In honor of the theatrical release of Fantastic Beasts And Where to Find Them, based on the work of J.K. Rowling, the BBC is giving an account of which such beasts, such as populate her Harry Potter books etc. are basedon pre-existing accounts of mythical creatures — some of these accounts dating back to antiquity i.e. the Phoenix, which is mentioned by Greek historian Herodotus around 500 BCE. Oddly enough even some of the more creatures that seem to have been dreamt up by Rowling are based on folk lore like the the “grindylow” which seem to be an accounting of the perils of little children messing with aquatic plants (perhaps in shallow water hiding deep bogs). Read on!
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20161122-the-myths-and-folktales-behind-harry-potter
thanks to Soror Hypatia for the tip!
