Did you know that “bugbear” is an English word dating to the 16th century? Although we know and love them as monsters from a famous fantasy RPG, bugbears weren’t made up by RPG designers. They come from English folklore. Our upcoming Bestiary of Enchanted England takes this classic monster back to its roots.

Here are some excerpts from our manuscript on bugbears, by Mark Lawford. ©2022 Shewstone Publishing LLC. All rights reserved.

With a broad toothy grin and eyes that glow green, these fur-covered man-things feed on fear, apprehension, and self-doubt. They are more common than people ever suspected and as society built villages, towns, and cities around them so the bugbears followed. They hide in the dark places; in the unlit narrows and alleys of the city, in deserted burnt-out tenements, and under beds as people pray for sleep...

Bugbears used to be found in the dark and dank reaches of old woodlands. They would feed upon the unseen miasma created by fears and worries of humans who strayed from the path and become lost. But as mankind built more elaborate settlements, the bugbears migrated with them. People encounter them all the time without knowing it. They hear their footsteps behind them when they need to go into the dusty loft, they spot their shadows in the lonely dark alley, and they feel their presence beneath their bed at night. And the bugbears feed...

With their ability to melt into the shadows, they can hide from their chosen victim for many months, sustaining itself on magical humours and vapours given off by the victim's fear and self-doubt. Despite its fearsome appearance, a bugbear never attacks physically, but when the spell is broken and the bugbear itself is threatened it tries to make its escape.

Those knowing a little lore about bugbears may know that the light shed from a green candle illuminates the creatures regardless of where they are in the room or whether they are using their powers to hide themselves.