
The Australian vampire:
Yara-ma-yha-who
Found in Australian Aboriginal mythology: A short, red, uh, man with a complicated name resembling a demon. He has no fangs, which is unusual for a bloodsucking vampire. Whenever he feels a little hungry he waits in a tree for a victim to stop beneath, then jumps on him and sucks blood out through the octopus-like suckers he has on his hands and feet. This procedure is very tiring, so afterwards he will take a nap and then vomit the meal back up. Surprise, the victim may still be alive! However, if this creepy dude eats the same person too many times, he will himself become a Yara-ma-yha-who.

Nessie’s cousin:
The Hawkesbury River Monster
Remember the Scottish Loch Ness Monster? Well, this monster may as well be Nessie’s long lost cousin. The Hawkesbury River in New South Wales, Australia, is a very deep river, and the monster it accommodates is described as up to 24 meters long. Aboriginal paintings thousands of years old hint at sightings of the monster, which resembles a prehistoric plesiosaur. Although there are quite a few modern sightings, this creature seems to be quite camera shy as no one has been able to get a picture of him as of yet.

A weird looking water creature:
The Muldjewangk
These ones are monsters (or maybe just one monster) that inhabits the Murray River and Lake Alexandrina into which it flows in South Australia. The tales of the monster are told to keep children away from the dangerous water. One story tells of a European steamboat captain that shot a Muldjewangk, and was rewarded with a slow lingering death from creeping red blisters that covered his body. The Muldjewangk is also blamed for boat wrecks. Beware the seaweed growing in the lake -that’s where the Muldjewangk hide!

The life-sized cat:
The Gippsland Phantom Cat
This one’s been spotted! In fact this kitty cat (more like a deadly cat) lived in the Grampians region since the 1970s. The consensus among experts is that there have been sightings of large cats, probably feral descendants of house cats. U.S. soldiers stationed in Victoria during World War II had a pair of pumas as mascots, and some think the two animals may have been set free and then reproduced in the wild, possibly mating with feral house cats over the years. There is no conclusive evidence for this, though we sure think it’s still out there somewhere.

Aboriginal spirit monster:
The Bunyip
This monster is a real night owl as it sleeps in rivers, swamps, and billabongs during the day, but prowls the land as soon as it gets dark, looking for food aka people and animals. Its screams can be heard for long distances. Some Aboriginals claim to have seen a Bunyip, but descriptions vary. Does it resemble a snake, a wild human, or a furry mammal? Some theorize that while the Bunyip may be legendary, the tales have been passed down for thousands of years, from back in the days when now-extinct large predators prowled Australia.