These monster trivia questions are about legendary creatures, in four rounds: sea monsters and lake legends, dragons and the beasts of the bestiaries, cryptids and modern legends, and the real animals and words behind them.
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Four rounds for a cryptid night
Sea monsters and lake legends runs from the kraken to Nessie, Champ and Ogopogo. Dragons and the beasts of the bestiaries sorts the griffin from the wyvern and the basilisk from the cockatrice. Cryptids and modern legends dates the reports: 1921, 1951, 1958, 1967. Real animals and monster words shows what was found in the end: a giant squid, a basking shark, a mass of whale blubber.
Quiz a table or yourself
Tap a choice to check it; the reason and the page it was read on appear with the answer. Scored round asks 20 before it marks any. Team scores go on paper.
Tips
Every legend is asked as a legend: what the creature is said to be and which hoaxes were admitted.
Questions and answers
What are some easy monster trivia questions?
Which animals make up a griffin? By which nickname is the Loch Ness Monster known? What does chupacabra literally mean? The answers are a lion and an eagle, Nessie and goat-sucker.
What is a cryptid?
A creature whose present existence is disputed or not backed by science, such as the Yeti. Cryptozoology was founded in the 1950s by the zoologists Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan T. Sanderson.
When did the Loch Ness Monster become famous?
In 1933, when it was brought to worldwide attention. The scientific community explains the sightings as hoaxes, wishful thinking and mistakes about known animals and objects.
How were the answers checked?
Each was read on October 3, 2026 in the Wikipedia article linked under it. Gods, heroes, witches, vampires and werewolves are left out, and no film, game or toy is named.
By which fond nickname is the Loch Ness Monster known?Answer: Nessie. Source: Wikipedia: Loch Ness Monster
Champ is a lake monster of American folklore. In which lake is it said to live?Answer: Lake Champlain. Source: Wikipedia: Champ (folklore)
The Fiji mermaid was shown to crowds as a marvel. What was it made of?Answer: Part of a monkey joined to part of a fish. Source: Wikipedia: Fiji mermaid
The first description of the kraken is usually credited to a Danish bishop writing in 1753. Who was he?Answer: Pontoppidan. Source: Wikipedia: Kraken
How does the scientific community explain reported sightings of the Loch Ness Monster?Answer: As hoaxes, wishful thinking and mistakes about known animals and objects. Source: Wikipedia: Loch Ness Monster
In August 1817 people began to report a sea serpent off which New England port?Answer: Gloucester. Source: Wikipedia: Gloucester sea serpent
In Swedish folklore a lake monster is said to live in the lake Storsjön. What does its name, Storsjöodjuret, literally mean?Answer: The Great-Lake Monster. Source: Wikipedia: Storsjöodjuret
In the folklore of the British Isles, which animal shape does the kelpie take?Answer: A horse. Source: Wikipedia: Kelpie
In the medieval bestiaries the aspidochelone was a giant sea creature, described as a large whale or as which other animal?Answer: A vast sea turtle. Source: Wikipedia: Aspidochelone
In which year was the Loch Ness Monster brought to worldwide attention?Answer: 1933. Source: Wikipedia: Loch Ness Monster
The kraken of legend is said to appear in the sea off which country?Answer: Norway. Source: Wikipedia: Kraken
The nuckelavee is a sea creature of Orkney folklore. What does its name mean, according to a 19th-century folklorist of the islands?Answer: Devil of the Sea. Source: Wikipedia: Nuckelavee
Ogopogo is a lake monster of Canadian folklore. In which province is its lake?Answer: British Columbia. Source: Wikipedia: Ogopogo
Which showman exhibited the Fiji mermaid in New York in 1842?Answer: P. T. Barnum. Source: Wikipedia: Fiji mermaid
Dragons and the beasts of the bestiaries 17
The cockatrice is a two-legged dragon or serpent with the head of which bird?Answer: A rooster. Source: Wikipedia: Cockatrice
In folklore, the salamander was believed to have a bond with which element?Answer: Fire. Source: Wikipedia: Salamanders in folklore
