The ahuizotl (from the Classical Nahuatl: āhuitzotl for "spiny aquatic thing", a.k.a. "water dog") is a legendary creature in Aztec mythology. It is said to lure people to their deaths. The creature was taken as a mascot by the ruler of the same name, and was said to be a "friend of the rain gods".The conquistador Hernán Cortés once reported to the King of Castile that one of his men had been killed by an ahuizotl.
In Inuit mythology an ijiraq ( EE-yi-rahk or EE-ji-rahk) is a shape-shifting creature that is said to kidnap children, hide them away and abandon them. The inuksugaq (or inukshuk) of stone allow these children to find their way back if they can convince the ijiraq to let them go.
