Mythology and fiction in NetHack

The computer game NetHack draws from many mythologies which are not explicitly fictional, as well as works of modern fiction and other computer games.
Arabic
* djinni
* ghoul
Babylonian
* Marduk, the Creator
* The cave(wo)man pantheon: Anu, Ishtar and Anshar
Caribbean
* zombie
Celtic
* The knight pantheon: Lugh, Brigit and Manannan mac Lir
Chinese
* dragon—but see below
* ki-rin
* The monk pantheon: Shan Lai Ching, Chih Sung-tzu and Huan Ti
* yeti
Greek
* Archon
* centaur
* Cerberus (this monster does not appear in actual game currently)
* Geryon
* erinys
* Medusa
* minotaur
* nymph
* The Cyclops
* The healer pantheon: Athena, Hermes and Poseidon
* The Staff of Aesculapius
* titan
* The statue of Perseus
* Sirius (ranger's pet dog name, referring to Orion's dog)
Egyptian
* Book of the Dead
* The wizard pantheon: Ptah, Thoth and Anhur
English
* Ettin
European
Some monsters are taken from myths and folklore whose precise origins are unknown, but which are essentially medieval European.
* bugbear
* chickatrice
* cockatrice
* dragons were known to the Chinese, but dragons as monsters is a European myth
* gargoyle
* giants are present in almost all cultures
* goblin
* gremlin
* imp
* incubus
* kraken
* leocrotta
* leprechaun
* ogre
* succubus
* troll
* unicorn
* vampire
* werewolf
Germanic
* doppelgänger
* elf
* gnome
* kobold
Hindu
* naga
Japanese
* The samurai pantheon: Amaterasu Omikami, Raijin and Susanowo
* The tsurugi of Muramasa
* tengu
Judeo-Christian
* Angel
* Asmodeus
* Baalzebub
* golem
* Hell (now called Gehennom)
* Moloch
* Three of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse: Death, Famine, and Pestilence (in conversation with these three, and in the sourcecode, the role of War is implied to have been assumed by the player)
* The invocation ritual ("Bell, book, and candle") is loosely connected to the Catholic excommunication ceremony
Mesoamerican
* couatl or coatl is the nahuatl name for snakes
* The archeologist pantheon: Quetzalcoatl, Camaxtli and Huhetotl (a variant spelling of Huehueteotl)
* xans are named after the mosquito from Popol Vuh
Norse
* dwarf
* Mjollnir, the artifact war hammer
* The valkyrie class and pantheon: Tyr, Odin and Loki
* Lord Surtur
North American
* The cryptozoological sasquatch
Roman
* Demogorgon
* Dispater
* Geryon
* lemure
* manes
* Orcus
* The ranger pantheon: Mercury, Venus and Mars
Welsh
* Excalibur
* King Arthur
* The Cŵn Annwn
Fiction
NetHack draws on several fictional works, especially Dungeons & Dragons and the writings of J. R. R. Tolkien, but also many other fantasy writers, some of which in turn were inspired by ancient myths.
Dungeons & Dragons
* Aleax
* gelatinous cube
* giant spider
* green slime
* hezrou
* Juiblex, the demon lord
* lich
* lurker above
* marilith
* mimic
* mind flayer
* nalfeshnee
* owlbear
* piercer
* pit fiend
* pyrolisk
* quasit
* rothé
* rust monster
* trapper
* umber hulk
* vrock
* winter wolf
* xorn
* Yeenoghu, the demon lord
Tolkien
* balrog
* barrow wight
* cram ration
* dwarvish/elven mithril coat
* Elbereth
* hobbit
* lembas wafer
* Mordor orc
* mumak
* Nazgûl
* Olog-hai
* orc
* Orcrist, the artifact weapon
* Sting, the artifact weapon
* The ranger class
* Uruk-hai
* warg
Poetry
* Jabberwocks and Vorpal Blade, the artifact sword, are from Lewis Carroll's poem "Jabberwocky"
* The Magic Mirror of Merlin is from Edmund Spenser's poem The Faerie Queene
* References to 'Maud' when the player characters lose their memory are inspired by Alfred Lord Tennyson's "Maud"
Literature
* Grayswandir, the artifact silver saber, is from Roger Zelazny's Chronicles of Amber
* Stormbringer, the artifact runesword, is from the Elric fantasy fiction stories by Michael Moorcock
* The barbarian class and pantheon (Mitra, Crom, Set), Pelias, the Heart of Ahriman, and Thoth-Amon are related to Robert E. Howard's Conan the Barbarian novels
* The tourist class, pantheon (Blind Io, The Lady, Offler) and quest (with Twoflower) are based on Terry Pratchett's Discworld
* The rogue class pantheon (Issek of the Jug, Mog, Kos) is from Fritz Leiber's Fafhrd and the Gray Mouser stories.
* The crysknife is from Frank Herbert's Dune novel, and the "Long Worms" are based on Dunes sandworms, called Shai-Hulud
* The towel, the graffiti message "We apologize for the inconvenience", the dog-eared spellbook and several hallucination monsters are from Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy
* The Eyes of the Overworld and sandestins are from Jack Vance's Dying Earth books
* The graffiti messages "A.S. ->" and "<- A.S." are references to Journey to the Center of the Earth
* A player who has become invisible can wear a "mummy wrapping" in order to become visible again, a reference to the opening scene of H. G. Wells's The Invisible Man
* A hatching dragon makes a cry of "Gleep!"—a reference to the dragon Gleep from MythAdventures
Film and television
* The archeologist class (starting with fedora, leather jacket and bullwhip) is based on Indiana Jones movie character
* gremlins appear with their unique characteristics as portrayed in the 1984 movie Gremlins
* grid bugs are from the 1982 movie Tron
* The save and exit message "Be seeing you..." is from The Prisoner
* The Keystone Kops from early silent films appear as the game's police force
Video games
* The Wizard of Yendor first appeared in NetHack's predecessor, Hack
* The wumpus is from the computer game Hunt the Wumpus
* The brass lantern, the fortune cookie message "The magic word is XYZZY" and the graffiti message "You won't get it up the steps" are references to Adventure
* The 'Sokoban' levels are a tribute to the Japanese computer game of the same name
* NetHacks currency, the zorkmid, is from the computer game Zork
Other
* Snickersnee, the artifact katana, is from the Gilbert and Sullivan operetta The Mikado
* The graffiti message "notary sojak" is a reference to Smokey Stover
* Eating tinned spinach produces the message "This makes you feel like Popeye!"
* The Quantum Mechanic monster may drop a box containing Schrödinger's cat
Reality
Some characters and monsters are based on historical reality:
* Ashikaga Takauji
* baluchitherium
* Croesus
* Hippocrates
* killer bee
* Lord Carnarvon
* mastodon
* Oracle of Delphi
* queen bee
* titanothere
* Vlad the Impaler
 
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