Ogres (folklore)

An Ogre is a type of monster common in fairytales and folklore - often confused with giants these creatures are antagonists of many stories and vary in size from slightly larger than a human to hundreds of feet tall: unlike most giants Ogres were said to be hideously ugly and more monstrous than the relatively human giants.

Perhaps the most notable aspect of an Ogre was said to be their immense hunger, often for human flesh, in fact their hunger is sufficiently legendary that many dictionaries define an Ogre as "a man-eating giant" or similiar.

As well as being cannibalistic monster Ogres were depicted as barbarians with little in the way of manners or benevolence, as a result the word has also been used to describe an individual who is seen as exceptionally cruel or brutal.