7. Bunyip

Bunyip is a mythical creature from the stories of Australian Aborigines. Its name means “devil” or “spirit.” Bunyip resembles something between an alligator and a platypus and is about the size of a horse. If a person went missing in the swamps, everyone believed it was the work of a bunyip.

In 1871, Dr. George Bennett of the Australian Museum linked the bunyip to extinct marsupials that once lived in Australia, such as Diprotodon. This swamp-dwelling creature resembled a wombat but was about the size of a rhinoceros. Despite its herbivorous nature, Diprotodon was probably terrifying when something scared it, just like a hippo. The animal became extinct 20,000–40,000 years ago, so the overlap between its last descendants and the early ancestors of the Australian Aborigines was quite big. And so the cultural memory of the huge swamp beast turned out to be so strong that Australians have preserved stories about bunyips to this day.

8. Sea Serpents

Sailors from different countries and cultures have one common myth: huge sea serpents that can crack the ships in half in a couple of seconds. In Scandinavian mythology, a monster nicknamed Jormungandr was so huge that its tail encircled the entire world.

Modern researchers have two theories about the origin of this legend—a simple one and a scary one. According to the first, sailors simply exaggerated stories about eels and oarfish seen in the sea. According to the second one, it could be one of the most ancient shark species—the frilled shark. Like all deep-sea creatures without access to the sun, it looks creepy! No pointy fins, several rows of sharp teeth, perfect for tearing apart prey—it will definitely give you nightmares if you see one bump against your boat.