, I can always dig out some of my myth books, just let me know, since I'll have to hunt for most of said books.

Bek

Minotaur would be the most likely male-oriented genetic experiment monster. I can imagine the genetics needed for a Medusa-like creature to be quite complicated :L. Minotaur could easily just be a weird experiment between man and bull, simple and effective right?

Centaurs are one I haven't seen on the list. I mean, as far as battle goes, they'd be great for speed and all.

And one thing to remember is that WWII was made up of water warfare and trench warfare. So what about super soldier mermen.

And as far as trench warfare. Well, what about mole-men. *okay, maybe that was a lame idea* But take an animal that is burrowing, and then add the word 'men' to it.

Hey, on Wikipedia there's a huge page/list dedicated to mythical creatures from all sorts of cultures. Quite a few of them I've never heard of anywhere else. If you want something new, I would try looking there or googling mythical creatures - then when you find one that catches your interest you can always adapt it to what you need in your story.

What of Vulkodlac?
It is Croatian...essentially a vampire (though not in the traditional sense) who shifts easily between human and wolflike appearance. I don't know the moniker in English, but I can help you if you would like to use it.

You could try nagas. They're humans with snake tails for legs.

Merlin34 wrote:You could try nagas. They're humans with snake tails for legs.

Actually, they're not. The original Naga is a beast that looks like a multi-headed, very large, cobra. No snake tails. I cannot actually link the wiki page because the proper spelling is Nāga, and that "ā" doesn't link well.

That being said, you can always create your own hybrids/infusions— very easy to do in the form of botched experiments. Or, you could make it so they tried to infuse the humans with monsters that weren't humanoid just for the power. That might get very interesting very quickly.

You could also make it just straight animals in some respects. If you look at myth more closely, they mostly take real animals as the basics of their myth.

My list:

Look at Egyptian gods. The bulk of them have some animal attributes that can be increased to make them better weapons.

Garuda, from hindu myth. A bird-man.