Need ideas for magical creatures in writing a fantasy novel? Or are you reading a fantasy novel or mythological story and don’t know what certain named magical creatures are? “The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures” by John and Caitlin Matthews is a great reference book to use.

Mankind has been imagining magical creatures for millenniums. While today’s genre tends to stick with the most common dragons, elves, fairies, and vampires, perhaps you can spice up your fantasy novel with something a little more exotic. Going through the magical creatures in the “The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures” gave me a bunch of great ideas.

I didn’t count the number of magical creatures referenced but there must be at least a thousand different ones. All the magical creatures you can imagine are listed from A-Z and range from the most obscure, such as kolowisis, to the most well-known, such as dragons. The magical creatures listed in “The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures” are from various cultures such as Greek, Mesopotamian, Mayan, Islamic, Zuni, and more. Some descriptions of magical creatures listed in “The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures” are as brief as two sentences while others are paragraphs or even pages long.

The magical creatures are listed A-Z. If you are just looking for ideas, you can simply browse the book. “The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures” talks about which cultures the magical creatures are from, what the magical creatures were known for, and gives a brief written description of what the magical creatures looked like. In most cases, however, there are no pictures of these magical creatures so you have to use your imagination.

If you are not writing a fantasy novel, at the very least “The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures” will help you will learn some interesting things about various magical creatures in mythology. But if you are writing a fantasy novel, going through “The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures” can churn some ideas and help you get over a block in your story. Check out “The Element Encyclopedia of Magical Creatures” at our Amazon.com a-Store – Reference Guides to Writing a Fantasy Novel.