Literary Sources of D&D
Compiled by Aardy R. DeVarque

The D&D game is an amalgamation of many literary sources, from recent fantasy fiction to ancient mythology. Since understanding how these elements were intended to work, or how to best build on or alter them may sometimes require knowledge of their original context, a listing in one place of such influences could be a great help. However, given the sheer size of the game, and the overwhelming number (and intertwined nature) of literary influences, derivations, and borrowings, a comprehensive catalog would be several lives' work. What appears below is a humble attempt to list what I can.

According to p. 224 of the 1st edition Dungeon Master's Guide, the following are among the books and authors that were of particular inspiration to Gary Gygax in the creation of D&D. According to Mr. Gygax, de Camp & Pratt, Robert E. Howard, Fritz Leiber, Jack Vance, H.P. Lovecraft, and A. Merritt had some of the most direct influences on the direction of the game, and the others in the list had a lesser influence. Since the list was created in part to dispel the belief that D&D was based primarily and almost solely on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, and shortly after the Tolkien estate had accused TSR of copyright infringement, Tolkien's name was intentionally left off of that short list. Even a cursory reading of de Camp, Howard, Leiber, Vance, Lovecraft, and Merritt admittedly show as great or greater influences on D&D as Tolkien, but Tolkien definitely should have also been mentioned with those.[1] Here is the list presented in the 1st edition Dungeon Master's Guide.

