Topic Research: Supernatural Characters

I think the topic I would most enjoy for my storybook would be supernatural characters of the Ramayana. I had mentioned writing of rakshasas/rakshasis, and have already read Goblin City and written my own story involving rakshasis. I found The Wise and the Foolish Merchant and thought this might be fun to rewrite. It involves rakshasas as well, but I like that here the man outsmarts the demons instead of being rescued. The Terrible Bell is another rakshasa story I'd be interested in. It reads more like a false ghost story, reminding me a bit of Scooby Doo.

Another supernatural character would be the mermaid Suvannamaccha, who I mentioned writing about for the love stories topic. I really enjoyed the story of Hanuman and Suvannamaccha and would love to work with it later for my project. Mermaids have always been of interest to me and I enjoy love stories. 

I would also like to write of yakshas. The Princes and the Water-Sprite (Devadhamma) is a good story for this. Again, the main character outsmarts the supernatural being. But also, the being is so impressed with the prince that he protects him and they become sort of friends. I think this is a very unique evolution of characters and their relationship. Maybe I'd have the monster and the hero become lovers.


Image Information: Rakshasa, Source: Flickr