OK, I have two ideas for monsters, but I am having trouble thinking of a name for them. The first is a creature the size of a large wolf. It is all black, glowing red eyes (typical) it has the appearance of a cloud of fine black ash, continuously billowing, yet not looking like it were blowing away, and you can't see through it. It can take any appearance it likes, and change its size (within reason, it cannot become the size of a house, or a world). However, while changing appearance, the eyes and the color never change. It is under the control of the villain, always, but if the villain dies, they continue on, killing uncontrollably. There are only three of them. They, finding their target, would kill it on sight, the victim frozen stiff, dead from fright. They feed off fear, consume it, it is sweet as honey to them. If, by some miracle, the person doesn't die right away, the creatures claw at the victim, then leave it to die. You see, they naturally create a poison in their bodies, which is stored in their claws. The poison first results in terrifying nightmares and illness, then there will be a seeming recovery, but the nightmares will continue. then, the person will begin to see their nightmares in reality, hallucinations. Then, they will begin to have suicidal thoughts, and eventually take their own lives. There were four of these creatures, but one of them was killed. It took six men to take it down, and every one of them died. To this day, no one knows how to defeat them, all of those involved having been killed in the attempt. The creatures are ageless, and cannot get ill. Practically unbeatable. I cant think of a good name for them, though. Any suggestions? I was thinking of calling them nightmares, but it seems a bit unoriginal and dull for such an interesting creature.
The second creature is not nearly as bad as the first, but is still formidable, none the less. It is big as a grizzly bear, and walks upright like man, but with hunched spines. They have the fur coat of a hyena, and a ridge of fur running down their spines. They come in colors of brown, dark brown, grey and black. Their faces resemble that of a bulldog, round and flat. The insides of their mouths are completely covered with teeth. They come in large numbers, unlike the creature above. They have black eyes. They make up the bulk of the villain's army. They are not that intelligent, but have the capability of speech, and can learn to use weapons and take orders. They prefer, however, to take their victims down as a cat might pounce on a mouse. I haven't had any ideas for a name for this creature. Suggestions?

Very scary...and creative, Childoffaith. I wouldn't want to read about those at night in the dark.
As for names? Well, the first creature could be called a Nightmare. I don't think that's a bad name. That's pretty much what they are.

First Creature: Marnak, Narmok, Fargul, Gulfar

Second Creature: Tarkel, Marng' Al, Malnark

What do you think?

All the suggestions are great! Thanks to all who reply!
Keep reading!

I like the nightmare concept but if you want something a little more profound (if that's the right word) you could call them nightterrors that's what people seem to call bad dreams that are significantly worse than their nightmares.

You know what would be neat for the bear thing? Call it a Beowulf.

Isn't there a poem called Beowulf? It's the title of an English epic poem of 3182 lines. It is set in Scandinavia, I believe.

Beowulf translates to Bee-wolf which means bear but because your creature had dog like qualities I thought it would be cool.

I'll break my reply down piece-by-piece: first sounds, then bits of words, then possible names. That way, you can pick and choose whatever elements happen to strike your fancy.

First, potentially menacing sounds include "v," "r," "k," "t" - harsh, clanging, totally visible sounds. However, for a more silent and sinister creature, "s," "d," "b," "l," "f," soft "g," and "o" work well. Also, "u"s have a strange, almost eerie quality.

Bits of words/roots of words that could work nicely {especially for the first creature} are "acros" or "akros", "clav" {for the second one}, "crept," "crass," "destr," "ferr," "feros," "ferok," "furk" {for the second one}, "kil," "oss," "sell," "ross," "loth," "sin," "tak," "taur" {for the second one}, "urn," "velos," "velok," "xiph."

For specific names, I do like nightmare/night-terror, but you're right, it does seem slightly more obvious and commonplace. Other possibles are: "fell," "nihilor" {for a Latin flavor}, "vesper," "urnoss," "d'esveloth."

Hope that gets your imagination going!

~ Dawn

First beast: Saskin, Davan, Foruskar, Shastir

Second beast: Karkil, Shakiran, Dolar, Hrakardan

Hope that helps! They sound very interesting, just one question. How did the six men take down one of the first beasts?

Hadrack

Garthril

Azanath

Gorgorill

Those were just some things that came to mind.

For the first:

Grais, or Graiz (a Blackness),
Kiest (a son of Blackness),
Sorsonnakh (sons, makers, workers, or heroes of Darkness),
Sulssana (givers, those who put into Darkness),
Kophos (containers into which they put life).

For English names you could use the meanings of the Otherworld names, or you could use these:

Mouths of Night,
Eyes of Night,
Faces of Night,
Fears of Night,
Sons of Night,
Workers of Night,
Tasters of fear,
Drinkers of fear,
Eaters of fear,
Lovers of fear,
Feargreeds.

For the others:

Kolas, Kolash, or Kolosh (those who beat hardly),
Kroas, plural Kroash (those who roar greatly),
Golkhon, plural Golkhond (a great Scull, or the great Sculls),
Klokon dorgon, plural Klokon dorgo (what the Evil looks like).

Or for a weird, sinister mood:

Kulkhud, plural Kulkhund (a Mouth that moans, the Mouths that moan)
Kuellugh, plural Kuellughim (they eat those who rise up)
Orong-un, plural Orong-unil (they throw men aside into a pit),
Re-hmet gal, plural Re-hmet gald (a Walking Beast who kills, Walking Beasts who kill).

What do you think?

*Is wishing he could come up with names like that*

Do not be sad. It takes a lot of practice.

A healthy interest in foreign languages helps a lot.

I actually haven't worked out how the men killed the beast. It has a weakness, though. It can't be taken down by brute force, as is the usual method. It is either a weak spot, which would be ridiculous to try to find because of its shape shifting, or it could be some compound or element or such that kills it, like fire is to the Kalkara in The Rangers Apprentice.

I'm working on something similar to that at the moment, but they actually exist (demons). They're basically made from shadow, which is what you should call your first creature, shadow. Cool or what? (By the way, I'm new here and need some help getting around if anyone wants to volunteer)

Another idea would be to combine english words into a name or mutilate english words (both I do a lot of). Or add a suffix or prefix to an english word. For an example, the Shadowen in the Shannara books.

So your creatures could be called:

First one: Shadeskill, Darkslen, or Foulren.

Second one: Clawtorr, the Raor, or Splinarc (arc of spines being the 'root')

On the other hand, I'm digging Evenstar's root words and sounds, if you want a completely new name (no roots in any language), then that would be the way to go.