General

Law vs. Chaos
Three Hearts and Three Lions, by Poul Anderson, and the "Elric" series by Michael Moorcock (who apparently based his version of Order vs. Chaos on Anderson's novels).
Barbarian class
Based largely on the character of Conan from Robert E. Howard's series of the same name and on the character of Kothar from Gardner Fox's series of the same name (which is itself obviously based on Howard's Conan stories), with some elements taken from the character of Fahfrd from Fritz Lieber's Lankhmar series.
Bard class
Based loosely on the itinerant bards of Greece, the skalds of Norway, Celtic minstrels, minstrels of late medieval Europe, and the stories of Savinien Cyrano de Bergerac--both those he wrote himself, and the more well-known play by Edmond Rostand about him.
Druid class
Based loosely on legends surrounding the pre-Christian Celtic priests called "druids."
Paladin class
Based largely on the character of Holger Carlson from Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions, as well as Anderson's original sources, Charlemagne's paladins in the medieval French chansons de geste ("songs of deeds"), particularly The Song of Roland and Ariosto's Orlando Furioso. The paladin's tie to a special war-horse is also from Three Hearts and Three Lions. ("I do not mean a saint, but a warrior whom God gave more than common gifts and then put under a more than common burden." -- Martinus, in Three Hearts and Three Lions, by Poul Anderson.)
Ranger class
Based primarily on the character of Aragorn from Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Thief/Rogue class
Based largely on the character of the Grey Mouser from the "Lankhmar" stories by Fritz Leiber, with some elements taken from Bilbo Baggins from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
Wizard class
Based largely on the wizards in the Dying Earth series by Jack Vance, especially his story "Mazarian the Magician," as well as on other fantasy wizards such as Martinus from Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions, the wizards in John Bellairs' The Face in the Frost, the characters of Gandalf and Saruman in J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings, and the character of Merlin from the King Arthur legends.
The episodic "treasure quest/tomb raiding" style & feel of D&D
In no particular order: The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien, the Lankhmar stories by Fritz Leiber, Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson, the Cugel stories from the Dying Earth books by Jack Vance, the Conan series by R.E. Howard, and the Kothar series by Gardner Fox. Those are the most obvious influences, but they are far from the only influences.
The "epic quest" style & feel of D&D
In no particular order: The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien and Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson are two of the most obvious influences in this area from the above list, but they are far from the only such influences.
Psionics
Psionics in a quasi-fantasy setting can be found in Sterling Lanier's Hiero's Journey; the presence of this book in the bibliography in the 1st edition DMG would seem to indicate its influence in the development of this area of D&D. (Fantasy psionics also feature very prominently in Katherine Kurtz's Deryni series, though there is no evidence that D&D psionics are based on the powers of the Deryni.) Mental powers have also been a common feature in comic books and science fiction stories for decades, and the field of modern parapsychology has generated quite a bit of writing on the topic; from the quasi-scientific naming scheme (such as id insinuation and ego whip), D&D's psionics seem to be chiefly derived from those sources.
Planes: Acheron
In Greek mythology, Acheron is the name of one of five rivers in Hades, it is also used as a synonym for Hades itself. (In reality, the name was used at various times for several rivers in Greece.) In Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Acheron is the river that divides Hell from Limbo. Other than that, the nature of the D&D plane is the invention of TSR's writers.
Planes: Arcadia
Originally a district of Peloponnesian Greece. In the writing of Virgil, Arcadia was a place of pastoral simplicity and happiness, and came into the English language as a general poetic term for such a place.
Planes: Elysium
In Greek mythology, Elysium is where the spirits of good people resided after they died.
Planes: Gehenna
In the Bible, Gehenna is the Greek name for the valley of Hinnom, which surrounds Jerusalem. It was used at one time as a place where human sacrifices of children were performed, and later as a sort of garbage dump where offal was burnt, and the name eventually became used figuratively as a designation for a place of eternal punishment of sinners. The idea of a place of burning and furnaces was carried over into D&D.
Planes: Hades
Hades was the Greek god of underworld and the dead; his name later came to be synonymous with the underworld itself and thus as a synonym for Hell. The concept of a grey, gloomy place is possibly loosely derived from the myths of Orpheus & Eurydice and Persephone. The presence of the river Styx in the realm of Hades is certainly borrowed from Greek mythology.
Planes: Hades: Niflheim
In Norse mythology, Niflheim was the name of the land of endless cold, darkness, and mists where Hel, the Norse goddess of death, lived under the roots of the sacred ash tree, Yggdrasil.
Planes: Hades: Pluton
Pluton was another name for the Greek god Hades, from which the Roman god Pluto was derived. The basic description of the plane seems to be an loose extrapolation from the Greek myth of Persephone.
Planes: Nine Hells
The number of levels in Hell derives originally from medieval Christian philosophers, but more immediately, it was taken from the nine circles of Hell in Dante Alighieri's Inferno.
Planes: Nine Hells: Avernus
In reality, the name of a lake in Campania in central Italy, known for its sulphurous vapors. Its appearance gave rise to the belief in ancient times that it was a gateway to Hell, and thus the term eventually became a synonym for Hell.
Planes: Nine Hells: Caina
The name used for the first part of the ninth circle of Hell in Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Canto XXXII. Dante describes it as a completely frozen lake formed by the river Cocytus. This is the origin of Caina as a frozen place, but the concept of a frozen lake was used in D&D for the plane of Nessus. (See: Planes: Nine Hells: Nessus)
Planes: Nine Hells: Dis
In Greek mythology, a synonym for Hades--both the place and, in Virgil's Aeneid (VI, 358 & 524), the god Hades/Pluto. In Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Cantos VIII-IX, Dis a large, walled city in Hell with a well-guarded gate, which is the origin of the D&D plane's description. In Canto XXXIV, Dis is another name for Lucifer.
Planes: Nine Hells: Malbolge
The name is derived from Malebolge, the term used for the Eighth Circle of Hell in Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Cantos XVIII-XXX, and means "evil pouches."
Planes: Nine Hells: Nessus
In Greek mythology, specifically the Hercules stories, Nessus was the name of a centaur who was a ferryman. The description of the D&D plane is primarily taken from Dante Alighieri's Inferno, from the description of the frozen lake Caina in the ninth circle of Hell. (See Planes: Nine Hells: Caina)
Planes: Pandemonium: Cocytus
In Greek mythology, Cocytus was one of the five rivers of Hades. (The name means "river of lamentation.") In Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Cocytus was the frozen river that separated the last ring of the last circle of Hell from the rest of Hell. Other than the name, the D&D description of the plane is the invention of TSR's writers.
Planes: Pandemonium: Phlegethon
In Greek mythology, one of the five rivers of Hades; it was a river of fire. In Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Phlegethon is a boiling river of blood. Other than the name, the D&D description of the plane is the invention of TSR's writers.
Planes: Seven Heavens
According to Christian writers before Copernicus, there were seven heavens. (Seven is considered the number of "perfection" or "completion.") This was based on the Ptolemaic system of nine "heavens," or celestial spheres in which the the first seven were populated by the planets revolving around the Earth, the eighth was where all the stars were, and the ninth was the "crystal sphere" used to explain the procession of the equinoxes.
Planes: Seven Heavens: Chronias
In the Ptolemaic solar system, as well as Dante Aligheiri's Paradiso, the seventh heavenly sphere was that of Saturn; the name of the plane is derived from Cronus, the Greek god from which the Roman god Saturn was largely derived. In Christian writings, it was composed of divine light that was impossible to describe.
Planes: Seven Heavens: Jovar
In the Ptolemaic solar system, as well as Dante Aligheiri's Paradiso, the sixth heavenly sphere was that of Jupiter; the name of the plane is derived from Jove, an alternate name for the Roman god Jupiter. In Christian writings, it was made of ruby & garnet.
Planes: Seven Heavens: Lunia
In the Ptolemaic solar system, as well as Dante Alighieri's Paradiso, the first heavenly sphere was that of the Moon; the name of the plane is derived from the word Luna. In Christian writings, it was made of silver, and was adorned with lamps or lanterns, each of which represented a star.
Planes: Seven Heavens: Mercuria
In the Ptolemaic solar system, as well as Dante Aligheiri's Paradiso, the second heavenly sphere was that of Mercury. In Christian writings, it was made of gold.
Planes: Seven Heavens: Mertion
In the Ptolemaic solar system, as well as Dante Aligheiri's Paradiso, the fifth heavenly sphere was that of Mars; the name of the plane is derived from "Mars" or "martial." In Christian writings, it was made of silver--but rather than have two silver planes, and to continue the pattern of D&D coinage, this became platinum in D&D.
Planes: Seven Heavens: Solania
In the Ptolemaic solar system, as well as Dante Aligheiri's Paradiso, the fourth heavenly sphere was that of the sun; the name of the plane is derived from the word Sol. In Christian writings, it was made of white gold (and thus electrum in D&D).
Planes: Seven Heavens: Venya
In the Ptolemaic solar system, as well as Dante Aligheiri's Paradiso, the third heavenly sphere was that of Venus. In Christian writings, it was made of pearl.

