recursal/Fanatic-Fandom huggingface dataset:
Alkabyiftiris slime

**Alkabyiftiris slime** - almost literally 'dissolving, devouring slime' -- is a kind of mold. A very active, very insatiable mold. It belongs to a larger family of mobile fungus, but it is the only one known to pursue and consume living creatures.

It appears in the Alice and Thomas shorts.

## About

### Biology

An immature slime is hunger incarnate, but it's weak: it can't hunt anything larger than it. It needs a host, preferably a large one. The slime enters through the first orifice it finds. Failing that, it can enter through open wounds--gouges, bites, whatever happens to be available. It works its way inside while the host is sleeping, and begins the tedious business of converting whatever it finds into more of itself. It eats them, from the inside out. Its most successful when it chances first upon the ear. That allows it rapid access to the brain, without damaging the host body more than strictly necessary...The slime enters the body and begins to expand. If it finds the brain before too much of the muscle tissue has been consumed, it takes over...It can infect small animals and take control of their bodies, forcing them to do what's best for the fungus, rather what's best for the animal. Once alkabyiftiris slime seizes command of a more complicated creature, there's no going back. They live and die by the whims of the slime. And it wants to feed.

Entry via orifice is generally painless, but it hurts to have the stuff worm under your skin.

May quickly consume smaller prey (i.e. a mouse) in order to gain the mass necessary to attack something larger (i.e. a human). It consumes everything but the bones, which are left behind, possibly with half-digested membranes left behind.

When the slime has taken over a large host, it may be purged with minimal lasting damage if it is caught within an hour or so. After that, it will have consumed large portions of the brain and destroy someone's core functions and/or personality.

### Appearance

A pinkish hue indicates it has already fed.

### Habitat

Found in jungles and forests; prefers shadowy spaces over brightly lit terrain. It tends to go into hiding during the day.

### Weaknesses

Can be destroyed by fire. Bleach is also useful.

## In the Series

* Thomas apparently encountered the slime during his world travels, but was able to ward it off with runic tattoos. It left a scar on his wrist.
* An alkabyiftiris slime takes over sixteen-year-old Alice Healy. Thomas, Mary, Gwendolyn, and the Healys purge it from her; Thomas destroys it with fire. Another portion of the same slime attacks Gwendolyn, but Thomas manages to save her with salt and magic.

## In Popular Culture

Comparable to the scientifically recognized Cordyceps fungus, but far more horrifying.

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 What You Build
2. ↑ The Hand of the Forest
Beán Sidhe

***Beán Sidhe*** are beings outside the rules of the living and the dead.

## About

The *beán sidhe* are alive and dead at the same time, which makes them difficult to classify, but as they prefer the company of the dead, we are listing them [in the Price Family Field Guide of the Dead], These Irish spirits are associated with a single family until that family dies out, and will watch their charges from a distance, mourning them when they die. They regard this as a valuable service. We are not sure why.

## In Popular Culture

*Beán sidhe* translates to "lady of the hills." Also known as "banshee," she is a fairy woman who fortells the death of a family member. To hear her keening is a sign that a member of your family will die that night. According to folklore, she is usually dressed in a gray cloak and green dress, and her eyes are red from weeping. If one were to catch a bean sidhe, the person could force her to tell him who will die.

The banshee can also be found in Seanan McGuire's October Daye series, though following different worldbuilding rules.

## References

1. ↑ http://www.ancienttexts.org/library/celtic/jce/beansidhe.html
Covenant of St. George

## About

The **Covenant of St. George** was founded based on the teachings of the eponymous saint, who believed that any creature not on Noah's Ark was an abomination. The Covenant systematically and brutally exterminated entire species of cryptids in their hunt for purity, including nonviolent and sapient beings.

The organization has based its operations in Penton Hall of London, England for generations.

In the 1700s, some near-human cryptids made an attempt to hide in plain sight by actually joining the Covenant.

## Family Lines

(m) indicates married into the family.

(df) indicates defected from the Covenant.

## Quotes

* **Enid Healy:** "Never step out with a Falls boy, as they tend to have wandering hands. Never go into a fight against anything bigger than a manticore unless you have a Brandt or Carew with you. And never ask a Price to go back on their word."
* **Thomas Price:** "Never let a Carew get the upper hand. Know where the exits are when dealing with a Healy."
* **Ananta:** “When [the Covenant] got started, humans were at the bottom of the pecking order. The only thing you had going for you was the speed with which you bred. Even at our greatest, the wadjet could never compete, because we have too much trouble mating. The Covenant began as an attempt to save your species from extinction. It got out of hand when they learned to love killing. Now we get people like you and your family, trying to rebuild what your own species destroyed." - Magic for Nothing (p. 309)

## References

1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 https://seanan-mcguire.livejournal.com/498203.html
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 The Lay of the Land
3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Midnight Blue-Light Special Ch. 11
4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 What You Pay For
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 Magic for Nothing
6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 Midnight Blue-Light Special
7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Backpacking Through Bedlam
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 Halfway Through the Wood
9. ↑ Magic for Nothing Ch. 5-6
10. ↑ That Ain't Witchcraft Ch. 14
11. ↑ Halfway Through the Wood
Aftermarket Afterlife

## Continuity

**Aftermarket Afterlife** is the anticipated thirteenth novel in the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire. It features Mary Dunlavy.

## Synopsis

Mary Dunlavy didn't intend to become a professional babysitter.  Of course, she didn't intend to die, either, or to become a crossroads ghost. As a babysitting ghost, she's been caring for the Price family for four generations, and she's planning to keep doing the job for the better part of forever.

