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Modern Mythical Characters/People

Ringo

Ringo

I like to not get involved in these matters
Joined
Feb 24, 2005
Messages
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I was thinking this evening about mythical characters from the modern era as opposed to ancient Greek mythology etc. By that I mean individuals rather than mythical species/groups (such as bigfoot).

The only mythical characters I can think of are:
Springheeled Jack,
Mothman,
Sweeny Todd,
The Golem of Prague?

Can anyone else think of a mythical character/person?
 
hunck said:
Slenderman
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Excellent! Yes - that's exactly what I wanted. Could you argue that he is a Tulpa created after the fictional work as he didn't exist until the Creepy Pasta story?
 
GNC said:
He doesn't exist now, either!
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Well yes, I suppose. Although haven't people claimed to see him?

I should maybe add that I am thinking about mythical characters who may exist/have existed, if you know what I mean.
 
What about that18th century Count (can't remember his name, but he's meant to have become immortal) , and the wandering Jew. Or are they too early?
 
Ringo said:
... Could you argue that he is a Tulpa created after the fictional work as he didn't exist until the Creepy Pasta story?
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I suppose you could - provided you dismiss or ignore the fact that most of the attributes of the Slenderman / Slender Man also apply to similar folkloric / mythic figures (e.g., Hatman / Hat Man; Shadowman / Shadow Man) that date back even farther than Slenderman's origin circa 2009.
 
Ringo said:
Well yes, I suppose. Although haven't people claimed to see him?
I should maybe add that I am thinking about mythical characters who may exist/have existed, if you know what I mean.
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Ringo:

I'm still confused about the criteria you're establishing for the figures you seek to collect.

For example ... Where are you drawing the line between:
(a) entities only known from texts / testimonies (and potentially pure fictions)
versus
(b) entities who've been seen or who've enacted tangible effects in "the real world."?
 
Ringo said:
Excellent! Yes - that's exactly what I wanted. Could you argue that he is a Tulpa created after the fictional work as he didn't exist until the Creepy Pasta story?
Click to expand...

Is this tulpa aspect (mythic life following fictional origin) one of your criteria for inclusion?
 
Ringo said:
I was thinking this evening about mythical characters from the modern era as opposed to ancient Greek mythology etc. By that I mean individuals rather than mythical species/groups (such as bigfoot).

The only mythical characters I can think of are:
Springheeled Jack,
Mothman,
Sweeny Todd,
The Golem of Prague?

Can anyone else think of a mythical character/person?
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The Angels of Mons? Although that was a very time- and space- specific phenomenon.
 
Ringo said:
I was thinking this evening about mythical characters from the modern era as opposed to ancient Greek mythology etc. By that I mean individuals rather than mythical species/groups (such as bigfoot).

The only mythical characters I can think of are:
Springheeled Jack,
Mothman,
Sweeny Todd,
The Golem of Prague?

Can anyone else think of a mythical character/person?
Click to expand...

The Mad Gasser of Mattoon!

(Although what I think Ringo is looking for is a list of named characters with mythical histories).
 
Krepostnoi said:
Somewhat less tongue-in-cheek, I wonder whether Nikola Tesla might be a good candidate? There are all sorts of outlandish inventions ascribed to him. And all, of course, pre-eminently modern.
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Myths have been built around him, certainly. Which is rather a shame , because it distracts mainstream people from realising what a genius he was.

I might be a tad biased, given my tag line :)
 
EnolaGaia said:
Ringo:

I'm still confused about the criteria you're establishing for the figures you seek to collect.

For example ... Where are you drawing the line between:
(a) entities only known from texts / testimonies (and potentially pure fictions)
versus
(b) entities who've been seen or who've enacted tangible effects in "the real world."?
Click to expand...

Well, I suppose maybe b. In my head I was trying to differentiate between mythical creatures (of which it is claimed that there are multiple examples of such as bigfoot, lake monsters) and singular mythical individuals/entities (of which there is said to be only one of).

For example, Spring Heeled Jack. We talk about an individual. His real life existence is presumed from multiple newspaper articles and eye witness accounts but he remains a mythical character as he exhibited supernatural characteristics and we don't know if he did actually exist or if the reports were fictions. There have not been sightings of SHJ in other countires or time periods.