spells Magic System & Spells

Memorization system for spells
The Dying Earth series, by Jack Vance, especially his story "Mazarian the Magician."
Spells named partly for their creators, partly for their function, and partly out of whimsy
Dying Earth series, by Jack Vance.
Alter Self
Seemingly extrapolated from an unnamed spell used by the wizard Martinus in Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson.
Fog Cloud
One source is Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson, though it is not specifically named there.
Geas
Though the term goes back to Celtic folklore, the D&D geas is primarily taken from the spell of the same name in Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson. (It is also present to greater effect in Anderson's Operation: Chaos.)
Hypnotic Pattern
Extrapolated from "Felojun's Second Hypnotic Spell" in the story "Mazarian the Magician" in The Dying Earth by Jack Vance.
Imprisonment
Taken from "The Spell of Forlorn Encystment" in Eyes of the Overworld by Jack Vance.
Invisible Servant
Taken from Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson, though the novel only mentions a wizard's invisible servant, not a spell that creates such a servant.
Magic Mouth
Taken from Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson, though the spell is not specifically named there.
Prismatic Spray
Taken from "The Excellent Prismatic Spray" spell in the story "Mazarian the Magician" in The Dying Earth by Jack Vance.

items Magic Items

Arrow of Slaying (Dragon)
Heavily glorified version of Bard's arrow from The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien. However, in the novel it was Bard's skill and the chink in Smaug's armor that caused the arrow to do the damage it did; in D&D, this became an inherent ability of the arrow.
Boots of Striding and Springing
"Live Boots" from the story "Mazarian the Magician" in The Dying Earth by Jack Vance; also "seven-league boots" from European folklore.
Carpet of Flying
Derived from the magic carpets often used in the Arabian Nights stories, especially the story of Prince Ahmed, which is itself derived in part from the tale in the Koran of King Solomon's magic carpet.
Dancing and intelligent weapons
"In India...the sword can serve as the embodiment of a deity. In fairy-tales there are self-moving and other miraculous swords." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Efreeti Bottle
Taken directly from the Arabian Nights tales, particularly the story of Aladdin. (See Genie)
Ioun stones
Dying Earth series, by Jack Vance
Phylacteries
In modern times, the word solely refers to tiny boxes with written prayers inside that orthodox Jews tie around their foreheads or upper arms. There was a more general meaning, now archaic, that was a synonym for "amulet." This latter meaning is what is used in D&D.
Ring of Invisibility
Gollum's ring from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Ring of Protection
Such a ring appears in "The Legend of Cambel and Triamond" in Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene.
Sword, +1 (through +5)
Magic swords abound in fantastic and folkloric literature. The Arthurian legend has Excalibur, Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions has Cortana, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit has Orcrist and Glamdring, The Lord of the Rings has Narsil (among others), Gardner Fox's Kothar books have Frostfire, and the list goes on from there. The ability of most magic swords to shed light when drawn is taken from the magic swords and dagger in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit.
Sword, +1, +3 vs. [some type of creature]
The original template for this sort of sword may have been an attempt to emulate and extrapolate from the magic swords of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, which were created for the purpose of killing orcs.
Sword, Cursed
One example of a cursed sword is Frostfire, from Gardner Fox's Kothar series. Frostfire functions as a magic sword, but curses its owner to never be able to own any other wealth--any time Kothar finds a treasure or is given a reward, he quickly finds that it has been stolen, or that he has spent all of it, and so forth.
Sword, Flame Tongue
Similar in concept to the Dagger of Burning from Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions, but this is merely an indirect influence at best.
Sword, Holy Avenger
Probably an extrapolation from the sword named "Cortana" in Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions, at least in part.
Sword, Vorpal
The sword in the poem "Jabberwocky" by Lewis Carroll.