With her first charge finally back from her decades-long cross-dimensional field trip, with a long-lost husband and adopted daughter in tow, it's time for Mary to oversee the world's most chaotic family reunion. And that's before the Covenant of St. George launches a full scale strike against the cryptids of Manhattan, followed quickly by an attack on the Campbell Family Carnival.

It's going to take every advantage and every ally they have for the Prices to survive what's coming—and for Mary, to avoid finding out the answer to a question she's never wanted to know: where does a babysitting ghost go when she runs out of people to take care of?

## Characters

**Major**

* Mary Dunlavy

**Minor**

* Item

**Mentioned**

* Item

## Field Guide

* Cryptid, ghost, or supernatural

**Mentioned**

* Cryptid, ghost, or supernatural

## Locations

* Item

**Mentioned**

* Item

## Organizations

* Covenant of St. George
* Campbell Family Carnival

**Mentioned**

* Item
Long Way From Home

Fanmade cover

**Long Way From Home** is an InCryptid short story. It is 15th in the Alice and Thomas Shorts.

## Synopsis

With Alice away at college and Thomas trapped in his house, Jonathan's interference in his daughter's life is becoming more and more difficult for even the most indulgent of grandfathers to ignore.  Meanwhile, Laura's trying to deal with an Alice who's literally climbing the walls and an infant Hodag that ISN'T on their student housing agreement, and Mary just sort of wants to drown everyone.

It's a new day in Buckley Township and Ann Arbor, Michigan, and nobody's having a good time!

## Plot

Wilbur the hodag has been living in Alice and Laura's dorm room for over a month, while they wait for Alexander to come take him to Buckley. Thomas still hasn't caught on to the fact that Jonathan has been destroying his mail to and from Alice. Mary tells him about umbramancers and that Laura is one.

After a coded phone call from Alice, Alexander realizes what Jonathan has been doing to his mail as well, and gives his son a stern lecture, before leaving to pick up Wilbur.

## Characters

* Alice Healy
* Laura Campbell
* Mary Dunlavy
* Thomas Price
* Alexander Healy
* Jonathan Healy
* Wilbur

**Mentioned**

* Juniper Campbell
* Apple
* Cynthia

## Field Guide

* Aeslin Mice
* Hodag
* Tailypo
* Crossroads Ghost
* Routewitch
* Umbramancer

**Mentioned**

* Cartographer
* Ambulomancer
* Trainspotter

## Locations

* Buckley Township, Michigan
* Ann Arbor, Michigan

**Mentioned**

* Penton Hall
* Old Atlantic Highway (Ocean Lady)
Last Call at the Last Chance

**Last Call at the Last Chance** is a Ghost Roads short story.

## Synopsis

It's time to go back to the Last Dance Diner for a midnight encounter with Bobby Cross, in the shadows of the neon lights, where the twilight holds sway...

## Plot

After the events of *Sparrow Hill Road*, Bobby Cross shows up uninvited to the Last Dance Diner, turning it into the Last Chance. Despite the Crossroads ruling that he had no claim on Emma, he claims hospitality under the authority of the Erinyes, and refuses to leave unless she plays cards with him. To back up his threat, he has a gun that is presumably capable of killing her.

Emma, Tommy, Doc, and Dinah play poker with Bobby, but Dinah is so frightened that she fades out of existence. Emma finally forces Bobby to leave, and he does.

## Characters

**Major**

* Emma
* Bobby Cross

**Minor**

* Tommy (Phantom Rider)
* Doc, a routewitch
* Dinah

**Mentioned**

* Anthony
* Karena Malone

## Field Guide

* Beán Sidhe
* Crossroads
* Routewitch
* Phantom Rider

**Mentioned**

* Hitchhiker
* Homecomer
* Fury

## Locations

* Last Chance Diner

**Mentioned**

* Manhattan, New York City
	+ Times Square
* Los Angeles, California
	+ Sunset Strip
	+ Hollywood Boulevard

## Continuity

Doc says it's 2014, but the final chapter of *Sparrow Hill Road*, which precedes this, takes place in 2015.
Cockatrice

Official artwork

## Reference

The **cockatrice** (*Procompsognathus cockatrice*) is a cousin to the basilisk, with chicken-like features and the ability to petrify its prey. It is native to Europe but was imported into North America centuries ago,

## Appendix Entry

*Cockatrice (Procompsognathus cockatrice).* Venemous, largely featherless saurians approximately the size of a large chicken. This would be bad enough, but thanks to a quirk of evolution, the gaze of a cockatrice causes petrifaction, turning living flesh to stone. Cockatrice are not native to North America, but were imported as game animals. Again, by idiots.

## About

Cockatrice resemble a cross between poultry and dinosaurs. They are cousins to the basilisk but more intelligent, closer to that of turkeys than chickens.

The live on the edges of forests and hunt in neighboring grasslands. They are carnivorous.

Cockatrice can live up to ten years in captivity. Females will lay eggs on a monthly basis; half will actually hatch and one quarter of those will be born eyeless.

### Appearance

Cockatrice resemble large, leather-winged chickens with serpent's tails.

### Abilities

Cockatrice's most notable trait is their ability to petrify victims with their gaze. They then eat their prey.

## In the Series

### Half-Off Ragnarok

Lloyd steals a cockatrice being raised by the fringe Gorgon community. He uses it to attack various people in the zoo and at Alex Price's home.

