This is what's written in Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide to the Fantastical World Around You about Giants.
Giants (Family: Gigantidae)[]
These lumbering brutes hibernate for most of their adult lives, sometimes sleeping for so long their backs become densely forested. This, coupled with the fact they can grow as large as hills and are often indistinguishable from the landscape, means it's entirely possible for a person to walk across the back of a sleeping giant and not even know it.'
Highly territorial, giants seldom form attachments. Although normally placid, they can turn quite violent if roused. When giants take over a new terrain, they will raze it to the ground, creating forest fires as a means of staking their claim. Giant territory is marked by unusual land formations: lakes in the shape of footprints, trees knocked over without apparent cause, hills made entirely of dung, and boulders strewn from where they were hurled in sport or fury.
Known species[]
- Eastern Hill Giant (Gigas orientalis)
- European Mountain Giant (Gigas europeanous)
- Northern Lake Giant (Gigas sapias)
Additional facts[]
Giants sometimes swallow Salamanders and use their natural combustion to breath fire. They also feed on baby Hydras and use their methan excretions to do the same thing.
Some specimens of Giants hibernate in lakes and absorb nutrients through their porous skin.
A Giant's skin resembles earth and stone and is covered in lichen and moss. Some individuals even have small trees on their backs. The Giants' thick hair resembles roots and grass.
When a Giant is killed, its body hardens into rock. Blood resembles loose mud, and if you rip off part of a dead Giant's body, the inner flesh resembles dirt and earth.
The Giants awake all at the same time, but only once in 500 years. The only purpose they awaken is to fight and kill the Hydras, preventing them from growing too big and or destroying the world through fire.
Ogres, Mermaids, and Trolls are descendants from Giants.
Some Giant species have two heads.
One way to differ Giants from hills is some have large amounts of dandruff in their root-like beards and weedlike hair.
Behind the scenes[]
Probably, the fact Giants sleep underground and resemble mountains was inspired by the Chenoo from the mythology of the Irokes American Indian tribe. The Chenoo were stone Giants who hibernated in underground caves as adults. Body parts still visible overground resembled ordinary rocks or stones. If a sleeping Chenoo was disturbed by curious Humans, it would awake and often become mighty angry, throwing trees or even each other. Certain powerful shamans could tame the Giants.
Appearances[]
- Arthur Spiderwick's Field Guide (First appearance)
- The Nixie's Song
- A Giant Problem
- The Wyrm King