For a story centered around a man who kills monsters for a living, The Witcher doesn’t let its titular protagonist Geralt do a whole lot of Witchering, but since the character’s existence in the visual medium was first defined by the video games — wherein players faced their fair share of monster “contracts” — Netflix had to accommodate expectations by incorporating them into every season at regular intervals.
Henry Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia has been battling beasts of all kinds since taking on the mantle and picking up that bastard sword. From a swamp-infesting Kikimora to the king of serpents, Basilisk, here is every monster that Netflix has thrown at our Witcher in the first three seasons.
Kikimora
The Kikimora is a house spirit in Slavic mythology, but in the world of The Witcher, it’s an insectoid that lives in swamps. Geralt may have made quick work of the monster in the opening moments of the television show, but don’t mistake those razor-sharp tentacles for anything other than deadly if it runs an unfortunate fellow through.
Striga
The Striga is probably the most prominent monster in The Witcher books, appearing in Geralt’s first published story. Andrzej Sapkowski describes the Striga as a human woman metamorphosed by a curse into an abhorrent beast-like creature. Geralt faces Foltest’s mystery Striga and manages to break the curse, bringing the girl back to the new keep, and killing a royal traitor in the process.
Sylvan
Normal humans might not be able to distinguish one monster from another — say, a harmless nature- dweller from a vicious succubus — but that’s not the case with Geralt. During his travels, the Witcher comes across a Sylvan who goes by the name of Torque. Sylvans are highly intelligent and rare, and they delight in teasing other beings with pranks.
Though the people of the village contract the monster hunter to rid them of the Sylvan, he spares his life, because it goes against his moral code to harm an intelligent creature who isn’t a danger to anyone. And in a way, Geralt is quite like Torque; an outcast, a freak of nature, who has to bear intolerance on a daily basis.
Urcheon of Erlenwald
The Urcheon of Erlenwald, later revealed as Emperor Emhyr var Emreis of Nilfgaard, was another creature that Geralt refused to kill due to the fact that he was just a cursed human. Duny was cursed from a young age, and came to reclaim his prize after invoking the Law of Surprise on Pavetta’s father from years ago. After Queen Calanthe agreed to their marriage, the curse was lifted and Duny regained his human form.
Djinn
The djinns in The Witcher follow the same rules as djinns in many other pieces of media. When you free a djinn from its dwelling place, it has to realize three of your desires, and only then will it be free of your will. In The Last Wish, Geralt uses his final wish to bind Yennefer’s fate to his own, and in doing so further tightens destiny’s hold on the two of them.
Doppler
Dopplers have a very self-explanatory name. They can transition to anyone and anything if they so wish, which makes them very elusive, and also incredibly useful to the right sort of people. While they’re not exactly mindless monsters, they might need to be put down if they decide to use their powers to do evil. And who better than a Witcher to take on the job?
In Wild Hunt, Geralt devises a story about a doppler to draw one of Ciri’s associates out, and he, in turn, helps the White Wolf to solve another piece of the puzzle.
Hirikka
The Hirikka is another supernatural creature that Geralt hesitates to attack in The Witcher series. These are rare mountain dwellers that feed on grass or venison. While they don’t attack human beings and certainly don’t feed on them, they can be dangerous under certain circumstances, but much in the same way as a normal wolf would be to an unwary traveler.
Dragon
Dragons are very rare creatures in The Witcher universe and the one Geralt encounters, a Golden Dragon, is even rarer, being the other of the only two such serpentine fire drakes to have ever been sighted on the Continent. Villentretenmerth, or Borch Three Jackdaws as he is otherwise known, has the ability to morph into a human being, which is how he tricks Geralt at the beginning of the story. When the Witcher realizes that Borch only wants to protect his own from humans and other scavengers hired to kill them, he sides with the Dragon, and fights off the intruders.
Necrophage
Necrophages are undead humanoid creatures that haunt cemeteries and battlefields, looking to feast on carcasses as would a carrion crow. They are generally easy to kill in low numbers for a trained Witcher, but even a formidable warrior like Geralt would be hard-pressed to keep a larger horde off his back. Witchers can use the Aard sign to push a pack back, while doing a pirouette and slashing through those closing in with their silver swords. But even that’s not a guarantee that one of them won’t get you somewhere in your body, as seen in The Witcher finale.