## In Popular Culture

A cockatrice is a mythical beast, essentially a two-legged dragon wyvern or serpent-like creature with a rooster's head. The term "cockatrice" was often considered interchangeable with "Basilisk."

* It appears in the Bible.
* Mentioned in European literature of the 12th century onward.
* Shakespeare references the cockatrice in *Richard III* and *Romeo and Juliet*.
* A cockatrice is described in *Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire*.

## References

1. ↑ https://www.dictionary.com/browse/cockatrice
2. ↑ Audiobooks narrated by Ray Porter; https://www.dictionary.com/browse/trice
3. ↑ Appendix Field Guide: Books 3-4
4. ↑ Instances of a venomous serpent in the Bible
5. ↑ Cite error: Invalid `<ref>` tag; no text was provided for refs named `:0`
Coatl

Official artwork of South American green coatl, blue and yellow coatl, and immature Greater coatl

## Field Guide

### Current Range

South America, Asia, Africa, and some Pacific Islands

## Scientific Classification

### Species

*Coatl arbore*
(Tree-dwelling)

**Coatl** are a type of cryptid that have not been seen in the series.

## Appendix Entry

**Coatl** (*Coatl arbore*). The coatl is a classic example of the plumed or feathered serpent. They are morphologically similar to boa constrictors (with feathers), but are likely evolutionarily derived from large monitor lizards. There are more than twenty-seven separate subspecies of coatl known, and many more have probably gone extinct, victims of urban expansion and people having an atavistic aversion to the idea of flying snakes.

## Types of Coatl

* **Blue and yellow coatl**
* **Greater Coatl:** Can reach sixteen feet long, but lose ability of flight. Solitary.
* **South American green coatl:** Live in family groups of around ten members.
* **Tohil**

## About

The coatl is a feathered serpent that acts and appears similar to boa constrictors with feathers. Their temperaments are also similar to boa constrictors, calm unless provoked.

They prefer warm, humid environments like rainforest canopies. They are ambush predators and can take down birds, bats, and even tree sloths.

Most coatl lay eggs, although a few species produce live births.

They do not get along with Aeslin mice.

## References

1. ↑ Half-Off Ragnarok audiobook
2. ↑ Appendix Field Guide: Books 3-4
3. ↑ Midnight Blue-Light Special Ch. 11
Goryo

Goryo as depicted in Magic: The Gathering

**Goryo** are a type of ghost mentioned in the Ghost Roads series.

## Price Family Field Guide

These powerful ghosts are most often of wealthy backgrounds, and are commonly of Japanese descent. All known goryo were martyred, or believe themselves to have been martyred, leading to their undying rage. They can control the weather, which is exactly the kind of capability you don't want in an angry spirit fueled by a desire for vengance.

## In Popular Culture

In Japanese, "go" means "honorable," while "ryō" means "spirit." In Japanese folklore the goryō are the spirits of powerful lords who had been wronged. They were capable of catastrophic vengeance, including destruction of crops and the summoning of a typhoon or an earthquake.

The goryo are featured on several cards in the game Magic: The Gathering.

## References

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gory%C5%8D
Apple

**Apple**, also called **Queen of the North American Routewitches**, is a character in the Ghost Roads series by Seanan McGuire.

## About

### Appearance

Apple is a Japanese-American girl, with close-cropped fingernails and "black silk hair". She is cleaner than other routewitches, who are constantly on the move. When Rose Marshall meets her, she is wearing jeans and a worn wool sweater too big for her.

According to Darius, Apple was seventeen when she became Queen in 1944, with her even younger appearance due to malnutrition in the year beforehand.

### Personality

Apple has a wisdom beyond her apparent age.

### Professional Life

Apple took over from the previous King of the Routewitches after he voluntarily abdicated for his role in helping Bobby Cross make his deal with the Crossroads.

## Biography

Apple matches the description of a teenage girl who vanished from Manzanar Internment Camp during World War II. She became the Queen after the King of the Routewitches abdicated, and this presumably halted her aging.

## In the Series

### Sparrow Hill Road

Rose Marshall comes to the Ocean Lady in 2013 to seek a way to stop Bobby Cross. Apple reveals herself to her as the Queen, and takes her to her trailer to tell her the full story. Apple has another routewitch, Mikey, give Rose a tattoo of protection against Bobby.

## References

1. ↑ Backpacking Through Bedlam Ch. 11
2. ↑ Backpacking Through Bedlam Ch. 11
3. ↑ *Sparrow Hill Road*, "The Ocean Lady"
Cactus Cat

Official artwork

## Reference

**Cactus cats** are a species mentioned but not seen in the InCryptid series.

## About

### Physiology

Cactus cats are mid-sized felines comparable in size and physiology to the lynx.  Adults average sixteen to twenty pounds in weight, and are between three and four feet in length. They have spiky, greenish coats that serve a similar protective function to that of a porcupine or hedgehog. Kits don’t develop their protective coats until their adolescence, around six to ten months old.

Their tails are short and  bobbed, with thick spines on the males’ tails to help them grip females during the mating process.

They reproduce and raise their kits in social structures similar to lion prides, with multiple adults caring for each litter and a few adults doing the bulk of the hunting.

Cactus cats typically live for six to eight years in the wild, and fourteen to twenty in captivity.

### Behavior

They are primarily nocturnal although they have been observed during the day.

They are obligate carnivores and tend toward rodents, small reptiles, and domestic pets. They will work together to take down larger prey such as cattle as well. They are ambush predators that lie in wait for their prey.