monsters Monsters

Al-mi'raj
"Monster in Islamic poetry, a yellow hare with a single black horn on its head." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Ant-Lion
Based on a real insect, though one which is not quite that large. ("Monster-figure in bestiaries, because of a linguistic misunderstanding pictured as a lion with the hind-quarters of a gigantic ant. Described in detail in the Physiologus." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.)
Banshee
See Groaning Spirit
Barghest
Loosely derived from the folklore of northern England. The folkloric version was a ghostly dog, though.
Basilisk
Medieval alchemical folklore. "King of serpents, gigantic monster with the body of a cock, iron claws and beak, and a triple snake's tail. Its stare, like that of the Medusa head, is fatal. Killed by holding a mirror up to it." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode. The name is sometimes used in folklore as a synonym for cockatrice. Also is mentioned, though not thoroughly described, in Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions.
Brownie
Scottish superstition. Brownies supposedly would do little jobs at night for the family on whose farm or in whose house they reside. The name comes from being dark or "brown" sprites, as opposed to fairies, who were light or "fair" sprites. The term was popularized in the U.S. in the 19th century via Palmer Cox's Brownie Books series.
Bulette
The phyiscal description was taken from a cheap plastic toy, probably from Japan, from a set of plastic "dinosaurs" Gygax used for miniatures; the name and behavior were invented by Gygax.
Catoblepas
"Ethiopian bull-monster feeding on poisonous herbs. Its breath killed all adversaries. Mentioned by Pliny." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Centaurs
Greek mythology, in which the half-man, half-horse creatures were well-regarded as archers and Chiron the centaur was a renowned scholar.
Chimera
Greek mythology. "Ancient Greek monster in Homer, with the head of a lion, the body of a goat, the tail of a serpent. In Hesiod, it has not a triple body, but three heads--of lion, goat, and snake. Begot by Typhon and Echidna and defeated by Bellerophon." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Couatl
Derived from the feathered serpent god Quetzalcoatl of Aztec myths.
Cockatrice
Medieval alchemical folklore. Created when a snake hatches a rooster's egg, the monster combines features of each creature (wings of a fowl, tail of a dragon, and head of a rooster). According to legend, its gaze is instantly fatal. In folklore, it is sometimes called a basilisk.
Couatl
Taken from the mythology of the pre-Columbian tribes of Central America, particularly the tales of the deity Quetzalcouatl.
Cyclops, Cyclopes
Greek mythology, most famously in the story of Ulysses in Homer's Odyssey.
Demodand
The name (changed slightly from "Deodand" to "Demodand" to add a tie to the word "demon") and evil nature are taken from the Dying Earth series by Jack Vance, but everything else about them was created by TSR's writers.
Demon, Demogorgon
An evil deity, the mention of whose very name supposedly brought down disaster. Tales of Demogorgon go back to the 4th century, and he is also named in John Milton's Paradise Lost, Lodovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, Edmund Spenser's Faerie Queene, and Percy Bysshe Shelley's Prometheus Unbound, though the actual description used in D&D is apparently Gygax's creation.
Demon, Succubus (also Incubus)
Medieval Christian folklore.
Demon, Type V (Marilith)
Derived from Indian (Hindi) mythology.
Demon, Type VI (Balor)
Originally named Balrog, it was taken from Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. It was renamed "Type VI Demon" (with one example being named "Balor") after the Tolkien estate asked TSR to stop infringing Tolkien's copyrights. In 2nd edition, "Balor" went from being the name of one of these creatures to the name for the type of demon. (The illustration in the 1st edition Monster Manual is also vaguely similar to the demon in the "Night on Bald Mountain" segment of Disney's Fantasia.)
Devil, Asmodeus
An evil spirit or demon in the Apocryphal book of Tobit, the "king of devils" in the Talmud and Hebrew mythology, and an evil spirit or rebel angel in John Milton's Paradise Lost.
Devil, Baalzebul
Derived from the Hebrew "Baalzebub," meaning "lord of flies," which is in turn derived from the Canaanite deity Baal. In the Bible, Jesus is accused of using the power of Beelzebub, the Prince of Devils, to drive out devils (Matthew 12:24). In John Milton's Paradise Lost, Beelzebub is one of the chief lords of Hell, next to Satan. In Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Canto XXXIV, Beelzebub is another name for Lucifer.
Devil, Dispater
In Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Canto XXXIV, Dis is another name for Lucifer. "Pater" is Latin for "father," so it is not much of a stretch from there to call the ruler of the city of Dis the "father of Dis" and thereby avoid the possible confusion from calling both the city and the character just "Dis."
Devil, Erinyes
Taken from Greek mythology, where they are also known as the Furies. They are particularly featured in Aeschylus' play Euripides. In some tales, there are only three of them: Tisiphone, Alecto, and Megaera. The picture in the Monster Manual seems to be based on the harpies in the movie Jason and the Argonauts, as animated by Ray Harryhausen.
Devil, Geryon
Originally a monster from the Greek myth of the twelve labors of Herakles (Hercules); he had three heads and three bodies, and his oxen ate human flesh. However, the D&D version is taken directly from Dante Alighieri's Inferno, Cantos XVI-XVII.
Devil, Horned (Malebranche)
Inferno, by Dante Alighieri, Cantos XXI-XXII.
Devil, Mammon
Mentioned in the Bible, as well as in "The Legend of Sir Guyon" from Edmund Spenser's The Faerie Queene.
Doppelganger
Loosely derived from German philosophical folklore, in which an apparition representing another side (often evil) of a character's personality appears, and is often an omen the character's imminent death. This, in turn, is derived from the unexplained phenomena of people who claim to have met an exact duplicate of themselves while traveling, who vanishes soon after the meeting; the claimant himself is sometimes said to have died mysteriously soon after the meeting. (The word is from the German doppelgänger, literally meaning "double-walker.")
Dragon
