Let's Hunt Monsters (According to Legends)

[KoDT69]

So I have been trying to recapture the older AD&D feel and the grimdark aesthetic of the original Ravenloft or even Tomb of Horrors type settings. One thing AD&D did was in the monster entries it would detail the real world legends of how to defeat/kill them. We all know a stake to the heart of a Vampire will kill it. Werebeasts are weak to silver. You guys get it. I'm thinking that the commoners in a D&D world are likely much tougher than you'd expect. Like why not have a grandpa that forged silver spears and ran off some werewolf or had salt lines at the door threshold to keep demons out?

Please help me compile the real world lore. All the stuff you can think of, not just to kill but ward off, trap, banish, etc all my non-magical means. I'd like the classic lore stuff only. No day-walkers or vampires that sparkle in sunlight please 🥺

[Malphegor]

Book of Beasts is an irl bestiary with tons of this stuff.
For example you can delay tiger mothers when stealing tigers by leaving behind a crystal ball: the confusion they get when they see their reflection and assume it’s their cub gives you time to scarper.

This is probably how you get d&d rakashas.