Cactus cats are bold when they feel secure, such as in a group or near their preferred habitat, but otherwise shy. When relaxed, they curl up into a tight ball similar to a barrel cactus. Within their family groups, they are very playful and social. They vocalize to each other in sounds easily mistaken for a bird’s chirp.

Even after years of captivity, a cactus cat will make a break to rejoin their colony, or “pad,” if given a chance.

## Popular Culture

* The cactus cat has similarities to the Rose Goblin of the October Daye series, also by S McGuire.
* The Cactus cat is a legendary tall tale creature of the American Southwest, tracing at least back to 1910.

## Trivia

* Cataceae, from the genus name, refers to the vegetable cactus. Someone was likely making a cat pun.
* Veprecula, from the species name, is a genus of sea snails. There is no evolutionary connection.

## References

1. ↑ Dictionary.com
2. ↑ Veprecula
Angler Tortoise

## Reference

The **angler tortoise** (Tunge anglerous) is an ambush predator that appears to be a cross between a gopher tortoise and an anglerfish. It makes several appearances in the Alice and Thomas shorts.

## About

A moderately-sized, land-dwelling relative of the tortoise gopher tortoise. They live in woodlands and marshes, and their diet consists of frogs, waterbirds, terrapins, and Bloodworms.

### Biology

The angler tortoise greatly resembles its cousin the gopher tortoise, with the exception of its prehensile tongue and tolerance for cold. Its tongue resembles a dead rat or possum, and is used as a lure to attract prey. Once lured in, the tortoise uses its tongue to grab its prey.

The oldest known angler tortoise is a hundred and fifty years old, and shows no signs of dying any time soon.

### Habitat

Common in southern Canada and the northern United States. A healthy population lives in Buckley Township, Michigan and in northern Maine. Angler tortoises have a greater tolerance for cold weather than many of their relations.

## In the Series

* Young Alice Healy and Thomas Price separately encounter an angler tortoise living in the woods of Buckley Township, Michigan.

## In Popular Culture

* Likely inspired by the anglerfish, which lures in prey with a modified luminescent fin ray. Some anglerfish are notable for extreme sexual dimorphism and sexual symbiosis of the small male with the much larger female.
* McGuire notes a link to the w:c:tremors:Graboid Graboids in the Tremors franchise, suggesting in-universe that the angler tortoise was the inspiration for the graboids.

## References

1. ↑ Dictionary.com
2. ↑ The Way Home
Bidi-taurabo-haza

The **Bidi-taurabo-haza** is an extremely deadly snake native to Australia. It appears in Halfway Through the Wood.

## About

### Appearance

In appearance, the bidi-taurabo-haza is a small to medium serpent with gleaming reddish-gold scales that fracture the sunlight into rainbows. Many have confused it with the fabled rainbow serpent because of those scales, despite the disparity in supposed size, temperament and intelligence between the two creatures. Like the coatl, they possess feathers; like the basilisk, they are preferentially arboreal but functionally flightless. Unlike either, they are wingless, and have no limbs, placing them morphologically firmly in the serpent category.

### Abilities

The bidi-taurabo-haza is like the basilisk in one other regard: it is deadly. It kills not with its eyes, despite local legend, but with its venomous bite, which works on the tissues of its victim, breaking them down and dissolving them with a speed that is unmatched elsewhere in the natural world. The victim, once bitten, is doomed, and will be reduced to a skeletal state within an hour. Even more unnerving, the process which dissolves tissue leaves the ligaments between bones untouched, and the skeleton will be fully intact and articulated when found, even dressed in the attire of the deceased. Some bodies have been found with hair yet upon their heads.

### Habitat

The bidi-taurabo-haza is native to Australia.

### Behavior

It is extremely territorial and aggressive, and seems to reserve this aggression for true mammals larger than itself, causing any human incursion on its chosen territory to end in tragedy.

## In the Series

### Halfway Through the Wood

A bidi-taurabo-haza is released into the Galway Woods around Buckley Township, Michigan, and claims the lives of several residents, including Enid Healy. It nearly kills Alice Healy, but Thomas Price makes a bargain with the crossroads to save her life.

## References

1. ↑ Spelunking Through Hell Prologue - Audiobook
2. ↑ https://seaworld.org/animals/facts/reptiles/snakes/
Deogen

**Deogen** are a type of ghost that has been mentioned but not appeared in the Ghost Roads series.

## Price Family Field Guide

Also known as "the Eyes," the deogen are noncorporeal, foglike, and often hostile. They will lead travelers astray if given the chance, and have been known to form alliances with other unfriendly spirits. A deogen/homecomer team-up is to be feared.

## In Popular Culture

"Deogen is a strange fog that hovers in the Sonian forest, near Brussels. The fog has been described as greenish, but also as gray, orange or white. What’s consistent in the descriptions are small, shadowy figures in the fog, and the sound of laughing children.

The name Deogen is a misspelling from the original name De Ogen, which literally translates to ‘the eyes’. It’s called ‘the eyes’ because there is always ‘something large’ in the fog that stares at you. There have been reports of the figures near the forest that dart in front of cars, and a bloody little hand print on the car window, that leaves as soon as the fog is gone."

## References

1. ↑ https://theculturetrip.com/europe/belgium/articles/belgiums-10-spookiest-spots/
Dance or Die

**Dance or Die** is a reality television show in which dancers of various stylistic backgrounds compete to be "America's Top Dancer of Choice." It follows a weekly format, with viewers calling in to vote for their favorite dancers to remain on the show. It is both the brainchild and magnum opus of Adrian Crier.

