Halloween is almost upon us, so there's not long left if you're trying to come up with a costume design. If you're looking for something a bit different from a boring witch or skeleton getup, you might be able to find inspiration from this frightfully handy world map of monsters.
Around the world, folk mythology has created a rich cast of spine-chilling bogeyman. They may look very different and have different stories, but they often serve the same purpose: to terrify children into behaving well. Now someone's helpfully put dozens of them on an illustrated world map for us to peruse (see our pick of the best free Halloween fonts for more spooky inspiration).
A tribute to 'every country's bogeyman' (Image credit: TheToyZone)
TheToyZone says it trawled through books and articles to uncover the most unique examples of local monsters from around the world. The team then made a series of illustrated maps to showcase the spookiest creatures from each country. Its calling the map an illustrated tribute to every country’s version of the bogeyman.
As well as choosing national bogeymen, it also dug into regional folklore. so we have the Jersey Devil with a horse’s head and bat’s wings in North America and the blue-faced witch Black Annis in Leicestershire, England. Some of the monsters are connected to local landscapes, so Ecuador has Kuartam, a treefrog that deals with bullies by transforming into a tiger.
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Swipe through the maps of each regions(Image credit: TheToyZone)
North America's favourite bogeymen(Image credit: TheToyZone)
Some of the monsters from the Middle East and Central Asia(Image credit: TheToyZone)
Cambodia's ahp is terrifying(Image credit: TheToyZone)
The Ninki Nanka is a reptilian reptilian swamp creature(Image credit: TheToyZone)
Europe is home to a cast of witches(Image credit: TheToyZone)
Several of the terrifying “local childhood law enforcers” use bags for carrying children away, from Canada's Seven O’Clock Man to Spain's rather simply named "Man with a Sack". But some cultures developed particularly distinct monsters.
Algeria's H'awouahoua is a bogeyman figure composed of animal parts with flaming spittle for eyes, and the Nasnās, which haunt Yemen and other areas in the gulf region have “only one eye, one cheek, one hand, one leg, half a torso and half a heart.” They have to hop to get around. And incredibly, that's not the most gruesome creature on the map. That accolade has to go to the ahp from Cambodia, a cannibalistic floating female head that trails its internal organs behind it.
For more Halloween inspiration, take a look at the best October art challenges. We've also seen people using AI image generators to try to make retro monsters scary again.
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Joe is a regular freelance journalist and editor at Creative Bloq. He writes news, features and buying guides and keeps track of the best equipment and software for creatives, from video editing programs to monitors and accessories. A veteran news writer and photographer, he now works as a project manager at the London and Buenos Aires-based design, production and branding agency Hermana Creatives. There he manages a team of designers, photographers and video editors who specialise in producing visual content and design assets for the hospitality sector. He also dances Argentine tango.
