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Giants, Monsters, and Dragons: An Encyclopedia of Folklore, Legend, and Myth
We have always conjured up creatures never seen in nature, from flying horses and two-headed birds to fire-breathing dragons and enormous killer skunks, as well as fantastic distortions of our own image, from giants to nubile maidens. In these pages you will meet extraordinary beings from Hindu and Navajo religions, Scandinavian tales, Russian folklore, Lithuanian stories, Irish oral history, American tall tales, and Aztec myth. Just some of the monstrous entourage:
• Baku, a benevolent Japanese monster with the body of a horse, the head of a lion, and the legs of a tiger, who helps people by devouring their nightmares.
• Kurma, the giant tortoise of Hindu myth, whose upper shell forms the heavens and lower part the earth.
• Missipissy, the feared fish serpent of North America's Great Lakes region.
This illustrated encyclopedia not only identifies and describes individual beasts in their cultural context but also groups them together across cultures and discusses common mythological strands and conceits.
• Baku, a benevolent Japanese monster with the body of a horse, the head of a lion, and the legs of a tiger, who helps people by devouring their nightmares.
• Kurma, the giant tortoise of Hindu myth, whose upper shell forms the heavens and lower part the earth.
• Missipissy, the feared fish serpent of North America's Great Lakes region.
This illustrated encyclopedia not only identifies and describes individual beasts in their cultural context but also groups them together across cultures and discusses common mythological strands and conceits.
464 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2000
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1626 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews
December 31, 2025
Wow what a long read. I read a few pages each day to learn about some new monsters. Lots of great entries from all over the world. Recommended
Read
February 17, 2009A handy reference book. The writing is dry, more encyclopedic than mythic, but the information is useful. As a reference it works well and is easy to use: it's alphabetized, cross-referenced and indexed. But no matter how irresistible an entry like "Ichthyocentaur" or "Druggen Hill Boggle" may seem, they're not the liveliest reading material. Also, as a reference it isn't complete without the companion volume, Rose's Spirits, Fairies, Leprechauns, and Goblins. Anyone in a position to need such a field guide will find both volumes useful, but only as a place to begin serious research.
December 30, 2014
2001. For being the first encyclopedia of creatures and beings that I had look at back in the 90's. It still good enough even now. Even though with crypto animals then as now I prefer to look at accounts or the other books on my list for better and update description.
As part of it's title there is a lot of giants and dragons in here but others like sea and lake monsters, rainbow serpents, merfolk, fearsome critters, some were creatures and vampires. Then one can always finds something not in other books like the one called Was who protects shamans.
The book can still use an index, if you had forgot the name you couldn't just look up shark for you wouldn't find it. Instead to find Yagim / Iak Im you would have to find it in the section called 27. sea monsters and sea serpents (why not in the fish section?) or in the country section: Canada. Of course if you remember the name the front does have a list of the names.
It's still a good encyclopedia to have on one shelf.
As part of it's title there is a lot of giants and dragons in here but others like sea and lake monsters, rainbow serpents, merfolk, fearsome critters, some were creatures and vampires. Then one can always finds something not in other books like the one called Was who protects shamans.
The book can still use an index, if you had forgot the name you couldn't just look up shark for you wouldn't find it. Instead to find Yagim / Iak Im you would have to find it in the section called 27. sea monsters and sea serpents (why not in the fish section?) or in the country section: Canada. Of course if you remember the name the front does have a list of the names.
It's still a good encyclopedia to have on one shelf.
May 15, 2013
well
first of all, it's always nice to have exhaustive lists of beasts and supernatural entities from various folklores and myths under a single bind..
It's a wonderful book for those, who loves to research on this subjects and also for people like me who simply love to know about different folkloric creatures and beings.
It has not much pictures though.. you have to help yourself on shape/sizes and physical appearances of creatures.
In few cases it does give some misinterpretations on creatures.. but those are negligible.. I would recommend buyers or readers to go for both the books written by Carol Rose for a complete read...
first of all, it's always nice to have exhaustive lists of beasts and supernatural entities from various folklores and myths under a single bind..
It's a wonderful book for those, who loves to research on this subjects and also for people like me who simply love to know about different folkloric creatures and beings.
It has not much pictures though.. you have to help yourself on shape/sizes and physical appearances of creatures.
In few cases it does give some misinterpretations on creatures.. but those are negligible.. I would recommend buyers or readers to go for both the books written by Carol Rose for a complete read...
January 3, 2012
This book investigates thousands of monsters from every corner of the world. Each monster entry is supplemented with background myth or lore, continent, country or culture of origin. Short briefs of over two thousand monsters are included and seldom drawings as well. Appendixes are arranged by types of monsters, their associations, and the bibliography contains nearly two hundred entries. Undoubtedly this is a well researched encyclopedia and a necessary resource for any studies of mythical monsters.
March 14, 2011
This is a seriously complete book on monsters, semi-humans and supernatural beasties. Although the individual entries are short, this reference book covers it all: mythological and folkloric creatures from every culture you’ve heard of (and many you haven’t). It’s also got heraldric beasts, creatures from literature, nursery boggies, biblical monsters, and even modern creations (like the Great Galactic Ghoul).
September 10, 2016
This book had lots of creatures that I hadn't read or heard of before, and interesting mythological read. It also has some creatures from just fantasy books which was also nice as a look at different types of things that have been in books and myths the world over. It didn't have much detail for some entries but others were very detailed. Overall, I really like this book and would recommend it to anyone who likes mythology or fantastical creatures.
