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A list of all the monstrous beasts encountered by Conan in Robert E. Howard's primary work.
- Grey Ape — Grey Apes are huge gorilla-like beasts with gray fur. They inhabit the shores of the Vilayet Sea, and are well-known for both their incredible strength and ferocity. Even Conan, who himself is the mightiest and most savage warrior of the Hyborian Age, has experienced a few close calls with these creatures. Grey Apes appear in The Hour of the Dragon and "Iron Shadows in the Moon".
- Black One — The Black Ones are a race of tall humanoids with glossy ebony skin and sharp claws, like bestial talons, on their long fingers. With eyes the color of fiery amber, their faces are inhuman and every feature stamped with evil. None can tell the true nature of the Black Ones. Are they a race of hell-spawned devils, or an extraterrestrial brood from across the stars? Whatever the case, they represent a form of life far removed from the common earthly variety. Dwelling within a mysterious city made of translucent green stone, which itself lies on a forgotten island far beyond the normal trade routes of humanity's sea-faring nations, they practice a horrific religion involving a green pool. Conan, along with a band of Zingaran Freebooters, encounter these demonic beings and their blasphemous pool in "The Pool of the Black One".
- Giant Serpent — The Stygians worship giant serpents as gods, believing these reptiles are avatars or children of Set. In the ancient city of Khemi, giant serpents freely slither through the streets, devouring any citizen they wish. Chosen victims are expected to prostrate themselves before the reptiles and accept their fate. However, these giant serpents have also appeared in other locations besides Stygia, and are notorious throughout the Hyborian world. The exact size may vary, although the largest of these ophidians can have a head larger than the size of a horse, or a body thicker in diameter than a large man. The giant serpents can use either their constricting coils or their potent venom in subduing prey. Besides these monstrous qualities, giant serpents are also gifted with a strange and supernatural sense of vision. In "The Scarlet Citadel", Pelias the Wizard says of the giant serpents: "The scaled people see what escapes the mortal eye. You see my fleshly guise; he saw my naked soul." Although this is never explicitly stated, it's safe to assume the giant serpents may have some connection with the Serpent Men of Kull's time. There also appear to be several varieties of serpents, such as the Ghost Snake seen in "Beyond the Black River" and the Golden Serpents mentioned in "Red Nails", with their petrified eyes glowing like green flame in the city of Xuchotl. Both can easily be considered a species of giant serpent. The giant serpents appear in The Hour of the Dragon, "The Scarlet Citadel", "Black Colossus", "The Devil in Iron", "Beyond the Black River", and "Red Nails".
- Giant Spider — Frighteningly large arachnids, giant spiders aren't out of place in the Hyborian Age. In "The Tower of the Elephant", Conan is attacked by a huge venomous spider in the upper levels of the tower. The size of a pig, this spider uses thick ropes of sticky webbing to try and trap the Cimmerian, a ploy which almost works. With its eight legs, a spider is also devilishly quick and agile, while its fangs can deliver a deadly venom. Entire nests of giant spiders are said to be common in Zamora, a land where the spider-god Zath has found a loyal following.
- Hyborian Dragon — This great reptilian beast is a remnant of a lost age. An age where many of their kind made the Earth tremble with thunderous roars, while the early ancestors of man still dwelt in the trees. By the Hyborian Age, however, these dragons are all but extinct. However, this doesn't change the fact that Conan and Valeria are attacked by one of these saurians in "Red Nails". It's alluded that the inhabitants of Xuchotl use the bones of prehistoric monsters in resurrecting such dragons with arcane necromancy. These re-animated monsters roamed the jungles around the lost city for many centuries, but their aggressive natures caused them to eventually kill each other off, until there was only one left. Despite its large size, this dragon can move incredibly fast, and its scaly hide is impervious towards most weapons. Not even the prowess of Conan can afford him victory, forcing the Cimmerian to use his wits.
- Ghoul — Ghouls are mutated humanoids, who are said to be a result of cross-mating between men and devils. They haunt the forests on the borders of Argos and Zingara, preying on any unlucky traveler they come across. Conan happens to be one of those unlucky travelers in "The Hour of the Dragon", but with his wits and skill he is able to fight his way out of the horde and escape certain death. The ghouls are described as being short, almost simian-like in stature, with pale gray skin that feels clammy to the touch. But it is their faces that causes Conan the most revulsion: "soulless unblinking eyes stare out from misshapen visages, their monstrous dog-like jaws chomping at Conan's throat. Despite their somewhat short height, their limbs exceed the strength of most humans. With a charnel-house reek wafting from their bodies, the ghouls hunger for living flesh, whether it comes from beast or man."
- Winged Horror — Deep within the remote jungles of the Black Kingdoms, near the shores of a forgotten river, there exists the remains of a lost city. Here dwell creatures known as Winged Horrors. It's believed the Winged Horrors are degenerate descendants of a lost race of winged men, both alien and legendary. However, as great and majestic as this ancient race was, so hard did they fall into the darkest depths of savagery and depravity. Once angelic, these beings became monstrous in appearance, and even more bestial with their habits or mentality. Over the ages, their city became forgotten, crumbling into ruin as the jungle reclaimed it. Still, Winged Horrors haunt these lands. One of these monsters is the main antagonist of "Queen of the Black Coast".
