A yearly tradition of mine is to draw a batch of monsters for each day leading up to Halloween. It started off with just the classic spooks, but has since gone on to cover everything from mythological beasts to literary nightmares to unsung creepy things I think deserve more attention.
Halloween '23
Beastmaster
While adept at controlling most animals, the Beastmaster prefers to work with parasites. A hunting animal or a beast of burden has its uses, of course, but ultimately they're just one creature. A nasty little parasite, though, can influence entire species, whole ecosystems even.
.... it's taken a lot out of the Beastmaster, though.
... was actually a jar. More importantly it was to remain closed. But the poor girl's curiosity got the better of her, and now all of its cursed contents have been spilled across the globe — save for hope. Whether that last one was a virtue or a vice is a matter of debate. A debate that could be ended by looking in the jar, but nobody would be dumb enough to do that again. Not even just a quick little peek. Not even while prepared for something to leap out. Definitely not even when the world could use a little hope anyways...
Cursed with useless inward-curving horns, the bonnacon protects itself using its other end. This defensive defecation won't just burn your nostrils, it'll torch half the countryside! Not even the bonnacon itself is immune to its own offensive effluence, as it vacates the area as it vacates its bowels. Which naturally just makes the mess far worse.
Makes a damn fine fertilizer, though. When it all stops burning, at least.
An Australian boogeyman that preys on naughty children that wander away from home, or more specifically wander under its fig tree. The Yara-Ma-Yha-Who drains its victim's blood via the suckers on its fingers and toes, then swallows them whole... but it stops short of actually killing the poor tyke. Instead, after a short nap, the Yara-Ma-Yha-Who spits the kid back up, unharmed but a little hairier, a little redder, a little more bogey-like. Any youngster foolish enough to get eaten three times becomes a Yara-Ma-Yha-Who themself!
One can avoid such a terrible fate by simply playing dead until the Yara-Ma-Yha-Who falls asleep at sunset, all the while ignoring its jabs and prods. But of course then you'll return home after dark to very upset parents...
Living off the coasts of Alaska, the amikuk preys on humans by capsizing their kayaks. Any victim that manages to escape back to shore will be dismayed to find the amikuk can swim through land too, liquifying the ground to trap its mark. Even worse, the amphibious arctic atrocity can swim through the human body, draining them of vitality until they finally die.
"BE NOT AFRAID." Wheelahim has long wondered why the humans always needed to be prepared for an angelic visit. He had assumed it was because the divine message was often drastically life-altering, but it has become apparent that it is the messengers themselves that are frightening the little meatbags. How curious. Wheelahim is convinced this phobia can be allayed with some good old fashioned exposure therapy, so he will occasionally "forget" the traditional warning, unfurl his secondary wings to appear more relaxed (and let out the glorious heavenly light), and share fun facts about baby animals instead of the usual grand proclamations. He has not had much success...
Tasked with devouring sinners and unleashing demons, the hellmouth would rather keep its mouth closed (damnation tastes terrible). It does however enjoy burrowing up from hell to the surface world (dirt tastes wonderful!), although its sense of direction is less than stellar. Since when does Kansas have an ocean???