Verity Price, under her long-time dancer alias "Valerie Pryor," was the runner up of Season 2. During the season she only had a single mouse priest with her, and her cousin Sarah.

She is called back to return for an All-Star season with previous winners and runners up.

## Characters

**Judges**

* Adrian Crier
* Lindy O'Toole
* Clint Goldfein

**Host**

* Brenna Kelly

**Dancers:**

* Season 1: Reggie (hip-hop, winner), Jessica (contemporary), Poppy (ballroom), and Chaz (jazz)
* Season 2: Lyra (jazz, winner), Valerie (ballroom), Anders (tap), and Pax (contemporary)
* Season 3: Mac (ballet, winner), Emily (contemporary), Malena (ballroom), and Troy (hip-hop)
* Season 4: Lo (ballroom, winner), Ivan (ballroom), Will (contemporary), and Raisa (hip-hop)
* Season 5: Graham (contemporary, winner), Danny (ballroom), Leanne (contemporary), and Bobbi (jazz)

1. ↑ Chaos Choreography, Ch. 2
2. ↑ Chaos Choreography, Ch. 6
3. ↑ Singing the Comic-Con Blues
Betty Smith

**Betty Smith** is a recurring character in the InCryptid series. She is a dragon princess who appears in the Jonathan and Frances shorts, Alice and Thomas Shorts, and main novels.

## About

### Appearance

Betty is classically beautiful in the way of all dragon princesses.

### Personality

As an adult, Betty is driven to enough desperation and hatred of the Covenant to kill a number of their members and rob the rest she encounters. Underneath that, she is frightened and inexperienced. She doesn't even know how to properly use a gun.

## Biography

Betty grew up in Boggsville, Colorado. She lived the bed and breakfast that her mother ran. When she reached adulthood, her mother gave her a nest egg's worth of gold and sent her to find her own way in the world.

## In the Series

### Stingers and Strangers

Betty's mother tries to shield her from the notice of Jonathan Healy and Frances Healy, thinking they are Covenant and bound to attack any cryptids they find,. Jonathan and Frances let it go, at least until they are asking more questions about the strange town and Eleanor realizes she's been paying for Betty's music lessons but Betty hasn't actually learned how to play an instrument.

### All That Glitters

Betty travels around, looking for Covenant marks to rob and kill. She attempts to do so to Thomas, pretending to be a Covenant agent herself in need of restocking, but her story is flimsy and he sees through it. He takes her captive, and while he is out of the room Alice offers to help Betty escape. Then they realize what a target Betty has painted on herself for targeting Covenant agents. The whole family, plus Thomas, helps fake Betty's death and then directs her to the Carmichael Hotel for safe refuge.

### Discount Armageddon

Now head of the Nest in Manhattan, Betty secretly works with a snake cult to attempt to awaken William, a dragon sleeping under the city. Candice is enraged to discover she kept William's existence from the rest of the nest and shoots Betty dead.

## References

1. ↑ Chaos Choreography, Chp. 18
2. ↑ Discount Armageddon, Chp. 24
Caladrius

Official artwork

## Reference

**Caladrius** are a cryptid with healing abilities. They first appear in Midnight Blue-Light Special

## Appendix Entry

**Caladrius** (*Angelos dhalion*). The Caladrius are some of the most skilled healers in or out of the cryptid world, which explains why they were hunted almost to extinction by people seeking miracle cures to incurable illnesses. They are attractive, white-winged humanoids, and are often mistaken for angels. The few Caladrius who have survived into the modern day often run secret hospitals for cryptids and their allies. We owe them our lives. Protect theirs.

## About

Caladrius apparently originated somewhere in Western Europe, possibly in Greece. There are also some theories that they are from another world and migrated to Earth similarly to the Jorlac. Much like harpies, who are similar biologically, they have difficulty blending into the human population.

They are not related to the mythical caladrius bird, but they encourage the comparison for their own safety.

### Biology

Caladrius are omnivores, although many choose vegetarianism. Females lay two eggs every season regardless of fertilization, and unfertilized eggs may be eaten for protein by females who are currently carrying young.

They are hollow-boned, although only their young are able to fly; much like dragons, they lose the ability as they age.

They do not have body hair, and the “hair” upon their head is actually downy feathers. They are warm blooded and resistant to most human illnesses. They live slightly longer than human lifespans.

### Appearance

Caladrius resemble tall, thin, Caucasian humans with bird-like feet, white feathers in place of hair, and large white wings growing from their shoulder blades. They do not pass well as humans. Most Caladrius have orange, yellow, or pink eyes, resembling the eyes of rock doves. They are often considered quite attractive, although they rarely date outside their own species.

### Abilities

Their feathers have remarkable healing properties, which has led to them being hunting to critical endangerment.

## Characters

* Dr. Morrow
* Lauren Morrow

## Trivia

### In Popular Culture

* The caladrius, according to Roman mythology, is a snow-white bird that lives in the king's house. It is said to be able to take the sickness into itself and then fly away, dispersing the sickness and healing both itself and the sick person.

### Scientific Classification

* "Dhalion" refers to a mythological white bird with healing abilities, also called the Caladrius

## References

1. ↑ Appendix Field Guide: Midnight Blue-Light Special
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caladrius
Kalakos Family

The Kalakos are a family of lesser gorgons living in Chicago, Illinois. They run the Carmichael Hotel and are longtime family friends of the Healy-Price Family.