I might need to retract Mothman as there are other examples of supernatural winged creatures.
EnolaGaia said:
Is this tulpa aspect (mythic life following fictional origin) one of your criteria for inclusion?
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No, I was just spit balling.

I'm not including real people who we know existed, only those who we don't know if they did/do actually exist but whom people claim to have interacted with.
 
Alleged immortals and alchemists :
  • Nicolas Flamel : Although historians usually conclude he was simply a successful businessman of the middle ages, there are still lots of people who believe he made his fortune through the transmutation of lead into gold thanks to the "philosophal stone". He was buried with his wife Pernelle in the Cimetière des Innocents and his bones were moved into the Paris catacombs in the 19th century, when the medieval cemetary was dismantled. However, several people have claimed to have met Nicolas Flamel until recent times. Most of these claims remain unverified. And this recurrence of Flamel sightings probably owes much to him being ascribed the authorship of an alchemy book published in the 16th century, le "Livre des Figures Hieroglyphiques".

  • The Count of Saint Germain : Already mentioned by Mythopoeika above. He was a courtier, con man, and perhaps a spy, active in France, the UK and the Netherlands during the 18th century. Neither count, nor native of Saint Germain, he claimed to be several centuries old and abused gullible nobles with his colourful tales. Some French ministers, through police reports, claimed he was just an adventurer from the middle class, born in Strasbourg. Others thought he was the unlawful son of a powerful king or duke. Although he died from old age in Germany, he is rumoured to have survived. Like Flamel, many are those who claim they have met him. He seems especially popular in Louisiana. I have read some reports from locals there, who were pretty certain they had crossed his path in New Orleans. How could they be so sure to have met a man whose physical appearance is not well known, I have no idea ! But even crazier : in the 1970s, Richard Chanfray, the lover of French-Italian-Egyption singer Dalida claimed to be the Count ... He died in 1983, possibly suicided.

  • Fulcanelli : The early 20th century author of an alchemic best-seller, the "Mystère des Cathédrales". Nobody ever saw him apart from his disciple Eugène Canseliet. But the aforementioned disciple claimed to have met him decades after they parted, and testified that he hadn't aged. So you may meet him during your next exploration of a medieval cathedral.

  • Li Qingyun : The man who lived between 200 and 256 years. Alledgedly born in 1677 or 1736, he died of old age in 1933. He was an herbalist in Western Sichuan, practicing Qigong and martial arts in his spare time. The dean of Minguo University found in 1928 some old documents showing that the imperial court had sent greeting to Li Qingyun for his 100, 150 and 200th birthday ! Of course, if these documents still exist (which I don't know), they do not prove the man was really 200 years old : just that someone had "inherited" the name Li Qingyun and therefore mystified the imperial clercs. "Qingyun" means "Pure Cloud", quite a popular name for Chinese mystics. It looks more like a pseudonym than a name. When asked about his longevity secrets, Qingyun is reported to have said : "Walk like a pigeon, sleep like a dog, breathe like a tortoise". And I must say, this must be the poorest translation form Chinese I have ever seen ! "Walk like a pigeon" ???? WTF ? So I searched for the original Chinese quotation and found out that the word Qingyun used was not bloody "pigeon" but "sparrow". It makes a difference, doesn't it ?

  • Lu Dongbin, also known as Lu Chunyang : OK. This one is a bit extreme as this "immortal" was born around the seventh / eight century. But, he remains one of the most popular "immortals" of the Chinese folklore to this day and he is frequently "seen" in the Chinese world. As a matter of fact, Lu Dongbin is the founding father of most surviving alchemy cults and sects of China (with a focus on "inner alchemy", e.g. self-cultivation through meditation). He is still frequently contacted by mediums or ordinary people who seek spiritual guidance or search for cures or for an exorcism. Sinologist John Blofeld explains in one of his works that he once attempted to contact Lu Dongbin through oniromancy, and that his wish was granted : the very same night he did the contact ritual, he dreamt he had a chat with the immortal ... and most unfortunately forgot almost everything Lu Dongbin had told him after waking up. You too may get the opportunity to meet Lu Dongbin. It's very easy : go to your neighbourhood Chinese restaurant and look for any decorative painting showing eight strange characters crossing the sea. The one bearing a sword on his back is probably master Lu. He's part of the popular "Eight Immortals" group.
And if you find immortals boring, below are a few more bizarre characters, sometimes real people, sometimes not, ho became famous for the wrong reason :