Worldwide folklore. Most of the D&D dragons are derived in large part from European folklore (for example, the dragon fought by Siegfried guarded a horde of treasure), though folkloric dragons almost exclusively breathed fire. Gold dragons and the Oriental dragons (river, sea, cloud, mist, celestial dragons, et al.) are all from Chinese mythology. Tiamat is from Babylonian mythology, though her D&D form is much different from her original appearance. Tiamat was the evil mother of all dragons in Babylonian mythology, which is partly why TSR's writers made her a "prismatic" conglomeration of all of the evil chromatic dragons they created. The character of Smaug from The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, is an obvious more recent influence.
Drow
Teutonic folklore included both light elves (good) and dark elves (evil). The word "drow" is of Scottish origin, an alternative form of "trow", which is a cognate for "troll". Trow/drow was used to refer to a wide variety of evil sprites. Except for the basic concept of "dark elves", everything else about drow was apparently invented by TSR's writers.
Dryad
Tree nymphs in Greek mythology, such as Eurydice from the myth of Orpheus. Also called hamadryads.
Duergar
The word is [Norse?], roughly a synonym for dwarf. Paracelsus (1493-1541) wrote of gnomes as "earth elementals", and described them as little old men who could shift to the size of giants and were malicious, greedy, and miserable creatures. This would appear to be the origin of D&D duergar.
Dwarf
D&D dwarves are an amalgamation of many sources, including Germanic folklore, Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson, and J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings. The primary sources, especially for D&D dwarven society and lifespans, are The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings; Three Hearts and Three Lions is also an important source, but not as much so as Tolkien's works. (Also, the terms "dwarves" and "dwarven" were coined by Tolkien. The original forms are dwarfs and dwarfish, as evidenced by Disney's movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.) The Germanic story The Ring of the Nibelungen and the "Rumpelstiltskin" fairy tale retold by the Brothers Grimm are probably close ancestors of D&D dwarves; Germanic lore depicts dwarves as living in caves, guarding mineral wealth, and being very skillful in making things from stone and minerals. French folklore (and from that, Three Hearts and Three Lions) depict dwarves as forest-dwellers, similar to D&D's hill dwarves. The dwarven ability to detect the slope of an underground passage is specifically mentioned in Three Hearts and Three Lions, which is most likely the immediate source for inclusion of that ability in D&D.
Eagle, Giant
While giant versions of normal animals are a staple of science fiction and fantasy, and are often found in folklore, the D&D version of the giant eagle is lifted directly from The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Elf
D&D elves are an amalgamation of many sources, including folklore, J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit & Lord of the Rings, Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions, the fantasy stories of Lord Dunsany, and other fantasy novels. D&D elven society and lifespans are largely based on Lord of the Rings and, to a lesser extent, Three Hearts and Three Lions. Elves are part of the forces of Chaos in Three Hearts and Three Lions, which is partly why they are of "chaotic" alignment in D&D.
Gargoyle
French folklore. Cathedral-builders carved grotesque faces around downspouts used to route rain run-off away from the sides of the building, partially to ward off evil spirits, partially to find a decorative use for what would otherwise be a plain block of stone, partially to have fun with their work; the English "gargoyle" is derived from the French "gargouille", which is thought to derive from the gargling sound water makes as it pours through these downspouts. Over time, things which originally were done to scare off evil spirits became thought of as evil themselves, as the groteque faces on these downspouts often inspired fear in the common folk. Architecturally speaking, "gargoyles" are used to funnel rain water away from the sides of a building; "grotesques" are similarly-carved statuary or corner blocks that have nothing to do with the building's drainage system.
Genie
Jinn, Efreet (Ifrit), Dao, and Jann all appear as powerful (and usually trickster-like or demonic) creatures in Arabic folklore, sometimes identified with each of the four elements (fire, water, earth, air). The English term "genie" derives from the Latin "genius", which derives from the Arabic "jinni", the plural of "jinn". (The Arabic jinn is, in turn, derived from a Persian creature usually depicted as a winged man-animal hybrid that was renowned for its wisdom.) The lamp-dwelling, wish-granting genie in D&D is taken directly from the Arabian Nights tales, particularly the story of Aladdin.
Ghast
Loosely derived from The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath by H.P. Lovecraft, though significantly altered from Lovecraft's description to essentially be a stronger version of D&D ghouls. Their stench seems to be based on a liberal interpretation of Lovecraft's description of ghasts as a "scabrous and unwholesome beast" in general and his depiction of a ghast collapsing into "in a noxious heap" when killed.
Ghoul
"Ghul. English: ghoul. An Arabian desert monster, blood-sucker and man-eater. It resembles both man and animal." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode. The D&D ghoul is more immediately derived from The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath by H.P. Lovecraft, including their ability to turn a human into a ghoul, their taste for corpses, and their tendency to live in or near graveyards.
Giant, Cloud
The most obvious origin of a giant living in a castle in the clouds is the folktale of Jack and the Beanstalk. However, the usual depiction of the giant in that story is more closely resembled by hill giants rather than cloud giants.
Giant, Firbolg
In Gaelic folklore, the Fir Bolg were the third race to invade and inhabit Ireland. They were defeated by the fourth race, the Tuatha Dé Danann (the Irish fairies/deities). Other than the name, the D&D description bears little resemblance to the folkloric original.
Giant, Fire
Taken from Norse mythology, especially stories related to Surtyr, the evil ruler of the firey land of Muspelheim.
Giant, Frost
Taken from Norse mythology.
Giant, Stone
Most likely an extrapolation from the stone giants mentioned in passing in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, as well as the mountain giants of Norse mythology.
Gnoll
