10 Fascinating and Frightening Legends From Around the World

10 Fascinating and Frightening Legends From Around the World

Myths, legends and lore exist in all cultures, and in all regions, around the world. Such stories teach us how to live, what morals to uphold and the consequences of straying from the well beaten path. Stories of monsters, redemption, humiliation and the constant battle of good vs. evil can all teach us something about who we are and how we live. Now we’ll embark on a trip across time and cultures and explore 10 legends and myths from around the globe.

1. Tibet: The Hidden Himalayan City of Shambhala

A depiction of the 4 sided palace inside Shambhala

It is said that between eight mountain ranges, resembling a lotus, lays an invisible city that very few have access to. Those who have risen to the highest level in the spiritual plane can enter its gates through the mist. Lakes filled with jewels and grand palaces adorn the city. Mentioned in the ancient scripts of the Kalachakra Tantra, this city has an instrumental role when the apocalypse nears.

When greed and corruption fill the earth, a united army of evil will descend upon these mountain peaks. The veil of the city will lift and the King of Shambhala will leave his palace and meet the evil army at the gates. An immense battle will rage, but ultimately return good to the lands.

2. Central America: El Cadejo

This beast, built similarly to a dog, lurks in the dark corners of cities and villages, waiting upon hapless victims. Smelling of sulphur and urine, it rattles through graveyards, attacking and eviscerating anyone who dare go out after dark.

There are three types of black cadejo, ranging from the devil incarnate to its scouts and minions. However, if a victim is lucky, a white cadejo will be waiting nearby. White cadejos are said to protect those wandering late at night, and can fend off all but the most evil of black cadejos.

3. Poland: The Obra Water Monster

In the western region of Poland, it’s said there lurks a snake monster so large that it makes a habit of pulling anything that lurks too close to the lake underwater. Witnesses report seeing swans, dogs and various birds snatched into the lake, never to break the surface again. Even more terrifying, this creature is rumored to try to overturn the boats of fisherman on the lake. Because of this, many avoid the sparsely populated shores of Lake Obra after dusk.

4. Iran: Zahhāk

Ths story speaks of a boy who was born with little moral character and easily influenced by others. Persuaded by the whims of an evil magician, Zahhak kills his own father, and heads down a path of his own destruction. One day, the magician kisses Zahhaks on both shoulders, and out of them grew two snakes that feast on the brains of humans. If Zahhak did not feed them, the magician told him, the serpents would feast on his own brain.

The legend of Zahhak, who in later stories ends up taking the throne and slaughtering two men daily, is said to represent the way in which men dispossess themselves from their own homicidal lust. In essence, the devil on his shoulders is making him do things he otherwise wouldn’t.

5. Taiwan: Hoko Po, the Tigress Witch

This is an ancient fairytale of sorts, which speaks to the danger of letting those you don’t know into your home. Two daughters, left alone while their mother travels to a nearby village, let an old woman in their house late one night. The old woman, claiming to be their great aunty, lulls them to sleep and then begins to feast on the younger daughter. The older daughter, who wakes and catches her, is chased through the home and woods by the Tigress Witch, only to use trickery to the Witches’ ultimate demise.

The Tigress Witch story has a similar theme to fairytales told the world over. Such themes include the danger of those we don’t know, and the danger that an old woman without children presents (she hungers for them, but that hunger has turned to eating their flesh).

6. Argentina and Uruguay: Luz Mala

The legend of ‘bad light’ is popular in Northeastern Argentina and Uruguay. It is said that wispy streaks of light begin to appear hovering over the ground when the barrier between the spirit world and the human world is low. Often concurring with the driest months in the year, this light is said to be a bad omen, a manifestation of the devil, and a visible manifestation of spirits’ pain. Those who are said to have followed the light have found human remains at its source.

7. Arabia: The Ifrit

An Ifrit is an ancient Arabian myth of a demon-like creature that inhabits the Earth below ruins. On land they can take the shape of dogs or hyena, and often attempt to lure unsuspecting humans to their death. However, in their underground lairs they live much as humans do, with kings and societies and even marriage. Ifrits cannot be defeated in any sort of human battle, but magical conjuring can help undo the spells they place on humans.

The Ifrit is still feared in modern times, and indeed many believe Ifrits live below the pyramids of Egypt. In fact, going there at night is seen as taking a huge risk with your life.

8. Zimbabwe: Nyami Nyami, the Zambezi River God

The Nyami Nyami is said to have the head of a fish and the body of a snake. Responsible for all life in the Zambezi River, he can either bring bountiful harvests upon the people living on its shores, or destroy their crops. Often depicted as being fair and just, the Nyami Nyami was generous for many years, as he and his wife swam the great river.

However, when the Kariba Dam was built, it was said it separated Nyami Nyami from his wife forever, and he withdrew away from the human world. Multiple floods and deaths on the Zambezi since the dam’s construction have been blamed on the anger of this river god.

9. Native American Sioux: The Iktomi

The Iktomi (meaning spider) is a jokester and a trickster in many Sioux legends. He will cajole animals and humans alike into following his bidding, often ending in the subject of his trickery being made into a buffoon. While the qualities of the Iktomi are looked down upon in Sioux culture, he is used as a way to teach children of the consequences (i.e. humiliation) of not having sound moral character. However, Iktomi can turn occasionally, becoming a violent and dangerous character, and teaching the far more serious consequences of straying from cultural practices.

