Werewolves
BY THOR JENSEN
Almost every culture on Earth has a variation of the werewolf legend – an ordinary human with the power to change form into a wild animal, or some bizarre hybrid of the two. In Europe it’s wolves, in Africa wild cats like cheetahs, et cetera. Author Caroline Taylor Stewart has a clear and simple hypothesis as to why this monster is so widespread, and it has to do with survival. Human civilization grew, in part, thanks to our ability to use tools. Crafting weapons was one way we made hunting easier, but we also learned the art of disguise. Early hunters would kill a wolf and then wear its skin so as to approach other wolves without raising alarm. Those men disguised as beasts were often credited with animalistic natures, so it’s a short path from primitive hunters to actual shapeshifters.

Mermaids
BY THOR JENSEN
No less august a personage than Christopher Columbus is known to have spotted “mermaids” on his sea voyage, and legends of the half-human, half-fish creatures abound throughout the world’s mythology. Historians are pretty certain about the roots of the legend, and it’s not terrifically pretty. Manatees are marine mammals that are slow-moving and herbivorous – often nicknamed “sea cows.” From close up, it’s hard to imagine that anyone would confuse one for half of a beautiful woman, but from a distance, especially through the eyes of lonely sailors, these gentle creatures kind of do resemble ladies with tails.


Zombies
BY THOR JENSEN
The shambling brain-eaters seen on The Walking Dead are obviously scientifically impossible – when electrical activity stops in the brain, the body stops moving. Or does it? Legends of zombies come from Haitian folklore and the religion of voodoo. Originally, a zombie was a living person whom witchdoctors had placed into a state of “living death,” unable to act on their own but capable of carrying out simple commands. The folklore says that they use a powder called coup padre, which contains the poison tetrodoxin – the same thing that gives the pufferfish its sting. It causes a rapid drop in heart rate and a stiffening of muscle tissue, making the subject resemble a corpse. Whether this really happened or not is debatable, but that’s the root of the zombie archetype.

Dragons
BY THOR JENSEN
The scientific origins of dragons is one of the easier ones to figure out, as we’ve got plenty of evidence that massive reptiles used to wander the earth (and in some cases, like the Komodo dragon, still do). Historians postulate several origins for dragons, including Chinese fossil discoveries in the 4th century B.C. and European primitives discovering whale bones, but the most likely to us involves the Nile crocodile. While these large river predators are now confined to a relatively small range, in ancient times they could have spread farther, and unlike other aquatic reptiles they were capable of walking with their torsos off the ground. At a maximum length of 18 feet, it’s quite plausible that they were the inspiration for the legendary dragon.

Mummies
BY THOR JENSEN
Obviously there’s not very much embellishing that has to be done to mummies to turn them into monsters. They’re real human corpses, wrapped and preserved to last the ages. The only thing that needs to happen is for them to get up and walk. Mummies in popular culture turned into monsters shortly after Howard Carter discovered the tomb of Tutankhamen in 1922. The horror of mummies doesn’t come from the Egyptians, who venerated their dead, but rather the Victorians who discovered them. The “mummy’s curse,” where those who disturb the tomb were sentenced to death, can be best explained by the clouds of corpse-eating bacteria loosed by unwrapping bandages and opening sarcophagi.

Griffins
BY THOR JENSEN
One of the most fascinating mythological creatures of all time is the griffin, a mighty beast with the head, wings and claws of an eagle and the body of a lion. They appear in folklore dating back to before 3000 BC throughout Europe and northern Africa, so obviously whatever inspired them had a big impact. Historian Adrienne Mayor believes that the bizarre patchwork body of the griffin was inspired by an accidental paleontological discovery. In the Gobi Desert, the fossils of dinosaurs show up in stark white against the red earth. The protoceratops, a sheep-sized dinosaur, is plentifully represented in these fossils, and it’s easy to see how the bones of its head frill could be mistaken for wings, its beaked mouth standing in for an eagle’s.

