The Witcher is Netflix’s show in which one of its main protagonists, Geralt of Rivia, played by Henry Cavill, earns a living by hunting mythological beasts that inhabit his world. What better way to make yourself an expert of The Witcher than to know about these folkloric creatures?
From dragons to kikimoras, here’s a guide of the monsters that have appeared on Netflix’s series. Remember to toss a coin to your Witcher!
Warning: There might be some spoilers of Season 1 and 2.
Kikimora
This terrifying monster appears in the first episode, “The End’s Beginning”, fighting against Geralt. In the series, the kikimora is shown as a type of giant spider with sharp claws. Though this portrayal is actually different from the monster’s origin: Slavic mythology.
According to folklore, kikimoras tend to be dangerous female spirits that haunt houses and bear the deceased face. Meanwhile, in Russian myths, the kikimora lives in swaps, just like in The Witcher, that sometimes invades households by entering through keyholes.
In Ronesa Aveela’s book, A Study of Household Spirits of Eastern Europe, it is mentioned that one of the many meanings of the monster’s name is “a spirit that has a relationship with other creatures that personify disease or death”.
I think that the people from Blacken should have been more grateful to our dear Witcher when he killed this thing!
Sylvan
In “Four Marks”, we see Geralt alongside Jaskier searching for a “devil” that has been stealing from the people’s grains. Instead, they find a sylvan named Tourque who was actually gathering food and supplies for the banished elves led by their king, Filavandrel.
This mythological being is half-human, half-goat (having its horn, legs, and ears). In Greek mythology, the sylvan is known as Pan, a worshipped deity known as the merry god of the shepherds, and Hermes’s son. The Sylvan’s Roman equivalent would be the Faunus.
In the end, the sylvan Torque was just trying to help another segregated species to survive.
Striga
The striga, or strzyga, is perhaps one of the most menacing monsters that our Witcher has faced off so far, although it turned out to be a cursed girl. The reason as to why this monster earned this title was the fact that it had already murdered another Witcher by ripping his eyes and eating his heart and liver.
This creature comes from Slavic mythology, in which the striga is mentioned as a female demon, sometimes identified as two demonic beings, with similar features to a vampire: It has a lust for human blood, possesses sharp claws, and hunts at night.
The striga has also appeared in other Eastern folklores, such as the Polish and Silesian. In the show, the striga was born from a curse inflicted upon princess Audda, king Foltest’s brother and lover, who could regain its human form if it kept away from its grave until dawn. Not an easy task for Geralt.
Magical assassin’s monster
Despite not knowing the accurate inspiration of this monster, it still played the part of a ferocious monster by hunting down Queen Kalis and her baby, both of whom were being escorted by Yennefer.
This insect-like beast managed to slaughter the royal guards, who were accompanying Yennefer and the queen, with its knife-style legs.
Djinn
In the episode “Bottle Appetites”, Geralt meets Yennefer for the first time. The cause of their encounter happens to be the Djinn, a spirit that grants three wishes if captured. This creature is similar to a genie, a Middle Eastern myth.
However, the Djinn is not as friendly as the ones we’ve seen in other media. According to Arabic mythology, they are creatures made out of smoke blessed with supernatural powers that can choose between good or evil. A Djinn is able to possess human beings, just like how it did with Yennefer.
Doppler
In the same episode of the Djin, another monster is shown: a doppler. This creature has the ability to shapeshift and acquire all the memories of the person imitated by the creature. In the show, the doppler usually kills those whose identity he stole, like Mousesack, a magician who was an old friend of Geralt and mentor of Ciri.
This monster’s origin can be tracked down to Ancient Egypt, where they named it Ka, a spirit that mislead people by adopting a human’s memories and feelings. A bit creepy to think that the Doppler likes to replace you if you ask me.
Basilisk
To spot this monster, you have to observe the first minutes of season 1’s sixth episode. Geralt throws the head of a beast that he killed for a pair of men that were about to scam him. Yet, they never mentioned what it was.