The name is derived from the "gnoles" in the short story How Nuth Would Have Practised His Art Upon the Gnoles by Lord Dunsany, and may also have been reinforced by The Man Who Sold Rope to the Gnoles (1951) by Idris Seabright--a psuedonym for Margaret St. Clair, who appears on the DMG's list of authors whose work generated the most direct inspiration for D&D. The actual description is different from that in either story, though. (The spelling change supposedly came about to support a creature design that was a cross between a gnome and a troll, though if such a design ever existed, it was obviously dropped.) The concept of a hyena-man can be found in the folklore of Mali, but there is no evidence that this influenced the D&D description.
Gnome
European folklore. According to Webster's dictionary, "One of a fabled race of dwarflike creatures who live underground and guard treasure hoards." Teutonic mythology includes earth spirits closely resembling dwarfs--small, stocky, & generally grotesque. They dwell in the earth and can merge at will with trees or the earth. They occupy their time in quarries & mines deep in the earth, where they are thought to be guardians of fabulous treasures. Paracelsus (1493-1541) wrote of the four elements and the four types of elementals: fire = salamander, water = nereid, air = sylph, earth = gnome. Gnomes looked like little old men.
Goblin
Very loosely based on The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, and possibly more so on the goblins from Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions, who are described there as a "lesser race" who are part of the forces of Chaos and sometimes function as servants to the leaders of Chaos. ("Goblin" has the same Germanic root as the word "kobold". Both are terms for evil sprites--goblins are from English & French folklore, kobolds are from German. In English folklore, it is a general term for any malevolent misshapen or grotesque creature that lives in dark places. In some places miners attributed any strange sounds heard in mines to goblins.)
Golem, Clay
Animated man-shaped statue from Medieval Jewish folklore. Golems were made of clay, and one was supposedly created to protect the Jewish quarter of Prague in the late middle ages, around 1500-1600. The name of God was written either on a piece of paper placed in its mouth, or on its forehead, which gave it life. It eventually went on a rampage until its creator managed to remove the slip of paper from its mouth or erase the letters from its forehead, which turned it back into a clay statue. As the story goes, the golem is still hidden somewhere in the city, ready to be re-animated to protect the local Jews from their persecutors.
Golem, Flesh
Taken directly from the creature in Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus, by Mary Shelley, and the Frankenstein movies starring Boris Karloff. The chance for a flesh golem to go berzerk is taken from the movie. The lightning bolt that brings the monster to life in the movie is the probable origin of electrical attacks having healing effects on flesh golems; the effect of cold is probably loosely derived from the parts of the novel that are set in the Arctic.
Golem, Iron
Possibly partially derived from the animate statue Talos, in the Greek myth of Jason and the Argonauts, as well as the Ray Harryhausen movie version of that story, though Talos was actually made of bronze.
Gorgon
Edward Topsell in his 1607 History of 4-footed Beasts, included a bit translated from Conrad Gesner's 1551 Historiae animalium that was a description of a Gorgon as a [four-legged] animal with dragon's scales, pig's teeth, a poisonous mane, human hands, and lethal breath, that was a native of Africa and supposedly was bred in Libya. This description is possibly based on misunderstandings of Greek descriptions of Medusa's sisters.
Griffin (a.k.a. Gryphon, Griffon)
Medieval European folklore based on ancient southeast European folklore, most often depicted with the body and rear legs of a lion, and the head, wings, and front legs of an eagle, and still used as a heraldic device. Composite creatures such as this were apparently a favorite of the authors of medieval bestiaries. More immediately, a "griffin" is mentioned (but not depicted) in Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions.
Groaning Spirit (a.k.a. Banshee)
Irish folklore.
Half-elf
The character of Elrond (and his family) from The Hobbit, Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion by J.R.R. Tolkien is the origin for the half-elf, but the D&D version is significantly changed from Tolkien's view. For example, Tolkien's half-elves had to choose whether they would be elves or men, and as a result had lifespans typical for the race of their choice, whereas D&D half-elves are a true amalgamation of elves and men.
Halfling
Halflings were originally hobbits, taken from The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. They were renamed "halflings" when the Tolkien estate asked TSR to stop infringing on Tolkien's copyrights. 3rd edition D&D halflings are an amalgamation of 2nd edition halflings with Dragonlance's kender.
Harpy
Taken from Greek mythology, where harpies are predatory birds with women's faces. They are most familiar from the myth of Jason and the Argonauts, though they appear in several Greek myths. There were at least three of them, named Ocypeta ("rapid"), Celena ("blackness"), and Aello ("storm").
Hippocampus
Medieval bestiaries. Depicted as the front half of a horse and the rear half of a fish or sea-serpent. The name is a Latinate construction, used because most scholarly books of the period were written in Latin and no common name already existed for such a beast.
Hippogriff (a.k.a. Hippogryph)
"Horse-griffin (horse's body) with eagle's head and wings." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode. The hippogriff was supposedly the offspring of a griffin and a filly. A hippogriff is featured prominently in Lodovico Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, and another one appears in John Milton's Paradise Regained.
Hobgoblin
In English folklore, hobgoblins were ugly, mischevious beings, one of which was Puck, a.k.a. Robin Goodfellow. The word is derived from Rob-Goblin, that is, Robin the goblin. Hobgoblins are also mentioned in passing in J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit. The D&D description is apparently largely invented by TSR's writers, serving as a sort of tougher-than-normal goblin.
Homonculus
Medieval alchemical folklore. Literally meaning "little man," homunculi were created through use of various powders, rare earths, potions, etc., and were lesser than man because only God could create Man from scratch; man could only create lesser beings at best. Mandrake root is sometimes given as the primary ingredient, since it usually appears vaguely man-shaped. The best known example is from Part Two of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's Faust, where Homonculus is the name of a miniature man who lives in a bottle, who was created in an effort to raise mankind above the need for sexual reproduction. He eventually becomes a guide for a time for Faust and Mephistopheles.