  • Father Beranger Saunière : The priest of the small and destitute village of Rennes-le-Chateau, in southern France. He reputedly found a "treasure" while renovating his church, and afterwards was often seen digging in the communal burial grounds at unholy hours. After that, he became rich enough to have a splendid villa built right next to his church. There, he would invite the stars and famous people of his time to spend good time with him. He was prosecuted by his hierarchy, but apealed to the Vatican, and the charges against him were lifted, which led some to wonder how such an obscure priest from a backwards area could have such a influence over the central adminsitration of the catholic Church. His sudden fortune gave birth to the legend of the "Rennes-le-Chateau's treasure", countless people imagining crazy things about what exactly he had found under the ground . In the end, the guy is responsible for the success of the "Da Vinci Code". In other word, he did not only make a fortune for him. He made Dan Brown's too ! Whatever. We don't know if Béranger Saunière did find anything of value buried under his church. It is indeed claimed that he made his money through "selling masses", a very mundane way to make money at the time.

  • Diana Vaughan : At the very end of the 19th Century, French Author Léo Taxil published (under a pseudonym) a book called "The Devil in the 19th Century". The book was presented as a journalistic investigation on satanist underground cults in Europe and America. To make his fantasies more credible, Taxil created the character of a repenting satanist, Diana Vaughan, who described whatever she did in her cult, and "revealed" to the world the horrendous truth about satanist's goals : nothing less than building a "new world order", subvert christian values, and set Satan as the new benevolent God. Needless to say, as Taxil was very hostile toward freemasons, freemasonry was described as the main cover to satanism. At that time, countless readers took his book seriously and started to consider Diana Vaughan as a modern times's saint, as she had found the courage to leave the evil cult to share "the truth" with the rest of the world. Some requested to meet her and a public interview was organized. However, when the day came, Diana Vaughan did not appear. Instead, it was Léo Taxil who came, to reveal that this was a hoax and that he had made up the whole story ! End of the story ? Certainly not. Until today, there remains many people who believe that a Diana Vaughan had indeed existed and that she had attempted to reveal an horrible conspiracy before being silenced (and ridiculed) by almighty demon-worshippers. They consider Taxil's coming out as a simple defamation. And if you surf on Christian integrist website, you may still encounter the figure of "Diana Vaughan" here and there, while almost nobody remembers Leo Taxil ... This is how a myth gets a life of his own in spite of his inspirator ...
 
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Some characters become legendary thanks to the cinema, or to pop culture :

A Chinese example would be the figure of the Chinese martial artist Huang Feihong / Wong Feihung.

Most kungfu styles have their mythical superstars, who often are the founding fathers of a given school (or their antagonist) : people with superhuman abilities who defy the laws of physics : Monk Bakmei (White Eyebrow), Fang Shiyu/Fang Zayou, "Iron Bridge the Third" (a man who could support the weight of two normal sized people on each of his extended arms) and so on. Some of these figures may or may not have existed, but they had a role to play in their social environnent, legitimizing the martial arts schools claiming their inheritance.

Huang Feihong was the son of a famous kungfu master and herbalist at the end of the 19th century. He's said to have achieved superior skills in the martial arts and actually did a lot to "modernize" the teaching of his kungfu style, adding new practicing sets to the traditional curriculum.

As his kungfu style spread in Guangdong province, tales started to circulate about his feats : defeating bands of roaming bandits single handedly, winning challenges against other "masters", and so on.

When the Chinese started to make movies, they quickly used his character as an inspiration. He suddenly became a role model for the masses : a wise master impersonating the confucean values, and acting out of benevolence, even when he resorted to his fists. Always challenged, but never defeated. From the thirties onwards, there were more than fifty movies about his adventures. And since the real character did not encounter so many trials, cineasts had to invent new ones ... And that's how Huang Feihong became the Chinese equivalent of Captain America ...

If you've never heard of him, take the time to watch "Once Upon a Time in China 1, 2 and 3" to see to what summits this man was taken by eager movie-makers.

Not exactly a fortean character ... and yet a perfect example of how an blood and bones person can be turned into a super-hero in the space of a hundred years. In the West, Bruce Lee could follow the same path. The Hector, Achilles and Diomedes of our times.
 
Would Purple Aki fall into this category? There is already a thread about him here in the forums.
 
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