A myths, legends and folklore can be a traditional story which embodied a belief regarding some fact or phenomenon of experience, and in which often the forces of nature and of the soul were personified; a sacred narrative regarding a god, a hero, the origin of the world or of a people, etc. A myth with a degree of historical basis is called a legend. The search of mythical creatures is called cryptozoology.
Anomalies and mythology[]
Creatures which came through Anomalies into points in pre-21st century human history have influenced ancient human civilisations' myths, legends and folklore.
Shortly after Professor Nick Cutter first discovered the Anomaly phenomenon, he suggested that the "monsters and dragons" ancient civilisations had spoken of in their lore may have actually been creatures which had come through the Anomalies into said civilisations' time periods. (Episode 1.3) He later made a device to predict Anomalies based on their possible appearances when a mythological creature appeared in history. (Episode 3.1, 3.2, 3.3)
Known Anomaly-influenced mythology and folklore[]
- Ancient Egyptian Goddess Ammut - It was believed that when the Sun Cage Anomaly was originally open in Ancient Egypt, at least one Pristichampsus came through, and was worshipped by the Ancient Egyptians as the demon goddess Ammut. (Episode 3.1)
- Pacha Kamaq - Nick Cutter speculated that a Future Bird which escaped into the Pliocene would eventually become incorporated by the Incan civilisation into their mythology as the Incan god, Pacha Kamaq. (Shadow of the Jaguar)
- Dragon - When a Dracorex came through an Anomaly to Medieval London, it was suggested by some of the locals' inaccurate depictions of the creature as winged and fire-breathing that it may have inspired the British legends of dragons. (Episode 3.7)
- Sisiutl - It was believed that an underwater Anomaly in a bay in British Columbia was incorporated over the centuries into the local Native Americans' mythology as the water-moon portal to the spirit world, and a Titanoboa coming through it as the mythical Native American spirit Sisiutl. (Sisiutl)
- Spring-Heeled Jack - A Raptor came through an Anomaly to London some time around 1868. It went on a killing spree, killing Victorian Londoners and became known as the killer "Spring-Heeled Jack" though nobody knew that it was a dinosaur not a person. (Episode 5.2, 5.3)
- Witchfield Worm - At least one of the two Labyrinthodonts that had used an Anomaly to travel to Witchfield Cove apparently became the cryptid known as the Witchfield Worm through sightings. (Episode 4.5)
Depictions[]
Creatures[]
Mentioned myths and legends[]
- Chimera (Episode 3.1)
- Dragons (Episode 1.3)
- Hydra (Episode 3.1)
- Jersey Devil (Primeval Evolved)
- Kraken (Episode 3.1)
- Loch Ness Monster (Episode 1.1, Primeval Evolved Intro, Episode 3.2)
- Pegasus (Episode 3.1)
- Qilin (Episode 3.2)
- Yeti (Episode 3.1)
Trivia[]
- In Extinction Event, a female Tyrannosaurus rex which had come through an Anomaly to Russia an uncertain length of time before the events of the novel was referred to by the local Russians as Baba Yaga, due to its loose resemblance to Baba Yaga's chicken house in Russian folklore. Some fans have theorised that the female T. rex may have in fact influenced the mythology of Baba Yaga.