In German folklore, the Wolpertinger is said to live in the alpine forests of which region?Answer: Bavaria. Source: Wikipedia: Wolpertinger
In legend, which parts of which two animals make up a griffin?Answer: The body of a lion and the head and wings of an eagle. Source: Wikipedia: Griffin
In the Middle Ages, who alone was said to be able to capture a unicorn?Answer: A maiden. Source: Wikipedia: Unicorn
In the Ming dynasty, the legendary qilin came to be linked with the image of which real animal?Answer: The giraffe. Source: Wikipedia: Qilin
In the old bestiaries, how was the basilisk said to kill?Answer: With a glance. Source: Wikipedia: Basilisk
The Latin words HC SVNT DRACONES, "here are dragons", appear on which old globe?Answer: The Hunt-Lenox Globe. Source: Wikipedia: Hunt–Lenox Globe
The manticore of legend has the body of a lion and the face of a human. What kind of tail does it have?Answer: The tail of a scorpion. Source: Wikipedia: Manticore
The roc of Middle Eastern legend was a bird of prey big enough to deal with which animals?Answer: Elephants. Source: Wikipedia: Roc (mythology)
The tatzelwurm is a creature of stories told in which mountains?Answer: The Alps. Source: Wikipedia: Tatzelwurm
The Wawel Dragon of legend plagued which Polish city?Answer: Kraków. Source: Wikipedia: Wawel Dragon
What do Chinese dragons traditionally stand for?Answer: Power over water and weather. Source: Wikipedia: Chinese dragon
What is a bestiary?Answer: A collection of descriptions of beasts. Source: Wikipedia: Bestiary
What sets a wyvern apart among dragons?Answer: It has two legs. Source: Wikipedia: Wyvern
Which Italian poet invented the hippogriff at the beginning of the 16th century?Answer: Ludovico Ariosto. Source: Wikipedia: Hippogriff
With which ruler was the Chinese dragon historically linked?Answer: The emperor of China. Source: Wikipedia: Chinese dragon
Cryptids and modern legends 20
The best-known film said to show a Bigfoot dates from which year?Answer: 1967. Source: Wikipedia: Bigfoot
By which other name is the Jersey Devil known?Answer: The Leeds Devil. Source: Wikipedia: Jersey Devil
The Cardiff Giant is remembered as one of the most famous examples of what in American history?Answer: An archaeological hoax. Source: Wikipedia: Cardiff Giant
The drop bear is a hoax of modern Australian folklore. It is a fierce, meat-eating version of which animal?Answer: The koala. Source: Wikipedia: Drop bear
The Flatwoods monster was reported on September 12, 1952 in a town of which state?Answer: West Virginia. Source: Wikipedia: Flatwoods monster
How did two brothers with a skill in taxidermy make the first popular jackalope in the 1930s?Answer: They fixed deer antlers onto a jackrabbit. Source: Wikipedia: Jackalope
In 2002 the family of Ray Wallace, a coworker of the man who found the 1958 footprints, showed what from his basement?Answer: A set of large carved wooden feet. Source: Wikipedia: Bigfoot
In which desert is the Mongolian death worm alleged to live?Answer: The Gobi. Source: Wikipedia: Mongolian death worm
In which mountain range is the Yeti said to live?Answer: The Himalayas. Source: Wikipedia: Yeti
In which state did a bulldozer operator find a set of 16-inch footprints in the mud in 1958?Answer: California. Source: Wikipedia: Bigfoot
In which year was the name Abominable Snowman coined?Answer: 1921. Source: Wikipedia: Yeti
The skunk ape is a hairy creature of folklore said to live in the swamps of which state above all?Answer: Florida. Source: Wikipedia: Skunk ape
The squonk is a mythical creature reputed to live in the hemlock forests of which state?Answer: Pennsylvania. Source: Wikipedia: Squonk
To which real animals do folklorists trace some stories of the Yeti?Answer: Bears or yaks seen and mistaken. Source: Wikipedia: Yeti
What does the Spanish name chupacabra literally mean?Answer: Goat-sucker. Source: Wikipedia: Chupacabra
What is a cryptid?Answer: A creature whose existence is disputed or not backed by science. Source: Wikipedia: List of cryptids
Which climber photographed large prints in the snow on Mount Everest in 1951?Answer: Eric Shipton. Source: Wikipedia: Yeti
