6. The Cockatrice
A cockatrice is a mythical beast, essentially a two-legged dragon with a rooster’s head. According to Alexander Neckam’s De naturis rerum (ca 1180), the cockatrice was supposed to be born from an egg laid by a chicken and incubated by a toad; a snake might be substituted in re-tellings. Its reputed magical abilities include turning people to stone or killing them by either looking at them. It can fly.
In England the town most associated with the cockatrice is the village of Wherwell, near Andover in Hampshire. The story is that the cockatrice terrorised the village until it was imprisoned in the dungeons below Wherwell Priory. A prize of land was offered to anyone who could kill the creature. None was successful, until a man named Green lowered a mirror into the dungeon. The cockatrice battled against its own reflection until exhausted, at which point Green was able to kill it. Also See: 5 extremely scary murder cases in history of the world (With Pictures)
Discussion about this post