## Characters

### 1930s: Jonathan and Frances Shorts

* Hector Kalakos - head of family
* Layna Kalakos - wife
* Asta Kalakos - daughter
* Chruse Kalakos - daughter

### 2010s: Verity and Dominic Shorts

* Angelo Kalakos - head of family
* Lydia Kalakos - wife
* Vaisa Kalakos - daughter
* Dina Kalakos - daughter
* Manos - son-in-law

## Friends of the Family

* Healy-Price Family
* Gucciard Family:
	+ Arturo Gucciard
	+ Mike Gucciard
	+ Lea Gucciard
Jersey Devil

The **Jersey Devil** is a type of cryptid mentioned in Discount Armageddon and That Ain't Witchcraft.

## In Popular Culture

The legend dates back to at least 1735 when a woman gave birth to a monstrous child, then called the Leeds Devil, with the head of a horse, wings of a bat, cloven hooves, and a serpent's tale. The name shifted to "Jersey Devil" in the 1800s.

In 1909, over the course of five days and across a wide expanse of territory, more than one hundred people reported sightings of the creature. A hoax version was captured and later identified as a painted and modified kangaroo. Some theorize the rash of sightings was a ploy to convince locals to sell their homes at low prices, as fake footprint molds and other tools were found that perpetuated the hoax.

The Jersey Devil is the unofficial state mascot of New Jersey, and the official mascot of the state's NHL team. It was featured in the X-Files and in PlayStation games.

Modern sightings have been compared to Bunyip in appearance.

## References

1. ↑ Coleman, Loren and Jerome Clark (1999). *Cryptozoology A-Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Ness Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature.* New York: Fireside. ISBN 978-068486025
Caroline Carew

**Caroline Evans Carew** is a character in the InCryptid Series by Seanan McGuire. She is the mother of Enid Healy.

## Biography

Caroline and her mother Elizabeth Evans discovered the Aeslin mice behind their house and took them in. As current Covenant members, they had to keep the mice a secret. Caroline married Peter, and they raised four children including Agnes and Enid. Agnes refused anything to do with the mice, and Enid inherited the colony.

## Relationships

### Peter Carew

Caroline married Peter Carew and convinced him not to kill the Aeslin mice or tell the Covenant about them.

## Quotes

### Aeslin Lore

"Her child, Caroline, the Well-Groomed Priestess, did come to us with open hands, and say, My Mother is Old, and the Covenant Does Not Understand; Come With Me, For Any Husband I Will Have Will Have You Also. She did marry Peter Carew, the God of Hard Work and Sunshine, and they did raise four children in hope and glory, hidden from the Eye of the Covenant by the strength of their affections."

## References

1. ↑ In The Lay of the Land, Thomas says she was "before [his] time".
2. ↑ Sweet Poison Wine
3. ↑ That Ain't Witchcraft Ch. 24
William

**William** is a recurring character that lives in Manhattan, New York City. He is the only known adult male dragon currently in existence, making him a hot commodity among the dragon princess communities.

## Appearance

William is a huge lizard, filling up the width and height of a sewer tunnel. His wings are comparatively small and weak; adult male dragons cannot fly. His eyes are a luminous pumpkin orange.

His deep, echoing voice remind's Verity of James Earl Jones.

## Personality

William is pretty mellow and serious, for a dragon. He enjoys playing chess with Sarah, and uses his flame-breath as a forge to do metalworking with the gold that the dragon princesses bring him.

## Abilities

William can breathe fire and presumably, given the opportunity, engage in combat.

## Biography

William was born in England. Three hundred years ago when the Covenant of St. George was purging the dragon communities, he fled with his sisters to America. He went to sleep under the sewers and did not wake until modern day, due to the efforts of a misguided snake cult.

## Relationships

Candice

Candy is the first dragon princess William encountered after waking up. She is his first wife among the dragon princesses and holds a place of honor. In 2012, she was pregnant with his child.

Sarah Zellaby

Sarah and William sometimes play chess together. William even beats her sometimes.
Bird-fruit

**Bird-fruit** are a cryptid plant grown by the gorgon community in Columbus, Ohio.

“Originally, there were some who wanted to see this turned into a multi-cryptid settlement. Plant vegetable lambs and bring in some manticore for protection, start growing **bird-fruit** and get a few tailypo to come and hang around doing whatever it is that tailypo do . . . but it didn’t work out."
Thirty-Six Society

The Thirty-Six Society is the main Australian cryptozoological organization. Its name is a reference to 1936, the year the last Thylacine died.

According to Helen Jalai, the Thirty-Six take an "Adam and the garden" approach to conservation: Take care of the poor, unprotected animals but take a hands-off approach to sapient cryptids.

## Members

* Shelby Tanner
* Tanner family
* Cooper

1. ↑ Pocket Apocalypse Ch. 13
Lea Gucciard

**Lea Gucciard** is a character in the InCryptid series. She is an Oceanid, married to Mike Gucciard, and a friend of the Price-Healy Family.

## About

Lea has natural blue-green highlights in her hair, matching her eyes. As an Oceanid, Lea has control over water, enough to be able to drown someone in their own water glass.

## In the Series

### Snake in the Glass

Lea and Mike attend dinner with Verity Price, Dominic De Luca, and the Kalakos Family when Verity and Dominic stop at the Carmichael Hotel.

## Relationships

### Mike Gucciard

Lea is happily married to Mike Gucciard. Since Oceanids don't have last names, she took his.
Paul Campbell

**Paul Campbell** is a character in the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire. He appears in the prequel story The Flower of Arizona.