Which two zoologists founded cryptozoology in the 1950s?Answer: Bernard Heuvelmans and Ivan T. Sanderson. Source: Wikipedia: Cryptozoology
Who spread the tall tales of the "fearsome critters" from camp to camp across North America?Answer: Lumberjacks. Source: Wikipedia: Fearsome critters
The Yowie is a creature of the folklore of which country?Answer: Australia. Source: Wikipedia: Yowie
Real animals and monster words 16
The "St. Augustine Monster", a great mass washed ashore in Florida, turned out to be what?Answer: Whale blubber. Source: Wikipedia: St. Augustine Monster
A carcass hauled up by the fishing boat Zuiyo-maru was taken by some for a sea monster. What was it most likely?Answer: A basking shark. Source: Wikipedia: Zuiyo-maru carcass
Before science described it, Europeans in Africa had heard of the okapi under which name?Answer: The African unicorn. Source: Wikipedia: Okapi
Behemoth, now a word for anything huge, is a beast from which book of the Bible?Answer: The Book of Job. Source: Wikipedia: Behemoth
The giant oarfish holds which place among the ray-finned fishes?Answer: The longest. Source: Wikipedia: Giant oarfish
In theology and mythology, what kind of creature is Leviathan?Answer: A giant sea serpent. Source: Wikipedia: Leviathan
In which year did Western scientists first record the Komodo dragon?Answer: 1910. Source: Wikipedia: Komodo dragon
In which year was the western gorilla first described by science?Answer: 1847. Source: Wikipedia: Gorilla
Manatees and dugongs belong to the order Sirenia. After whom are they named?Answer: The sirens of Greek mythology. Source: Wikipedia: Sirenia
Sightings of which real animal are believed to lie behind the legend of the kraken?Answer: The giant squid. Source: Wikipedia: Kraken
When British scientists first saw a platypus, what was their first hunch?Answer: That it was a hoax. Source: Wikipedia: Platypus
Which extinct birds have been put forward, though it is disputed, as the source of the legend of the roc?Answer: The elephant birds. Source: Wikipedia: Elephant bird
Which extinct giant ape is popular in cryptozoology circles as the supposed identity of the yeti or bigfoot?Answer: Gigantopithecus. Source: Wikipedia: Gigantopithecus
Which squid is believed to be the largest species of squid by mass?Answer: The colossal squid. Source: Wikipedia: Colossal squid
The word monster comes from the Latin monstrum, which goes back to a verb meaning what?Answer: To warn. Source: Wikipedia: Monster
The word ogre came into wider use through the works of which French writer of fairy tales?Answer: Charles Perrault. Source: Wikipedia: Ogre
How this list was compiled
Written for this site; nothing was copied from another list. Questions and wrong choices are our own. Each explanation restates, in our own sentences, facts from the page named and linked beside it. Each answer was checked on 2026-10-03 against that page, fetched that day: the article of the English Wikipedia (https://en.wikipedia.org, text under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license) on the legend, the report or the animal asked about. Every legend is told as a legend: the questions ask what a creature is said to be, when a name was coined, where a report was made and which hoaxes were owned up to, and never that a monster exists. No film, game, toy line, drink or modern novel is named. Left out on purpose: frightening detail; the gods and heroes of the old mythologies; the thunderbird, the bunyip and mokele-mbembe, which belong to living traditions; and the witches, vampires and werewolves of Halloween, which the Halloween pack on this site asks about. Not repeated here: Bigfoot's other name, the Pine Barrens, the Mothman, the country of Loch Ness, the first pictures of a living giant squid, the hodag's home state, narwhal tusks sold as unicorn horns and the coelacanth, which other quizzes on this site already ask. Levels are our estimate: easy is fair for any table, medium suits a reader of folklore, hard will stump most of them. Each round is stored easiest first, and each question carries the date its page was read. Licence: own work