May 6, 2013
While Giants, Monsters and Dragons isn't a book of fairy tales or stories, it's a wonderful reference book to the many legendary beasties of the world. Carol Rose has gathered descriptions and information of hundreds of mythical creatures from various cultures and assembled them into an encyclopedia style volume. Dry writing for sure, but wonderfully interesting nonetheless!
January 29, 2010
This is one of my favorite reference books -- mythical creatures from all traditions, with a lovely index.
September 19, 2020
This is a great Encyclopedia. I really like how it references similar mythical creatures from other myths. This makes my research a lot easier.
June 12, 2022
The good thing about this book is how comprehensive it is: not only does it cover many world cultures, but Rose was clearly determined to get EVERY creature from every folktale that she could find. If you're reading the book back-to-front like me, that gets a little repetitive, especially when each of the dozen-plus giants from Pantagruel has the same basic entry.
For the stories I recognized, I notice some information that seems to be wrong, and the editing on this was actually full of errors: I spotted several typos, and there were times when the same entry would be repeated word for word, right next to each other. (Somewhat justified if the monster's name had multiple spellings, but most of the time they were bundled under one entry, or one would just say "Another spelling of the [whatever].") Still, this is a good book to start learning about more diverse legends—just realize that you'll probably need to double-check things with other sources.
For the stories I recognized, I notice some information that seems to be wrong, and the editing on this was actually full of errors: I spotted several typos, and there were times when the same entry would be repeated word for word, right next to each other. (Somewhat justified if the monster's name had multiple spellings, but most of the time they were bundled under one entry, or one would just say "Another spelling of the [whatever].") Still, this is a good book to start learning about more diverse legends—just realize that you'll probably need to double-check things with other sources.
September 6, 2017
When I think of an encyclopedia, I expect the entries to be 3+ paragraphs with a picture wherever possible. In this book, the vast majority of entries were closer to 3 sentences plus references. A typical page contained 7-8 entries and no picture. There were only 5 pictures in the first 20 pages.
While this could still be a good reference to use as a reminder of creatures you're already familiar with, I found it provided insufficient context to decide whether to investigate each creature in depth.
While this could still be a good reference to use as a reminder of creatures you're already familiar with, I found it provided insufficient context to decide whether to investigate each creature in depth.
August 29, 2018
While Giants, Monsters, and Dragons is a great encyclopedia of monsters to be used in conjunction with other material, it falls hard when it has to stand alone and serve as a painful reminder over just how many giants there are in myth. However, it is definitely useful with other material.
In short: Don't read this through and through, but as a more detailed lexicon for further information, and you'll be fine.
In short: Don't read this through and through, but as a more detailed lexicon for further information, and you'll be fine.
May 2, 2019
It's a reference book for nearly every giant, monster, and dragon ever referenced in any myth, novel, folklore, or holy book. This is not something to read for fun like a novel, but it is a highly accomplished encyclopedia for anyone with any interest in any of the above mentioned mythical creatures. There are far more you haven't heard of than you thought.
February 5, 2019
Great reference book. I need this one for my office.
reference
June 30, 2013entry for
MONSTER:
“There has always been a fascination for the monstrous, and depictions of monstrous beings have been known from the earliest times. What actually constitutes a monster depends on the cultural values in which the image is depicted. That which is deemed to be monstrous is against the natural order of what is acceptable, and this is usually the image of nature and human natural forms. Consequently, even some being that is of an abnormal size may be regarded as monstrous yet still be acceptable. It is, however, those beings that constitute a supernatural hybrid mix of other forms that bring the most revulsion and are most likely to be considered monstrous...” pg. 253
My home state of Missouri boasts its own monster
MI-NI-WA-TU:
“This is the name of a river monster in the traditions and beliefs of the Teton Native American people of Missouri in the United States. Mi-Ni-Wa-Tu is described as a vast body with red fur, having an enormous head with a single eye and horn projecting from its forehead, and a long tail flattened vertically with tooth-like projections on its upper ridge. The Mi-Ni-Wa-Tu was said to move swiftly through the water, creating a wave before it and an iridescence on the water behind. In the spring it was his activities that were said to cause the enormous cracks across the frozen Missouri River. To see this being was terrifying as a sight, and the experience was said to bring about convulsions and even death.” pg. 248
MONSTER:
“There has always been a fascination for the monstrous, and depictions of monstrous beings have been known from the earliest times. What actually constitutes a monster depends on the cultural values in which the image is depicted. That which is deemed to be monstrous is against the natural order of what is acceptable, and this is usually the image of nature and human natural forms. Consequently, even some being that is of an abnormal size may be regarded as monstrous yet still be acceptable. It is, however, those beings that constitute a supernatural hybrid mix of other forms that bring the most revulsion and are most likely to be considered monstrous...” pg. 253
My home state of Missouri boasts its own monster
MI-NI-WA-TU:
“This is the name of a river monster in the traditions and beliefs of the Teton Native American people of Missouri in the United States. Mi-Ni-Wa-Tu is described as a vast body with red fur, having an enormous head with a single eye and horn projecting from its forehead, and a long tail flattened vertically with tooth-like projections on its upper ridge. The Mi-Ni-Wa-Tu was said to move swiftly through the water, creating a wave before it and an iridescence on the water behind. In the spring it was his activities that were said to cause the enormous cracks across the frozen Missouri River. To see this being was terrifying as a sight, and the experience was said to bring about convulsions and even death.” pg. 248
March 27, 2017
I have owned this book for over a decade now, and I still go back to it as a reference for my fantasy writing. This book is very in depth, and it has so many cultures infused in the encyclopedia, it's so interesting. This book has helped me with research and finding sources, new myths, and sometimes I just skim through the pages for something new to read about!
Displaying 1 - 19 of 19 reviews