Paul is the owner of the Campbell Family Circus in 1928, and Frances Brown's boss. Faced with declining sales numbers, he acquires a North American Questing Beast with the intention of charging a small fortune for customers to view it. However, the beast keeps escaping and killing people - mostly townies.

When Jonathan Healy comes to town, Paul easily takes a bribe to let Jonathan visit Frances backstage. Later, Paul stands by his decision with the Questing Beast when confronted by Jonathan and Frances - at least until Frances kills him cold.
Boo hag

Mentioned in Halfway Through the Wood, Sunny the **boo hag** is described as a skinny woman whose skin was at least three sizes too big for her, and gaped in several places, revealing the red raw meat beneath. She generally cloaks herself in poachers, and used to trade cookie recipes with Enid Healy.
Revenant

Classical depiction of a revenant

## Reference

**Revenant** is a creature that appears in the InCryptid series. It is created from a person that has died and was then reanimated using body parts of other people.

## Popular Culture

In folklore, a revenant is an animated corpse that is believed to have revived from death to haunt the living. The word *revenant* is derived from the Old French word, *revenant*, the "returning" (see also the related French verb *revenir*, meaning "to come back").

Revenants are part of the legend of various cultures, including Old Irish Celtic and Norse mythology, and stories of supposed revenant visitations were documented by English historians in the Middle Ages.

The type of revenant seen in the InCryptid series has much in common with Frankenstein's monster.

## References

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Revenant
Sleepover

**Sleepover** is a short story in the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire. It is a standalone story featuring Elsie Harrington.

## Synopsis

Elsie Harrington attempts to navigate the ins and outs of human/cryptid interaction.

## Plot

At a roller derby match, Elsie notices an attractive girl who introduces herself as Morgan, and goes outside with her to the food trucks. After verifying that she is in fact Elsinore Harrington, Morgan injects her with an aconite solution, knocking her out.

When she wakes up, Elsie is tied to a chair in the middle of a Seal of Solomon. The guys who kidnapped her assume she's a demon, and ask her to find Angie, the little sister of one of them. Angie was seen entering a sewer tunnel with what Elsie concludes was a bogeyman. She agrees to help them, on the conditions that they never do anything like this again, and they tell her how they found out about her.

She goes to the spot where Angie disappeared, and enters the tunnel. Making her way past the illusions, Elsie finds the bogeyman settlement and explains why she's there. A tearful bogeyman girl comes forth and admits that Angie is her friend and followed her there, and Elsie carries the sleeping human girl home. After taking a cab back to her car at the roller derby warehouse, Elsie drives to her ex-girlfriend Carlotta's house and confronts her for being so careless with Elsie's secrets that she got her kidnapped.

## Characters

* Elsinore Harrington
* Antimony Price
* Morgan
* Angie
* Angie's brother
* Angie's friend
* Bogeyman leader
* Carlotta

**Mentioned**

* Fern Conway
* Arthur Harrington
* Theodore Harrington
* Jane Harrington-Price

## Cryptids

* Lilu
* Bogeyman

## Locations

* Portland, Oregon
	+ Roller Derby Warehouse
	+ Unidentified house where Elsie is taken
	+ Bogeyman settlement

## Continuity

Elsie mentions that a Seal of Solomon has no effect on her, since she's not dead or a demon. Laura Moorhead used a Seal of Solomon to trap Rose Marshall in *Sparrow Hill Road*.

## Popular Culture

* Elsie wiggles her big toe to test if she's regained mobility after being sedated, like the Bride in *Kill Bill*.
* I Dream of Jeannie
* The Hardy Boys
* Revenge of the Nerds
* Weird Science
* D&D Monster Manual
Peter Brandt

**Peter Brandt** is a Covenant agent who appears in Midnight Blue-Light Special. He helps kidnap Verity and is killed in the fight to get her back.

## About

### Appearance

Dark red hair and cool blue eyes. Pale, freckled skin.

### Personality

Skeevy; makes a pass at Verity and pays too much attention to her chest while she is trying to escape.
Wolpertinger

Artistic depiction of a wolpertinger

## Reference

A **wolpertinger** is a cryptid similar to a jackalope. It is mentioned in Imaginary Numbers.

## In Popular Culture

The wolpertinger is a creature of German folklore. It has a body comprising various animal parts—generally wings, antlers, a tail, and fangs, all attached to the body of a small mammal. The most widespread description portrays the Wolpertinger as having the head of a hare, the body of a squirrel, the antlers of a deer, and the wings and occasionally the legs of a pheasant.

## References

1. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolpertinger
Queensland Tiger

Traditional depiction

## Reference

**Queensland tigers** are an Australian cryptid mentioned in Pocket Apocalypse.

## In Popular Culture

In Australian folklore, the Queensland tiger is a creature said to live in the Queensland area in eastern Australia. Also known by a native name, *yarri*, it is described as being a dog-sized feline with stripes and a long tail, prominent front teeth and a savage temperament.

Accounts of the Queensland tiger are generally very consistent, and have been for a century. It is almost always compared to or described as a cat, more rarely a dog-like animal, and is usually described as between 4' and 5' including the tail, which is said to be long and thick, and is sometimes reported to have a tuft on the tip. Its average height at the shoulder is said to be about 1' 6'', and it is built much heaver than a domestic cat. Its legs are described as relatively short, its paws as large, and its claws as long. The head is round and cat-like, and particularly large and powerful in proportion to its body. It is very often described as having "*tusks*" or fangs, in one account compared to sabre-teeth. Its eyes are said to be green, and its ears are pointed like those of a cat.

