12 Weirdest Video Game Enemies (And What They Represent)

Screeching like a banshee, shaped somewhat by a mermaid's body, and ostensibly outwardly feminine in appearance - it's no surprise that actual folklore inspired these big bad monsters.

Originating in Celtic legend, the Leanan sídhe (pronounced Lee-an-an-she, almost identical to Amalur's monsters) is translated to "fairy-lover", a female of the fae folk who takes a human parter, often an artist that wants to use their beauty as a muse for their work, and usually ends up going mad in the process.

Leanan sídhe feast upon the life force of their partners, unknown to the rest of the world by appearing as a normal beautiful woman: otherwise people would probably have something to say about the giant draining monster attached to their pals. You'd hope, anyway.

Amalur's take on the legend is a mostly naked woman as a nod to this myth, alluring and beautiful, though marked with dark magic and strangely inhuman extremities to signpost their true malicious intent. The Leanashes of Amalur are an embodiment of the pain and suffering that Leanan sídhe inspire in their victims - they want to cause the player pain in the same way their mythical counterpart does, just in a far more physical and obvious sense.