In How to Write a Unique Spooky Story, I wrote about how to write a unique spooky story by either creating your own monster, creature, or horror yourself or by finding a monster that is not well known. I advised finding a monster by researching myths and legends in other cultures to discover something that has a rich history surrounding it, but that is not considered modern. One of the countries that have some unique and old monsters is Afghanistan. Afghanistan has a unique view that is different from most countries in regards to monsters as many in the country still hold true belief in the existence of such monsters. Yet, they are also known for not having the plethora of monster legends and myths that some countries do. Is this because Afghanistan monsters really did used to exist and do exist or does their culture just keep the myths to a minimum?

Giants

While most people view giants as a mythological tale, Afghan culture actually believes in the existence of such creatures. There is a grave marker that is 20 meters (65 feet long), that is supposedly the grave of a real giant. An article from Marking Time Living War had a police officer talking about giants that had died out about eighty years ago that were twenty to thirty meters tall. Many of the current residents of Afghanistan were told of giants by their grandparents or great-grandparents, who saw giants with their own eyes (Marking Time Living War, 2013). The fact that so many people do, in fact, believe that giants were real has created a large pool of legends about the creatures for a writer to draw from. However, if the story is going to be written with the intent of being read by an Afghan audience, then be careful to either clearly label the story as fiction or take care not to give offense.

Djinn

There are multiple sub types of the mythical species known as Djinn, which range from malevolent to benevolent. There have been myths surrounding Djinn in Afghanistan that paint the creatures as having monstrous red eyes, the body of a man, but with the edges of its figure being smoky in nature. The creatures often take delight in scaring those that trespass into its territory, but the encounters often remain non violent unless the creature is provoked by violence. If provoked, these creatures will kill their intended victim in horrible, painful ways. The method and type of the kill can vary from Djinn to Djinn as each creature has its own preferred kill method for those who provoke its ire. Unlike most Djinn legends which occurred hundreds if not thousands of years ago, there are supposed sightings of Djinn in present day Afghanistan.

Ghosts and Spirits

Afghanistan has many legends and myths that refer to spirits and ghosts and yet most of these stories involve simple hauntings that were caused by a dead person having unfinished business or wanting vengeance on those that caused their death. Afghanistan’s myths are rather lacking when it comes to famous or well-known ghosts.