They have been part of Aboriginal legends for centuries and known to European-Australians since the 1600s. In the 1940s and 1950s there were a wave of sightings around the North Queensland rainforests.

## References

1. ↑ Dictionary.com
2. ↑ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Queensland\_tiger
3. ↑ https://cryptidarchives.fandom.com/wiki/Queensland\_tiger
4. ↑ Coleman, Loren and Jerome Clark (1999). *Cryptozoology A-Z: The Encyclopedia of Loch Ness Monsters, Sasquatch, Chupacabras, and Other Authentic Mysteries of Nature.* New York: Fireside. ISBN 978-068486025
Reginald Cunningham

**Reginald Cunningham** is a character in the InCryptid novels. He is the leader of the Covenant of St. George.

## About

### Appearance

Despite his age, Reginald is in excellent physical condition. He has a trim figure and "surprisingly regal bearing" despite his wrinkles and grey hair. He wears a suit and tie to work at the bookstore and uses a beautiful wooden cane that likely houses a sword.

### Personality

Leonard is a Covenant man through and through, with a deep-seated hatred of all cryptids and Prices. He is incredibly strict and stern with his family and recruits.

### Abilities

Reginald still participates in dangerous field missions and is presumably in fit fighting form. He also teaches some of the classes to Covenant recruits.

### Professional Life

Reginald is the leader of the Covenant. He grooms his grandson Leonard to succeed him.

## In the Series

### Magic for Nothing

Reginald is working in his bookshop when "Timpani" arrives looking to join the Covenant. He questions her sincerity, but then decides to give her a chance to prove herself. Under his orders, she is chloroformed and taken to his son William's home for further assessment, and ultimately taken to Penton Hall for operative training.
Sparrow Hill Road (song)

"**Sparrow Hill Road**" is a song about Rose Marshall. It is track 15 on Seanan's 2015 album *Creature Feature*.

## Lyrics

Good girls only make the news one way.

Special reports when the kids go to bed and the ghouls come out to play.

Good girls make their marks then fade away.

People say their prayers and they shake their heads and they bury them anyway.

And they'll tell you she was lovely,

Though they all forget the name

Of the ones who paid the good girl's fee down the rocky road to fame

So when the crossroads call and your faith is thin,

And you're afraid that you might explode,

Go and talk to the girl in the green silk gown,

Who walks on Sparrow Hill Road.

Good girls never really seem to last

They shine so bright and they shine so brief and we leave them in the past

Good girls always pass us by so fast

And the people say that it's such a shame,

When the die's already cast.

And they'll tell you that they're sorry,

As they move on down the road,

It's just someone else's story,

One more death that wasn't owed.

Now when the shadows seem to know your name,

And your dreams have all plateaued,

Go and talk to the girl in the green silk gown,

Who walks on Sparrow Hill Road.

And she'll say she was a good girl,

Did the things that she was told.

And she'll say that she was frightened,

Of the things the night might hold.

And she'll say they used to call her Rose,

Before she paid their price,

When she died to live forever,

Through the good girl sacrifice.

And when the night hails down and you're afraid,

But you'll never get what you're owed,

Go and talk to the girl in the green silk gown,

Who died on Sparrow Hill Road.

And when you see her face in the truckstop light,

When the final cock has crowed,

Then you'll go with the girl in the green silk gown,

Who died on Sparrow Hill Road.
Red as Snow

**Red as Snow** is a short story in the InCryptid series by Seanan McGuire. It is a standalone story featuring Istas and Ryan Yukimura.

## Synopsis

For Istas—born waheela at the top of the world, where the thaw never comes and the cold needs no name—adjusting to life in Manhattan has been difficult, but worth the struggle. For the first time, she can make her decisions based on what she wants, not what she must do to survive. For Ryan Yukimura, her tanuki boyfriend, this is a welcome change, and one that he's hoping to encourage.

It's really too bad that neither of them could predict that Istas's family would be upset about her disappearance, or that they would have reason to come hunting for her. New York City may be in for an early freeze, and Istas may find that her old life is stronger and more dangerous than her new one could ever hope to be...

## Plot

Istas and Ryan go out for a date at an all-you-can-eat pizza place. Their food is drugged and they fall unconscious. They awaken in a room, chained up, and realize that they must have been kidnapped by other waheela.

Istas's father and brothers come into the room, and threaten Ryan to get her to cooperate. Istas tells Ryan to turn to stone, and the sudden weight increase makes him crash through the floor. Her brothers run downstairs after him, and Istas's father menaces her, turning into his great-form, before Ryan returns and slams into him. Istas orders one of her brothers to release her, and prepares to enter the fray.

Istas overpowers her father, but spares his life, ordering him and her brothers to leave New York and never come back. She and Ryan hail a cab and head home.

## Characters

* Istas
* Ryan Yukimura
* Kitty Smith
* Istas's father and brothers

**Mentioned**

* Candice
* Istas's mother and sister

## Cryptids

* Waheela
* Tanuki
* Bogeyman

**Mentioned**

* Dragon
* Werewolf

## Locations

* Manhattan, New York City
	+ The Freakshow
	+ Pizza restaurant
	+ Abandoned building

## Continuity

Candice is on maternity leave.

## Quotes

* "Flesh is temporary; flesh will end. Ice is forever. Remember this, and choose your steps with caution." --Waheela proverb
* "Waheela are not unthinking beasts, to be ruled by instinct. We are very thoughtful monsters, ruled by tradition, which is like instinct, only crueler."