In this lens, I will highlight 4 mythical creatures of personal interest, namely the Orochi, the Phoenix, werewolves and mermaids.

1) Orochi
Not a very well-known legendary beast outside of Japan, where the legend originated from.
However, the appearance of the Orochi isn't new to us. We have seen similar (but not exact) manifestations in Greek legends (the Hydra).

Basically, the Orochi is a snake-like creature in Japanese mythology, with eight heads and eight tails. It is the size of several valleys and devours virgins sacrificed to it.
This monster was killed by the exiled god Susanoo, who tricked the monster into drinking eight vats of wine, each for one head. Orochi was killed during its drunken state. The legendary Japanese sword Kusanagi was found in one of Orochi's tails.

2) Phoenix

The phoenix is a mythical bird, usually portrayed as gold in color, and in some variations, its body is covered with flames.
The phoenix is usually depicted as looking similar to a peacock, but with a curvier and sleeker body, much larger wings relative to its body size, and a tail which is more streamlined.

When the phoenix reaches its life cycle, it flies back to its nest, ignites the nest and dies.
Out of the flames, the phoenix is reborn again and thus starts a new cycle. This is why it has been said that the phoenix is immortal.

In Chinese legends, the equivalent of the phoenix is the "Feng Huang".
However, the phoenix must not be confused with the Vermilion Bird of the South (Zhu Que; another legendary creature in Chinese legendary and constellation).

3) Werewolf

Werewolves are people with the ability to shapeshift into a wolflike creature, most commonly under the influence of a full moon.
Ever since the early centuries, tales of werewolves have been recorded but none was truly ever captured for scientific dissection.

Legends has it that people drink water out of a wolf's footprint to morph into one, or rub magical lotion onto their bodies.
Werewolves are scared of silver objects, mainly silver swords or bullets.

4) Mermaids

The mermaid is a legendary sea creature with the upper body of a woman and the tail of a fish.

Mermaids in some legends have been said to enchant sailors by singing beautiful songs, thus distracting them from their work and causing them to walk off the deck, taking them down the sea into their underwater kingdoms.

In modern times, mermaids are said to be tales conjured up by bored sailors at sea, and theories have also been put forward which suggest that the "mermaids" are actually manatees and dugongs.