- Yothga the Devil-Flower — According to Pelias, Yothga isn't native of Earth, but rather is from the distant planet known as Yag the Accursed. Yothga's seeds drifted across timeless black gulfs before landing on Earth, where its roots descended deep into the earth. It is said that the roots of this Devil-Flower reach into Hell itself. Once rooted, Yothga used its vine-like tendrils to catch any living creature within reach, before parasitically devouring both body and soul of the victim. A victim could be fed upon for years, helpless in Yothga's vines, while the alien plant fed on their very mind, reducing them to a placid and weak state. If a victim were to be freed, however, they would quickly recover their senses and intellect. In "The Scarlet Citadel", Conan encountered the devil flower in the dungeons of Tsothi-lanti's palace, along with a large number of other blasphemous horrors.
- Yag-Kosha, Elephant-Being of Yag — Far out in space, across timeless gulfs, there is a green planet called Yag. From this world came Yag-Kosha and several of his kin, who journeyed towards Earth with the power of their own wings to escape the rulers of their alien planet. Upon arriving on Earth, ages ago, their wings withered into useless stumps protruding from their backs, before finding themselves stranded on a grim and savage world. Though ultimately mortal, Yag-Kosha and his brethren possessed lifespans rivaling those of the stars or constellations themselves. With their superficially elephant-like facial features, as well as their vast knowledge, Yag-Kosha and his race greatly impressed the humans they came across in the eastern jungles, becoming deified and worshiped over the years. The "elephant-beings" taught powerful magic to the humans who visited them, although only those they deemed as safe for their followers. The shadowy black arts they shunned as a conduit of evil. Throughout this long period, the civilizations of mankind shifted. Valusia collapsed, Atlantis sank beneath the waves, and a cataclysm shook the world. From the ashes rose the Hyborians and other races. In time, many of Yag-Kosha's people died out, until he was all that remained of the refugees of Yag. As Yag-Kosha grew old, his human pupil Yara rebelled and enslaved him in an attempt to seize power. Traveling west into the land of Zamora, Yara came upon its similarly named capital, with Yag-Kosha as his thrall, and imprisoned the alien inside the Tower of the Elephant. For years, Yara, believed by many to be a devil in human guise, tortured Yag-Kosha, interrogating and probing him for arcane secrets or necromantic knowledge, until his prisoner was left blind and broken. Fortunately, when Conan arrives at the legendary tower seeking the Heart of the Elephant, a jewel of fabled power, Yag-Kosha sees in the young Cimmerian an opportunity for both liberation and revenge.
- Saber-Toothed Tiger — The dense and ancient forests of the Pictish Wilderness have existed for untold ages, with its mysteries hidden from the ken of man and untouched by time itself. For the Aquilonians, Pictland represents the boundaries of civilization, an uttermost frontier beyond which lies a shadowy beast-haunted realm, inhabited by both devils and savages. Who knows what lurks in these timeless forest, which loom beyond the Black River. It's well known that Pictland is teeming with all manner of panthers, wolves, bears, and serpents. Still, not even the most insane nightmares can ever conceive of the creatures that lurk in the deep wilds and remember the name of Jhebbal Sag. The survivor of an ancient, grimmer age, the Saber-Toothed Tiger is but one of the horrors which answers the call of the Pictish wizard, Zogar Sag. With its massive build, more bear-like than feline, and great brutish head, it is an amalgamation of brutal and bestial savagery. Its eyes burn fiercely in the gloom, its long tapering fangs glinting like ivory scimitars, and, with one swipe of its mighty paw, can reduces a man into a grim pile of glistering gore. The Aquilonian youth, Balthus, as a prisoner of the Picts, bears witness to the nightmarish power of the Saber-Tooth in "Beyond the Black River".
- Icthyan Killing Machine — The killing machine was a armored monster Queen Gedren unleashed upon Red Sonja. Kalidur attempted to kill it, but found its armor impenetrable and so resorted to blinding the creature by removing its eyeballs.
Monsters seen in the expanded universe[]
- Kah-Tah-Dhen: A giant arachnid, resembling the shape of a tarantula. List of titles being "The Feaster of Heads", "The Decapitating God", and "The Mother of Spiders". Being a primordial monster, stated to have existed in the "time of the saurians and Lizard Kings". Slain by Conan with the help of companions, not much else is known of the beast. In its lair dwell a horde of miniature spiders, presumably of its own race though unconfirmed. The story takes place in Shushan, a city-state in Shem, somewhere in the mountains, with the direction of being in the east. [The Savage Sword of Conan #183]
- The Demon of Shinu: An unnamed character introduced in The Savage Sword of Conan #184, this demon isn't seen in later stories. Able to summon the living dead (I.E Zombies), the demon offers gold in exchange for "a living death". Of what this entails, nothing is known, except perhaps being an explanation out of many for where sorcerers and madmen seek magical power in the world of Conan. Conan fails to defeat the demon, but is saved by his companions. [The Savage Sword of Conan #184]