Hydra
Derived from Greek mythology, specifically the myth of the twelve labors of Hercules. The classical form is the Lernaean hydra, which had nine heads and could only be killed by cutting off all of its heads. However, whenever one was cut off, two more quickly grew in its place. Hercules defeated it by convincing a companion use a torch to immediately cauterize each stump as he cut the heads off, thus preventing new ones from growing. The cryohydra and pyrohydra variants were apparently created by TSR's writers, probably so that their dragon-like breath weapons could keep sword-weilding fighters at a distance and thus increase the difficulty of combatting a hydra.
Ki-rin
Chinese mythology, sometimes written "Ch'i-lin" (depending on one's transliteration scheme). "Chinese male-female form of unicorn; symbolic of grandeur, felicity, noble offspring and good administration." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Kobold
Probably an extrapolation from the kobolds of Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions, though they are only described there as a "lesser race" that is part of the forces of Chaos. Originally, kobolds were cave-dwelling evil sprites from German folklore. (Note that the mineral cobalt is named for supposedly having the same blue/green color as German kobolds.)
Lammasu
"Winged lion, or winged bull with human head, of late Assyrian times. Guardian spirit of the city of Assur." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Lamia
"Greek witch who devours children, also called Mormolicoe. She has cow's feet and cat's claws.... In the Alexander romance, very beautiful women, larger than life, with long hair and horse's feet" -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode. The origin is from the Greek myth of Lamia, Queen of Lybia, who ate children, and whose own later children were cursed with half-human/half-animal bodies. When the authors and artists of medieval bestiaries got their hands on this one, it became a scaled 4-legged beast with claws on the front paws, hooves on the rear, and a woman's head and breasts.
Leucrotta
From Roman folklore, mentioned in Pliny's Natural History. (Also known there as "leucocrotta")
Lich, lych
A lychgate is an entrance to a churchyard where a body rests before burial--"lych" means person or dead body (From German "Leiche", meaning "dead body, cadaver, corpse"). The D&D lich is taken from the character of "the lych Afgorkon," from the Kothar series by Gardner Fox. It is also very similar to a character from Taran Wanderer, by Lloyd Alexander, a magician with an unnaturally-extended life who can only die if the item he has stored his soul in is broken (in this case, a bone from his little finger); however, the term "lich" is never used in the book. The origin of both the D&D lich and Alexander's character is probably the Russian folkloric character "Kotshchey the Deathless", an unnaturally long-lived magician (or demon) who was almost impossible to kill.
Lycanthrope
Worldwide folklore. Werewolves are found throughout European folklore, and tales of men turning into other creatures are found all over the world. The word is a medieval Latin creation (used in bestiaries and the like), based on Greek.
Lycanthrope, Werebear
Largely based on the character of Beorn from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Lycanthrope, Wereboar
Possibly from the tale of Circe from Homer's Odyssey?
Lycanthrope, Werefox
Possibly North American Indian mythology?
Lycanthrope, Weretiger
Possibly Hindu mythology?
Lycanthrope, Werewolf
At least partially based on the character of Lawrence Talbot from the 1930's Universal Pictures movie The Werewolf, and also derived in large part from the werewolf in Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions.
Manticore
"Monster mentioned in [medieval] bestiaries, probably of Indian provenance, according to a report by Ctesias." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode. More immediately, mentioned (though not described) in Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions.
Medusa
Greek mythology, from the tale of Perseus, though it is a proper name there rather than a type of creature. "Gorgon" was the general term used to describe Medusa and her sisters, but TSR's writers used medusa as a general term, and gorgon for a different kind of beast (specifically, a creature found in old European bestiaries).
Mermaid
Greek folklore, though similar tales can be found in the tales of sea-faring cultures around the world. The D&D form is basically identical to fairy tales from the 19th-20th centuries, such as The Little Mermaid by Hans Christian Anderson, which were related to European sailor's tales from the 17th-19th centuries. All of these owe their source to the Greek myth of the Sirens.
Minotaur
Greek mythology. Bull-man creature who lived in Minos' labyrinth of Crete; usually portrayed as a hairy man with the head and rear hoofs of a bull. ("Minotaur" means "Minos' bull")
Mummy
1930's Universal Pictures movie. Egyptian beliefs had the mummy moving on to the next life, not returning to this one. Even the supposed curse of Tutankamun, which was part of the influence for the movie, involved the curse's power making people catch deadly diseases and/or suddenly drop dead, not anything to do with the walking dead. The movie (and the Egyptology fads of the early 20th century that spawned it) is the first place walking mummies are seen.
Naga
"Naga. Indian [Hindi] demigods, part snake, part man." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode. The accompanying picture depicts a creature with the body of a snake and the head of a man.
Nereid
Sea-nymphs from Greek mythology.
Nixie
Nixies are water elves from European folklore, sometimes depicted as mermaids. The D&D nixie is taken directly from Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions, including the desire to enslave humans, the ability to cast water breathing on victims, their weakness to a flaming sword (a flaming dagger in the novel) and light-related magic, and ability to summon fish to swarm the bearer of such a light.
Nymph
Greek mythology. Female sprites who are the embodiment of beauty and female lust.
Orc
Very loosely based on The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien, which was in turn based on creatures from English folklore.
Pegasus
Greek mythology, from the tale of Bellerophon.
Peryton