10. Australia: The Rainbow Serpent

The Rainbow Serpent Myths of Australia are as wide ranging as Aboriginal culture on the continent. In some stories, the serpent falls from the heavens, after creating the stars, and helps bring life to the land. In some stories the snake is a male, in others it is female.

However, one thing many stories have in common is that the snake is solitary and does not like being disturbed. In one telling, the Rainbow Serpent is so angry by the simple presence of a family around it, that it enters their hut at night and feasts on them. However, despite its somewhat cranky demeanor it is responsible for water supplies and therefore an incredibly important character in Australian deserts.


Mysteries of the kingdom of Shambhala

Sunday, March 18, 2012. Diposkan oleh everyday is mondaydi 12:18 PM

For thousands of years, there is a rumor circulating that somewhere in Tibet, among the snowyHimalayan peaks and secluded valleys, there is an untouched paradise, a kingdom where peace and universal policy that is indescribable. A kingdom calledShambhala.
James Hilton wrote about this mystical city in 1933 in his book "Lost Horizon". Hollywood and raised in the 1960 film production, "Shangri-la". Even the famous author James Redfield wrote The Celestine Prophecy is also writing a book called "The Secret of Shambhala: In Search of the Eleven Insight." The mysteriousShambhala is also regarded as a source for the Kalachakra, which is the highest branch of a mystical and esoteric in Tibet.

The legend of Shambhala has existed since thousands of years ago. We can find records of this kingdom in ancient texts such as the Kalachakra and Zhang Zhung that even existed before Buddhism entered Tibet.

Shambhala word comes from the Sanskrit word meaning "place of peace" or "Place of silence". This kingdom has a capital named Kalapa and ruled by the kings of the dynasty Kulika or Kalki. This is where living things are perfect and semi perfect meet and jointly guide the evolution of humanity. Only those who are pure in heart that can live in this place. There they will enjoy happiness and peace and will not even recognize the suffering.

It is said that in the kingdom, love and kebijakanlah ruling. Injustice never happened. Its people have a very deep spiritual knowledge and culture are based on law, art and knowledge are far higher than ever achieved by the attainment of the outside world.

Many adventurers and explorers have been trying to find this mystical kingdom. According to them, maybe Shambhala located in the mountainous region of Eurasia, hidden from the outside world. Some who do not believe that Shambhala find only a symbol, a liaison between the real world with a world that exists beyond. But, some others believe that Shambhala is a real world.

According to Zhang Zhung ancient text, Shambhalais identical to the Sutlej Valley in Himachal Pradesh.While the nation Mongolia identified it with certain valleys of southern Siberia.
Information about this kingdom up to the first western civilization by a Portuguese Catholic missionary named Estevao Cacella who heard this story from the locals. Then in 1833, a Hungarian scholar named Sandor Corrosion Csoma even provide the coordinates of Shambhala is believed to be between 45 'and 50' north latitude.

Interestingly, according to records of Alexandra David Neel who has spent most of his life in Tibet, Shambala was not only known in Tibet. Far in the north of Afghanistan, there is a small town called Balkh, an ancient town which is also known as the "mother of cities". Legend of the modern Afghan state that after the conquest by the Muslims, the city of Balkh is often referred to as a "wax up" or in Persian known as the "Sham-i-Bala". I do not know, we do not know for sure whether the city is connected with the mysterious Shambhala or not.

The legend of Shambhala then drew the attention of a follower of the esoteric and theosophy named Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947). In curiosity, he explored the Gobi desert to the mountains of Altai from 1923 until 1928. This trip took 15 500 miles and crossed the 35 highest mountain peaks in the world. But the tremendous effort it still can not find the kingdom.

Even the Nazis who are also highly related to the esoteric world of Shambhala search expedition ever sent in 1930, 1934 and 1938.However, none of them who managed to find it.Edwin Bernbaum writes in "The Way of Shambhala":


"While the explorers approached the kingdom, their journey becomes increasingly difficult to see. One of the Tibetan priest wrote that this event was intended to keep Shambhala from the barbarians who intend to master it."

What was written by Bernbaum is associated with a forecast of Shambhala. According to the prophecy, humanity will experience a degradation of ideology and humanity. Materialism will spread throughout the earth. When the "barbarians" are united under the command of a wicked king, then the fog that envelops the mountains of Shambhala will be lifted and the king's army with terrible weapons to attack the city.

Then the king of Shambhala to-25 named Rudra Cakrin will lead his troops to fight the Barbarian forces. In that battle, the evil king and his troops successfully destroyed and mankind will be restored to the peace.Some scholars such as Alex Berzin, using calculations from the Kalachakra Tantra, believed that these events will occur in the year 2424 AD.

As culture moves east to west, the myth of Shambhala rise from the mists of time. I think, a yearning for kedamaianlah which has caused the human race trying to find this utopian kingdom.Perhaps we will never find Shambhala, but perhaps also we need not look too far.

An ancient story of Tibet told that one day there was a young man preparing to search for Shambhala.After exploring the many mountains, he found a cave.Inside was an old hermit who then asked the young man: "Where are your goals so that you are willing to explore this deep snow?""To find Shambhala," replied the young man.

"Ah, you do not have to go far." Hermit said. "Behold the kingdom of Shambhala is in your own heart."Is there really a Shambhala in our hearts?

himalayas | Ancient Origins

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· by Lizabeth Paulat

· May 3, 2014