Japanese folklore tells of Kamikiri, spirits which are notorious for cutting the hair of unsuspecting victims. Targeting mostly young women, the Kamikiri strike at night and lurk in dark alleys, bathrooms, and bedrooms. While it doesn’t sound all that traumatic today, hair in Edo-era Japan was a status symbol, so snipping it might have damaged a person’s reputation.

Jinni is translated from Arabic as “genie.” These are powerful spirits from Islamic (and pre-Islamic) folklore. As seen in the Disney film “Aladdin,” the magic of jinn can be used to human advantage, both for good and evil. However, jinn (the plural of jinni) tend to be invisible to the human eye, so finding one to do your bidding may prove difficult.

The caladrius is a common character in European medieval manuscripts. White like a swan and with great wings, the bird is often depicted flying to the beds of sick people, where it would predict their fate. If it turned away, the person would succumb to illness. If the caladrius kept its gaze on them, they would make a full recovery, and the caladrius would then fly away and take the illness with it.

The qilin — a gentle unicorn from Chinese mythology — usually makes an appearance when an illustrious ruler or sage is about to arrive (or, in some cases, pass away). According to ancient texts, the first qilin was said to appear around 3000 BCE. It notably appeared again in the sixth century BCE to the pregnant mother of Confucius, when it spat out a jade tablet that told her of the future greatness of her unborn child.

According to the Finnish epic poem “Kalevala,” Antero Vipunen is a magical giant who lives in the land of the dead and has the power to bestow charms upon those who seek him. However, he's usually asleep, so when the folklore hero Vainamoinen needed the giant's help, Vainamoinen had the dangerous task of climbing inside Antero Vipunen’s mouth to wake him up.

In the Melanesia region of southwest Oceania — particularly Solomon, Fiji, and Vanuatu — local legends say a giant eel called the Abaia lives at the bottom of freshwater lakes. It's usually harmless to humans, but the Abaia is very protective of the smaller creatures who share its living space. The giant eel can allegedly cause tsunamis and sink ships, but you'll be safe if you don't touch the surrounding fish.

The national airline of Indonesia, Garuda Indonesia Airlines, is named after Garuda — a bird-like demigod who transports Lord Vishnu in Hindu stories. When the airline was founded in 1949 and Indonesian politicians were discussing what to call it, the president at the time, Sukarno, recited a poem that mentioned Garuda "spread its wings high above the islands." The aviation-appropriate name was ultimately chosen.

Small and pretty yet mischievous and skittish, pixies come from Cornish folklore, from the Cornwall region of the United Kingdom. Pixies dress in green robes, and their favorite hobby is dancing to the croaks of frogs and crickets, as well as leading unwitting travelers and young women astray. They also like to blow out candles and make a nuisance around the house, so next time something goes wrong at home, pixies might be to blame.

Many mythical creatures have the power of flight, but perhaps most famous of all is Pegasus, a winged white horse. The rider of Pegasus was Bellerophon, who captured him with a magic harness. However, when he attempted to ride to heaven with Pegasus, Bellerophon was killed or injured, while the mystical creature became a gorgeous constellation.

The medieval literature of Persia describes a curious creature called a manticore, which shoots poisonous darts out of its scorpion-like tail. It also has a lion’s body and a man’s head, adding to the zoological mix. The darts could kill most creatures, allowing the manticore to feed on whatever wished — except elephants, which are the fearsome manticore’s one weakness.

Many animals on national emblems are unusual — think lions, dragons, and even porcupines — but Scotland’s is particularly quirky. A white unicorn, which frequently symbolizes purity, is emblazoned across buildings, flags, and official documents in Scotland. You’ll even see it on the royal family’s Coat of Arms, where it stands opposite the lion of England.

As half-beings go, the Grootslang is quite intimidating. The water creature said to inhabit the lakes and caves of South Africa has the body of an elephant and the tail of a vicious serpent. Legends say it has the power to destroy the world, so to prevent this, the gods banished it to a cave to guard a stash of diamonds.

Cats aren’t always cute and cuddly — in Iceland, people say that children who don’t get new socks at Christmas will be eaten by the Yule Cat, a giant feline predator who stalks the streets on Christmas Eve. But kids don’t just get given the socks; they have to earn them throughout the year with good behavior.

The Golem is a creature of Jewish folklore that was molded out of clay by a rabbi, then tasked with protecting the streets of Prague’s former Jewish ghetto. It dutifully did so, until one day the rabbi forgot to send it to rest for the Sabbath, so the Golem went raging through the streets. It was swiftly destroyed by its creator, but lives on in Prague’s oral traditions.

Half-human and half-bull, the Minotaur was a frightening creature of ancient Greek legend said to inhabit a labyrinth below the palace of King Minos in Crete. As the center of Minoan civilization during the Bronze Age, the palace of Knossos was the setting for the Minotaur’s dark home. The legend could have stemmed from the palace’s maze-like design or the roars from ancient earthquakes, as the palace stands on an earthquake hotspot.

Otherwise known as the “Abominable Snowman,” the yeti is a white Bigfoot-type creature that allegedly roams the Himalayas between Nepal and Tibet. The elusive creature is said to grow as tall as 20 feet, and its footprints are often “spotted” in the snow. One monastery in Nepal even claims to have a yeti scalp in its collection, but the relic was later shown to be made from goat hide.

When King Arthur was mortally wounded at his final battle with his arch nemesis Mordred, British stories say he was taken to a mythical island called Avalon to heal from his wounds. Many associate the fictional Avalon with the actual Glastonbury Tor in southern England, a cone-shaped hill and former island where a 14th-century tower looks out over the landscape.

Baba Yaga is a crone-like spirit who dwells deep in the woods of Eastern Europe. Depending on the tale, she can be good or bad, but it’s usually agreed that she flies around in a mortar, which she steers and propels using an accompanying pestle. She’s also depicted as having the legs of a chicken, so perhaps this unusual mode of transport makes it faster for her to get around.

In Irish folklore, leprechauns are male fairies who live at the end of a rainbow and diligently guard a pot of gold. If you find the end of the rainbow, the leprechaun is more than happy to give you his treasure — but only if you can succeed in fulfilling his (usually impossible) condition. The trickster leprechaun always keeps the gold, and the unwitting human walks away empty-handed.

The legendary Loch Ness monster — a giant amphibian that supposedly lives below the surface of Loch Ness, a freshwater lake in the Scottish Highlands — is known affectionately by locals as Nessie. Although most scientists dismiss the alleged sightings of Nessie as hoaxes or cases of mistaken identity, that doesn’t stop the monster’s fandom from growing — there’s even a Nessie amusement park.