Both the books and the series’s showrunner, Lauren Schmidt, managed to solve the mystery by identifying the beheaded monster as a Basilisk. Yes, the famous reptile creature whose venomous breath and piercing gaze could easily end many lives. A pity we didn’t get to see how Geralt defeated this fearsome being.
Hirikka
The second creature to appear in the sixth episode, the Hirikka seemed like a kindly being to Jaskier because of its big eyes, similar to the ones of a deer. Yet, once it stood at its full height, it suddenly seemed a bit more dangerous. However, Geralt pointed out that the Hirikka was actually harmless and was probably “just starving”. Too bad that Yennefer’s knight disagreed with the Witcher’s knowledge.
In the Witcher’s universe, this forest creature is a rare species since the humans have been in charge of slaying the Hirikkas. In this case, this monster was an original creation of Andrzej Sapkowski, the author of The Witcher’s book saga.
Dragon
Out of the tree monsters that are shown in “Rare Species”, the dragon was definitely the one who stood out. One of the most popular mythological beings, the powerful dragon that appeared in The Witcher was not our typical menacing flying beast. Rather, the wise Villentretenmerth who’s alter ego, Borch Three Jackdaws, sought Geralt in order to protect an orphaned dragon egg.
Like the Hirikka, the dragons have been an endangered species. So much so that there have been Witchers, like Geralt of Rivia, who have even protected them from humans’ threats.
Ghoul or Undead
During his search for Ciri, Geralt defends a merchant from undead monsters that rise from the ground once they are drawn by the scent of the slaughtered Cintrian refugees. The ghoul has a lethal bite that, if not treated immediately, its victim will become one of them (like the zombies).
These undead creatures drew some inspiration from Arabian and Mesopotamian cultures, a corrupted beings who act on behalf of evil deities to revenge upon humankind. They prowled for travelers, and one had to kill the ghouls in one stroke; otherwise, they would come back for you.
Bruxa
One of the upcoming monsters in The Witcher’s season 2 is the Bruxa, a dangerous vampire class. The bursa, or bruxae, is a powerful beast that tends to pass as a beautiful dark-haired woman. Yet, its true form is a giant alabaster hybrid with bat features, such as its wings, elongated gangs, and sharp claws. And as if that weren’t enough, the burxa also have a piercing scream and are only affected by silver swords.
This high-ranked vampire tends to be a challenging opponent for experienced Witchers. In this case, Henry Cavill’s Geralt will face off the alluring Vereena, played by Agnes Born.
Leshy
In the trailer, we see Geralt and Ciri confront a Leshy, also known as Leshen. This monster became popular throughout the video games of The Witcher, highly-intelligent beings that protect the forests immune to metal weapons. However, this giant monster has also been described as a thing that “lives only to kill”. They’re able to control other plants as well as animals, hunt in the woodlands, and can even turn into smoke.
The Crones or Baba Yaga
There’s speculation that the haunted house shown in the trailer is actually a reference to The Crones, inspired by Baba Yaga, the witch in Eastern European folklore who often traveled in a hut on giant fowl’s legs.
In The Witcher’s universe, The Crones are three horrifying creatures that reside in the dangerous forest. The Crones can take on the appearance of beautiful women to trick unsuspecting travelers.
Viy of Maribor
During a clip, we see Geralt of Rivia fighting a gigantic Viy of Maribor. This monster is an enormous centipede or myriapodan. This beast is mentioned in magical books of The Witcher’s universe as “a terrifying beast that belongs to the insectoid class”.
The Viy is feared by many for, according to the games, it has been known that this creature defeated Alzur, a powerful magician, and destroyed half a city. Let’s hope that our Witcher’s fate will not end at the paws of this monstrous centipede.
Cursed man
I left this one at the last since there has been a debate on whether it should be considered as a monster. On one side, Witchers don’t classify the cursed man, such as Duny (Ciri’s father) and Nivellen, as a beast. Like Geralt once said about Duny, “this is no monster, this knight has been cursed”.
Yet, others have destined the cursed man as a type of monster due to its physical appearance. For instance, in the books, the local people told stories about “Fanger, a beast that lived in its secluded manor”, a.k.a. Nivellen.
