This is a list of female monsters in literature:
Before 1900
Antiquity (until fifth century AD) Greek mythology Amphitrite, an oceanid or nereid and wife of Poseidon Callirrhoe, an oceanid and wife of Poseidon Doris, an oceanid and mother of the Nereids Echidna, half-woman and half-snake Electra, an oceanid and mother of the Harpies Eurynome, an oceanid and the third wife of Zeus The three Gorgon sisters (Medusa, Euryale, and Stheno), with hair made of venomous snakes, turn anyone who looks at them to stone The Harpies, birds with the heads of women Lamia, a child-eating, disfigured monster Metis, an oceanid and first wife of Zeus The Nereids, oceanids Scylla and Charybdis, sea monsters living on opposite sides of a narrow strait The Sirens, women combined with birds, whose songs lured sailors to wreck their ships The Sphinx, the head of a woman and the body of a lion, said to have guarded the entrance to the city of Thebes Styx, an oceanid and wife of Pallas
Middle Ages
Beowulf (c. 700–1000): Grendel's mother, a monster-woman
Prose Edda by Snorri Sturluson (c. 1220): The Valkyries, female creatures (often depicted as winged) of Norse mythology, who choose which fighters live and die in battle Roman de Mélusine by Jean d'Arras (1392–94): Mélusine, a water spirit of European folklore
Early modern period
Paradise Lost by John Milton (1667): Sin, an allegorical character with the tail of a fish
Nineteenth century
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (1818): Female version of the creature created by Victor Frankenstein – he destroys it before it can be brought to life The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Andersen (1837): The title character is a mermaid The Succubus by Honoré de Balzac (1837): A succubus disguised as a woman Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu (1871–2): Carmilla, a vampire who preys upon young women The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells (1896): Half-finished puma-woman created by Dr Moreau, who eventually fights and kills him The Great God Pan by Arthur Machen (1894): Helen, the child of the character Mary and the Greek god Pan
Twentieth century
1950s
The Lord of the Rings by J. R. R. Tolkien (1954): Shelob is a gigantic female spider
1960s
Dragonriders of Pern series by Anne McCaffrey (1967–2012): Ramoth and --Ruth--(note: Ruth is actually a male dragon), dragons Vampirella comic book series, created by Forrest J Ackerman (1969–83): Vampirella, a vampire
1970s
Lila the Werewolf by Peter S. Beagle (1974): Lila, a young female werewolf living in New York City
1980s
The Belgariad series by David Eddings (1982–4): Dryads, female human-like creatures, bound to oak trees Nights at the Circus by Angela Carter (1984): Fevvers, a circus performer claims to be part-swan Vampire Princess Miyu by Toshiki Hirano (1989–2002): Miyu, half-human and half-vampire
1990s
Tehanu and The Other Wind by Ursula K. Le Guin (1990, 2001): Tehanu, part-human and part-dragon Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series by Laurell K. Hamilton (1993–present): Many female characters are vampires, shapeshifters, and other creatures. In the later books, Anita Blake becomes a succubus. Animorphs series by K. A. Applegate and Michael Grant (1996–2001): Rachel and Cassie, can transform into any animal they touch Aprilhäxan by Majgull Axelsson (1997): Desirée, 'the April witch', a shape-shifting monster