Abominable Snowman
BY THOR JENSEN
The legend of a massive shaggy humanoid that stalks the mountains of Tibet is a popular one, and although many scientists regard the existence of the Abominable Snowman as nothing but superstition, recent scientific discoveries may indicate the real story is a little more complex. In October of 2013, a geneticist in the UK performed DNA analysis on two unidentified hair samples found in the Himalayas. The result? A 100% match with DNA taken from the jawbone of a prehistoric polar bear from Sweden that lived at least 40,000 years ago. What it means is complex – it’s doubtful that these bears live in the mountains today, of course – but it opens a door to understanding the source of the legend.

Cyclops
BY THOR JENSEN
Here’s another monster legend that can be traced back to fairly benign archeology. The Cyclops was one of the most feared monsters in Greek mythology, a massive man several times the size of a normal human with one huge eye in the middle of his face. The general consensus behind the origins of the Cyclops is that ancient Greeks discovered fossils of Deinotherium gigantum (which have been found in contemporary Crete). These enormous prehistoric elephants had huge openings right in the center of the skull, over the jaw, for the animal’s nasal passages (where the trunk would go). With no experience of elephants, the Greeks assumed it was one huge eye socket and a legend was born.

Unicorns
BY THOR JENSEN
The magnificent unicorn is a graceful and noble beast, a snow-white stallion with one glistening horn jutting from its head. Attempts have been made to surgically create them for carnival sideshows, but the real roots of the unicorn myth are in simple miscommunication. The earliest usage of the word comes from a Greek physician named Ctesias, who served in the court of the King of Persia. While there, he met many Indian travelers who regaled him with tales of a one-horned animal from back home. That animal, of course, was the Indian rhinoceros, but that didn’t stop Ctesias from spinning yarns about the creature. Interestingly, in 2008 a deer with a single horn in the middle of its head was spotted in the Italian village of Prato, attributed to a random genetic mutation.


Vampires
BY THOR JENSEN
The legends of bloodsucking creatures from beyond the grave can be traced back to a single person – Vlad the Impaler, the 15th century tyrant of Wallachia. The Romanian ruler had a penchant for cruelty and blood, skewering the bodies of his foes on stakes as a message to other potential enemies. When Bram Stoker set out to write Dracula, he took the Count’s surname as inspiration. As for vampires themselves, one of the most popular theories is that sufferers of genetic disease porphyria, which can lead to an increased sensitivity to light (causing the skin to burn and blister in the sun). Some relief can be found by blood transfusions, or even drinking blood. That’s plenty to found a monster myth on.

Finally
Source
http://www.tested.com/science/weird/465867-scientific-origins-monsters-and-mythical-creatures/item/
ETT People keep off!

zeemahn:
Werewolves

Zombies
BY THOR JENSEN
The shambling brain-eaters seen on The Walking Dead are obviously scientifically impossible – when electrical activity stops in the brain, the body stops moving. Or does it? Legends of zombies come from Haitian folklore and the religion of voodoo. Originally, a zombie was a living person whom witchdoctors had placed into a state of “living death,” unable to act on their own but capable of carrying out simple commands. The folklore says that they use a powder called coup padre, which contains the poison tetrodoxin – the same thing that gives the pufferfish its sting. It causes a rapid drop in heart rate and a stiffening of muscle tissue, making the subject resemble a corpse. Whether this really happened or not is debatable, but that’s the root of the zombie archetype.

...And the technological know how of the Medicinemen keeps revealing it self more and more.

kingston277:

...And the technological know how of the Medicinemen keeps revealing it self more and more.

How

I love vampires speed Ά̲̣̥πϑ strength.....its amazing watching them run fast than anyone/anything on t.v......i would have love to be one if not for there blood sucking urge that makes no sense.....weatr vampire exist or not....i totally love 'em.

zeemahn:

How

Serious question? Read the passage again.

kingston277:

Serious question? Read the passage again.

I've done so but still don't get you. Kindly expanciate.

zeemahn:

I've done so but still don't get you. Kindly expanciate.

He means black science - voodoo, juju etc. should be given a chance.
These men know more than we all can imagine

macof:


He means black science - voodoo, juju etc. should be given a chance.
These men know more than we all can imagine

I beg to disagree. Those creatures above are actually mythical but the write up is trying to explain what makes them a household name especially in movies.

zeemahn:

I beg to disagree. Those creatures above are actually mythical but the write up is trying to explain what makes them a household name especially in movies.

You didn't read ur own post

macof:


You didn't read ur own post

On the contrary, you didn't read my post