Underworld creatures that aren't demons?

[Wiciran]

I'm doing some writing and I have my own underworld setting, if you will. Of course there are the natural monsters you see in everyday underworlds and dungeons, but I haven't found many other creatures in mythology that could be incorporated. Are there any creatures that aren't necessarily demons or hell spawns? I'm looking for some creatures that might be portrayed as perhaps angelic. Of course, I'm also interested in other types of evil creatures, just on a different level. Something that isn't just there to kill, kill, and kill.

 

[wordwalker]

Look at the Greek system, where most of the Hades realm isn't so bad, and some is a paradise. A lot of classical systems are like that; they don't give good and evil souls whole separate dimensions and rulers.

Of course, "demon" or "hell spawn" is as much a functional term as anything else, for any afterlife creature that's "just there to kill" or otherwise make trouble. You can draw distinctions within that clump (like D&D does, splitting demons and devils), or place other things that skirt qualifying for it but don't quite, or anything else you want.

 

[Lvl20wizard]

In Scandinavian folklore there are some creatures called "Underdwellers" (bad translation). They are a bit like creepy gnomes or small folk that come out at night with the fog. They also have a nasty habit of kidnapping people (especially children) and bring them down below the roots to their underworld, from where they never return.

 

[thecoldembrace]

We traditionally attribute things that live below the surface as being far more savage than creatures and beings of the light. This does not mean all are demonic but the environment would probably breed rather savage monsters intent on kill..kill..kill

However, you might want to do some reading up on traditional fey folklore. You might be able to use the mischievous in place of the cruel.

 

[Addison]

I'm not sure what exactly you have in mind as your own definition of an Underworld/ H-e-double hockey stick. But as, in my world, creatures are arranged by depth and power. The real evil creatures are pretty deep, between the depths and the surface is the world of creatures that are more trouble making than anything else. I have Imps, Goblins, Trolls, Ogres and such, I call them the Nether-Breed. I don't know why exactly, it just popped into my head.

My advice is to look at every mythology, or at least the ones that you think associate better with your world, and look at ALL the creatures in those mythologies. Another idea, which I use, is to find a person who is a human picture of the beast/demon and build it around the person. It's great for creativity and as a mode of therapy.

Happy Writing!

 

[psychotick]

Hi,

Hell hounds, or the Greek equivalent - Cerberus. (You might want to make that cerberi as a plural).

Cheers, Greg.

 

[JoiceArcher]

In some Chinese cultures you will also find different categories of ghosts and spirits, some of them are good, some bad and others simply lost, depending on how they died and how they were as a person when living.

 

[Kathryn M Hearst]

Almost all of the Creation Myths since Babylonia have some sort of gods or demigods that either dwell in or rule the underworld. Try going waaay back and see if there are any ancients that might be lurking about.

 

[phantommuseums]

In Islam, there's a type of entity known as the "jin" or in the West we're used to the term "genie". The Quran says that the jinn are made of a smokeless and "scorching fire", but are also physical in nature, being able to interfere physically with people and objects and likewise be acted upon.

 

[phantommuseums]

Oh, and also, the jin can be good, bad, or neutral. They have free will like humans. They're not spirits of the living that have died, they are spirits that have never lived. Scholars believe that the jinn account for much of the "magic" perceived by humans, cooperating with magicians to lift items in the air unseen, delivering hidden truths to fortune tellers, and mimicking the voices of deceased humans during seances. They tend to be darkly playful, enjoy to manipulate rather than to simply kill.

 

[stephenspower]

CHUD.

Need 9 more words: CHUD CHUD CHUD CHUD CHUD.