10 Freaky One-Eyed Creatures In Mythology

Eye for an eye? Apparently, one-eyed monsters were the rage in mythic tales of yore. Like Michael "Mike" Wazowski's character from Pixar's Monsters University or Stuart the one-eyed Minion from Despicable Me, not all of these folklore oddities were evil hell raisers. In fact, the Hitotsume-kozō from Japanese folklore are more annoying than scary. These mischievous obake monsters from Eastern Japan pop up in dark alleys wearing Buddhist-monk gear and scare passersby with unabashed creepiness. Yep, they're more of a one-eyed peeping Tom and less of a man-eating cyclops. Here's a list of 10 one-eyed creatures pulled from the “cyclopedia” of cultures from all over the world:

1. Balor from Ireland:

Known as “Baylor of the Evil Eye,” this Irish god became a mutant of sorts after a druid potion blinded him. He had one eye on his forehead and one at the back of his head which allowed him to see his enemies approach from behind. Apparently, his lazy eye wasn't working when his grandson came for a visit. He was always on guard, trying to combat a prophetic vision that he would eventually be murdered by his grandson. No luck. Balor, who cold-heartedly tossed his triplet sons birthed by the druid priestess Birog into the ocean to avoid the prophecy, was murdered by his surviving son's child Lugh, the god of light, who attacked his grandad with a slingshot and literally shooting his eye out. When Baylor fell to his death, his so-called evil eye burned a hole in the ground and this mythic battle resulted in a body of water known as the “Lake of the Eye” near Geevagh, Ireland. And, yes, Baylor was a giant which makes this tale sound oddly similar to the David and Goliath myth.

2. Cyclops from Greece:

Via theoi.com

We've all heard of the larger-than-life Cyclopes from Greek mythology. This monstrous clan of one-eyed giants wreaked havoc on heroes like Odysseus and, in the case of Polyphemus, turned psycho when the object of his affection, a sweet nymph known as Galatea, rejected him for a more size-appropriate brute, Acis. The Cyclops leader cast an evil eye on his competition and slammed the boy against a jagged rock. According to mythology, the blood oozing from the young lad eventually became a stream in Greece to honor the fallen Acis. Of course, Odysseus eventually tamed the mythical monster by offering him wine, getting him sloshed and then stabbing him in the eye. Odysseus and his crew managed to escape the blinded beast's rage but it turns out that the Cyclops is Poseidon's bastard love child. So, Odysseus is cursed by the god of the sea. And the giant tossed a large rock which barely misses the Ithakans' ship.

3. Graeae from Greece:

Via wordpress.com

Not to leave the ladies out of our sordid list of one-eyed creatures, the toilsome threesome of swan-bred witches from Greek mythology shared one good eye and only one tooth. In fact, they would pass it to each other like a game of hot potato. Revisited in the 1981 flick “Clash of the Titans,” this unholy trinity of Stygian sisters were known as Deino, Pemphredo and Enyo or “dread, alarm and horror.” The “grey sisters” made a cameo appearance in the Perseus myth when he approached the ladies for the lowdown on how to kill Medusa. He snatched the trio's eye and promised to return it if they snitched on the Gorgon troublemaker. They spilled. But Perseus didn't reciprocate. He ended up throwing their eye into lake Triton.

4. Hogni from Hungary:

Via germanicmythology.com

In two accounts, this Burgundian warrior is said to have one eye. He survives the fall of the Niblungs with his half-brother, King Gunnar. In one retelling, Hogni knows where the Niblung treasure is hidden and refuses to give up the secret stash to protect his brother from Atli, the king of the Huns. In other stories, it's Gunnar who survives and the one-eyed Hogni is killed and his heart ripped out, literally, and shown to Gunnar who still refused to give the whereabouts of the treasure. Gunnar is pushed into a snake pit by Atli's posse and is devoured by the venomous creatures.

5. Hitotsume-kozō from Japan:

Via pgannon.com

Translated as “one-eyed priest boy,” the Hitotsume-kozō sport an enormous eye in the center of their forehead and are known to have a long, red tongue, a shaved head and have a closet full of Buddhist-style robes. They surprise people in the wee hours of the night by jumping out, usually in dark alleys, and spooking them. According to lore, these one-eyed goblins scour the countryside on December 8 and keep a ledger of who has been naughty or nice in Eastern Japan. To avoid bad luck in the coming year, Japanese villagers burn makeshift shrines for these little troublemakers in hopes of destroying the ledgers slotted for delivery to the god of pestilence.

6. Jian from China:

Via inkdancechinesepaintings.com

This one-eyed, one-wing bird from Chinese mythology can't achieve greatness until she is teamed with another bird with the same condition. The Jian is frequently used as a symbol of marriage in Chinese culture and this epic, co-dependent relationship represents the inseparable union of husband and wife.

7. Odin from Norse mythology:

Via eric-tesol.com

Unlike a majority of his one-eyed brethren, Norse god Odin wasn't born that way. In fact, the father of thunder god Thor gouged his eye out for a coveted sip from Mimir's well of wisdom. According to lore, Odin approached the guardian of the Well of Urd with a simple request to imbibe the waters of cosmic knowledge. The price? He had to pluck out his eye and toss it into the well as payment for a shot of wisdom. Of course, Odin was no stranger to sacrifice. He fasted for nine long days and hanged himself on the world tree while gouging himself with his trusty spear crafted by dwarfs called Gunghir to discover the magic of the ancient Runes. Of course, Odin's sacrifices fueled ritualistic sacrifices every nine years in pagan Sweden where male slaves were hanged on trees at the Temple of Uppsala to combat famine and pestilence.

8. Ka'bandha from India:

Via upload.wikimedia.org

This ancient Hindu “headless torso” creature was a larger-than-life monster who was apparently as big as a mountain, covered with hair, a stomach full of teeth and boasting one ginormous eye in the center of his chest. Apparently, this monstrous creature who was featured in the epic “Ramayana” had a back story. He got in a messy spat with Indra, the king of the gods, who turned him into a hideous beast. In the epic Hindu story, the demon begged Rama and his brother Laxmana, who shot arrows at the creature and cut off his arms, to end his miserable life. When Ka'bandha's body was burned, the curse was reversed and a beautiful Gandharva, or“celestial musician,” emerged. The metamorphosed creature proceeded to help Rama find his kidnapped wife Sita.

9. Psoglav from Serbia:

Via minimalisti.com

This demonic Serbian monster was half man, half dog and camped out in the caves of Bosnia and Montenegro. He had one eye, which is apparently his left eye, horse legs and iron teeth and was known to die-hard cannibal, feasting on unsuspecting people who ventured into the Serbian countryside and he even used his Freddy Krueger-style claws to dig out human corpses buried six feet under. Yep, the Slavic beast would devour human flesh for dinner. Psoglav stayed away from sunlight and is believed to be a precursor to various other modern-day monsters, like werewolves and vampires. He's also considered a ghoul, or gravedigger, because of his alarming proclivity to dig for skeletal remains.

10. Tepegoz from Turkey:

Via fc03.deviantart.net

In the Turkish epic called the Book of Dede Korut, the Tepegoz is half man, half lion and is raised by Bayandur Khan who takes the one-eyed lion boy into his home. Not a good idea. Tepegoz bites of a neighborhood kid's nose and ear. The lion monster is banished from the village and eventually becomes an unstoppable force, destroying legions of Oghuz people. He rips apart everything in his path except for his his half-brother, Basat, who kills the monster by striking him in the eye. Basat continues the brutality against his savage half-brother by decapitating his head with a magical sword.