List of female monsters in literature

This is a list of female monsters in literature:

Antiquity (until fifth century AD)

 * Greek mythology
 * Amphitrite, an oceanid or nereid and wife of Poseidon
 * Callirrhoe, an oceanid and wife of Poseidon
 * Doris, an oceanid and mother of the Nereids
 * Echidna, half-woman and half-snake
 * Electra, an oceanid and mother of the Harpies
 * Eurynome, an oceanid and the third wife of Zeus
 * The three Gorgon sisters (Medusa, Euryale, and Stheno), with hair made of venomous snakes, turn anyone who looks at them to stone
 * The Harpies, birds with the heads of women
 * Lamia, a child-eating, disfigured monster
 * Metis, an oceanid and first wife of Zeus
 * The Nereids, oceanids
 * Scylla and Charybdis, sea monsters living on opposite sides of a narrow strait
 * The Sirens, women combined with birds, whose songs lured sailors to wreck their ships
 * The Sphinx, the head of a woman and the body of a lion, said to have guarded the entrance to the city of Thebes
 * Styx, an oceanid and wife of Pallas

Middle Ages

 * Beowulf (c. 700–1000): Grendel's mother, a monster-woman
 * Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson (c. 1220): The Valkyries, female creatures (often depicted as winged) of Norse mythology, who choose which fighters live and die in battle
 * Roman de Mélusine by Jean d'Arras (1392–94): Mélusine, a water spirit of European folklore

Early modern period

 * Paradise Lost by John Milton (1667): Sin, an allegorical character with the tail of a fish

Nineteenth century

 * Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818): Female version of the creature created by Victor Frankenstein – he destroys it before it can be brought to life
 * The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen (1837): The title character is a mermaid
 * The Succubus by Honoré de Balzac (1837): A succubus disguised as a woman
 * Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu (1871–2): Carmilla, a vampire who preys upon young women
 * The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells (1896): Half-finished puma-woman created by Dr Moreau, who eventually fights and kills him
 * The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen (1894): Helen, the child of the character Mary and the Greek god Pan

1950s

 * The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (1954): Shelob is a gigantic female spider

1960s

 * Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey (1967–2012): Ramoth and --Ruth--(note: Ruth is actually a male dragon), dragons
 * Vampirella comic book series, created by Forrest J Ackerman (1969–83): Vampirella, a vampire

1970s

 * Lila the Werewolf by Peter S. Beagle (1974): Lila, a young female werewolf living in New York City

1980s

 * The Belgariad series by David Eddings (1982–4): Dryads, female human-like creatures, bound to oak trees
 * Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter (1984): Fevvers, a circus performer claims to be part-swan
 * Vampire Princess Miyu by Toshiki Hirano (1989–2002): Miyu, half-human and half-vampire

1990s

 * Tehanu and The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin (1990, 2001): Tehanu, part-human and part-dragon
 * Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton (1993–present): Many female characters are vampires, shapeshifters, and other creatures. In the later books, Anita Blake becomes a succubus.
 * Animorphs series by K. A. Applegate and Michael Grant (1996–2001): Rachel and Cassie, can transform into any animal they touch
 * Aprilhäxan by Majgull Axelsson (1997): Desirée, 'the April witch', a shape-shifting monster

2000s

 * Year of the Griffin by Diana Wynne Jones (2000): Elda, a griffin
 * The Southern Vampire Mysteries series by Charlaine Harris (2001–13): Sookie Stackhouse, a faerie-human hybrid. Many other female characters are vampires, fae, shapeshifters, etc.
 * Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch manga series by Michiko Yokote (2002–5): Lucia, Hanon and Rina, mermaid princesses
 * Emily Windsnap series by Liz Kessler (2003–15): Emily Windsnap, half-human and half-mermaid
 * The Ingo Chronicles by Helen Dunmore (2005–12): Sapphire, half-human and half-mermaid
 * Twilight series by Stephenie Meyer (2005–8): Several female characters are vampires and one is a werewolf. Bella becomes a vampire in the final book of the series.
 * Bone Song by John Meaney (2007): Laura Steele, a benevolent zombie woman.
 * The Shifters series by Rachel Vincent (2007–10): Faythe Sanders, a werecat
 * The Story of GROWL by Judy Horacek (2007): Growl, a young female monster
 * Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead (2007–10): Lissa, Jill and Rose, vampires
 * The Host by Stephenie Meyer (2008): Wanderer, a female parasitic alien implanted into the body of a human woman
 * Faery Rebels series by R. J. Anderson (2009–11): Knife, Linden and Rhosmari (among others), faeries
 * Fire by Kristin Cashore (2009): Lady Fire, a 'human monster'
 * Soul Screamer series by Rachel Vincent (2009–13): Kaylee and Nash, banshees
 * The Parasol Protectorate and Finishing School series by Gail Carriger (2009–15): Sidheag Maccon, a werewolf
 * Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Books 1-5  Annabeth Chase
 * Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Books 1-5  Rachel Elizabeth Dare
 * Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Books 1-5  Zoë Nightshade
 * Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Books 1-5  Sally Jackson
 * Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Books 1-5  Thalia Grace
 * Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Books 1-5  Silena Beauregaurd
 * Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Books 1-5 Editor Note; This list from PJO is not including the female gods from the series. :>  Bianca Di Angelo
 * Percy Jackson and the Olympians: Books 1-5  Clarisse La Rue

2010s

 * iZOMBIE comic book series by Chris Roberson (2010–12): Gwen, a revenant or zombie
 * A Centaur's Life manga series by 	Kei Murayama (2011–present): Himeno, a centaur
 * Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs (2011): Claire has a second mouth in the back of her head, and the Ymbrynes can shape-shift into birds
 * Monster Musume manga series by Okayado (2012–present): Many of the female characters are mermaids, centaurs, etc.
 * Seraphina by Rachel Hartman (2012): Seraphina, half-dragon, half-human
 * The Girl with All the Gifts by M. R. Carey (2014): Melanie, infected with a zombie virus
 * Talon series by Julie Kagawa (2014): Ember, a dragon hiding in human form
 * Interviews with Monster Girls manga series by Petos (2015–present): Hikari (a vampire), Kyōko (a dullahan), Yuki (a snow woman), and Sakie (a succubus)
 * Lorali series by Laura Dockrill (2015–17): Lorali and Aurabel, mermaids