Nivellen
From a canonical perspective, Nivellen is the first monster Geralt encounters in The Witcher books, but the Netflix adaptation opted to depict his story for the premiere episode of season 2. Andrzej Sapkowski initially misleads the reader into thinking that Geralt has to kill Nivellen, but we soon learn the monster doesn’t wish to harm the White Wolf. After staying at his manor and learning about why he became a monster in the first place, Geralt helps Nivellen break the curse, which brings us to the next monster: The Bruxa.
Bruxa
The Bruxa is a vampire that is incredibly agile and deadly in close quarters. They have sharp fangs and claws that can pierce through the skin like butter, and their shrill cry has the power to send a person flying backward. A Bruxa called Vereena takes refuge in Nivellen’s manor, and the cursed man turns a blind eye to her desire for blood. When Geralt finally confronts the Bruxa, Nivellen is forced to kill her, which breaks his own curse and turns him into a normal human.
Myriapodan
In The Witcher on Netflix, Myriapods are insectoid creatures that are incredibly difficult to kill. Their armor protects them even from Geralt’s silver sword, and it’s believed that they form the stellacite around monoliths.
Leshy
Leshy are forest guardians that kill anyone who comes close to them. In The Witcher television show, Eskel, a Kaer Morhen resident and Geralt’s good friend, gets infected and slowly transforms into a Leshy. The Witcher and their mentor Vesemir try to reason with the turned Eskel, but Geralt is ultimately forced to kill him in an act of mercy.
Zeugl
Zeugls live off of sewage and can predominantly be found in the urban underground. Yennefer and Cahir face off against a Zeugl in the second season, but the monsters also appear in CD Projekt’s video game trilogy, specifically in a quest involving both Geralt and Triss Merigold.
Chernobog
The Chernobog is an otherworldly being that comes to the Continent as a result of Ciri tapping into the monolith portals. The Chernobog kills Geralt’s horse and companion, Roach, before he and Ciri manage to bait and kill it. In Slavic mythology, the Chernobog is an evil deity who corrupts souls and turns them toward darkness.
Basilisk
Basilisks are a species of scaled, draconic monsters that appear in every form of Witcher media. They are one of the most dominant monsters that Geralt faces in the games, so it was only a matter of time before they made their debut in the show. In the season 2 finale, Geralt and the rest of the Kaer Morhen Witchers engage a number of Basilisks in a fight and ultimately manage to kill them, but at a high cost to their own numbers.
Jackapace
There are no accounts of the Jackapace in the Witcher books or video games, so the monster you see in the season 3 premiere is a Netflix invention. Apparently, the Jackapace are bred for the single purpose of hunting down people with Elven blood, which happens to include our own Ciri. When the monster tracks the Cintran princess down, Geralt intervenes and kills it.
Vilgefortz’s flesh monster
The flesh monster that Geralt encounters in Vilgefortz’s secret headquarters is the single most disgusting monster design to come out of the Witcher universe. The creature itself is actually comprised of different body parts of Aretuza novice girls, who have been welded together in a visually disturbing way.
Werewolf
Geralt meets Otto the Werewolf in season 3. The character reveals himself to be an old friend of the White Wolf and helps him uncover the mystery of the fake Ciri. In The Witcher bestiary, Werewolves are described as immensely dangerous monsters that only the most experienced Witchers can get rid of, so beware of them the next time you sit down to play the games.
Wyvern
Wyverns are serpentine monsters that can inflict deadly injury with their sharp fangs and powerful bodies. In season 3, Ciri is forced to face a baby Wyvern in Gors Velen and reluctantly kills it after she realizes there is no other way out of the predicament.
Aeschna
The Aeschna are water creatures whose body is covered with algae. Geralt and Ciri encounter one as they’re making their way to Aretuza, and manage to kill it by working together. Geralt distracts the monster and trusts Ciri’s Kaer Morhen training to see them through, and sure enough, the princess picks up Geralt’s own sword and delivers the killing blow by thrusting it into the monster’s skull.