Greek folklore that the souls of the lonely manifest as dangerous half-deer/half-eagle creatures that cast human-shaped shadows.
Phoenix
"A wonder-bird, which according to Herodotus flies once every five hundred years from India to Egypt, burns itself there on a pyre and arises renewed from the ashes." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Purple Worm
Unknown, but probably derived from a combination of the "dholes" in The Dream Quest of Unknown Kadath by H.P. Lovecraft and the sandworms of Arrakis from Dune by Frank Herbert. (Alternatively, there is a type of fishing lure called a "purple worm", and the D&D creature could merely be an extrapolation of a gigantic (and living) version a la Food of the Gods, especially if the lure were being used as a miniature. There is no evidence for this, however.)
Rakshasa
Animalistic demons from Indian (Hindi) tales.
Roc
"Enormous bird, probably of Persian origin, said to live in India... best known from the tales of Sindbad the Sailor" -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Rust Monster
The phyiscal description was taken from a cheap plastic toy, probably from Japan, from a set of plastic "dinosaurs" Gygax used for miniatures; the name and behavior were invented by Gygax.
Salamander
Very loosely derived from medieval alchemical folklore, in which the salamander (newt) was thought to be a creature with an affinity for fire, whose skins could be sewn together into a fire-proof cloak.
Satyr
Greek mythology. Half-man, half-goat forest creatures who are the embodiment of unbridled male lust. "Faun" is the Roman term for the same creature.
Scorpion-man
"Sumerian and Akkadian monster-figure, Girtablulu, created by Tiamat to do battle with the gods. Gilgamesh meets him on his wanderings." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Sea-Horse
Horse-like aquatic creature from Sinbad's first voyage in the Arabian Nights.
Shedu
"Human-headed, winged bull-monster of Assyrian-Babylonian mythology." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Simurgh
"An enormous bird, which lived before Adam. Al-Mas'udi describes it as having a human face.... Gigantic bird of Persian mythology." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode.
Skeleton
The concept of animated skeletons rising up to attack the living occurs in folklore all over the world, but one possible more immediate source for the D&D version is the movie Jason and the Argonauts.
Sphinx, Androsphinx
Based on Egyptian statues with a lion's body and a man's head.
Sphinx, Criosphinx
Based on Egyptian statues with a lion's body and a ram's head. (The Greek word "Crios" means "ram")
Sphinx, Gynosphinx
Greek myth of Oedipus. In the tale, Thebes was beset by a monster with the body of a winged lion, but the head and chest of a woman. It posed a riddle to all travelers, and would eat all who answered it wrong. Oedipus was the first to answer it correctly. The Greek monster is based on the Egyptian creature; note that Thebes is in Egypt.
Svirfneblin
Scandinavian folklore.
Swanmay
"Swan maiden" is a "[t]erm for the Valkyries in Nordic mythology. In fairy-tales they are supernatural beings, who fly down to earth, mostly to bathe, laying aside their winged or feathered garb." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode. Also, one of Grimms' tales includes seven maidens cursed to turn into swans. The D&D swanmay is actually taken from one of the major characters in Three Hearts and Three Lions by Poul Anderson, who based his "swan-may" on the folkloric swan maidens.
Tarrasque
The Tarasque (one "r") was a dragon-like creature that lived near Tarascon, France. It was a giant, hulking, turtle-like fire-breathing beast with six legs and armor-like scales that were impervious to even the sharpest weapons. The sheer size and invincibility were about the only recognizable features that were kept when TSR turned this into a D&D creature, however.
Treant
The original name, "ent," betrays the creature's origins in Lord of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien. Except for the name, which was changed along with hobbit and balrog at the behest of the Tolkien estate, the creature is essentially identical to how it appeared in Tolkien's books.
Triton
Merman from Greek mythology.
Troll
While trolls can be found throughout folklore, and are well-known to readers of J.R.R. Tolkien's The Hobbit, the D&D troll comes from Three Hearts and Three Lions, by Poul Anderson, including the long nose and rubbery skin, ability to regenerate, and weakness to fire.
Unicorn
"Found in the legends of many countries. Often derived from the rhinoceros and explained as a real animal, or interpreted as the profile view of a two-horned animal... But in the literature of many peoples, unicorns occur clearly as fabulous animals." -- Fabulous Beasts and Demons, by Heinz Mode. The D&D unicorn is straight out of medieval European tales, like the Unicorn Tapestries, that involve it being the ultimate purity, susceptible to virgins, able to purify water with the horn, the horn being a powerful item to use in alchemical creations, etc.
Wight
The D& D wight is directly derived from the barrow-wight in Lord of the Rings, by J.R.R. Tolkien. The word "wight" is the Anglicized form of the Germanic "wicht", which now means "elf, goblin, dwarf, gnome", but originally simply meant "a being". The English word used to mean "a human being", but changed to be a term for a type of malicious sprite during the 14th-16th centures, as happened with many English synonyms for "person", including hob, pukka, orc, and boggart.
Will-o'-wisp
English folklore, probably based on swamp lights or marsh gas, or possibly the way lanterns look through a thick fog.
Worg
The Hobbit, by J.R.R. Tolkien, though "warg" is also used as a term for the giant wolf form of a werewolf in Poul Anderson's Three Hearts and Three Lions.
Wyvern
Medieval heraldry & folklore, in which it is a dragon with wings, two legs, and a barbed tail. ("Wivere" is a Saxon word meaning "serpent".)

Bibliography:

Benét's Reader's Encyclopedia. 3rd ed. New York : Harper & Row, 1987.

Borges, Jorge Luis. Book of Imaginary Beings.

Dragons. Chicago : Time-Life Books, 1984. (The Enchanted World series.)

Foster, Robert. The Complete Guide to Middle-Earth: From the Hobbit to the Silmarillion. Rev. and enl. ed. New York : Ballantine, 1978.

Hamilton, Edith. Mythology. Boston : Little, Brown, 1942.

Mode, Heinz. Fabulous Beasts and Demons. London : Phaidon Press, 1975. Translated from Fabeltiere und Dämonen. Germany : Edition Leipzig, 1973.

South, Malcom, editor. Mythical & Fabulous Creatures: a Source Book & Research Guide.

http://webhome.idirect.com/~donlong/monsters/monsters.htm

As for the argument that all those books are based on Tolkien's Lord of the Rings...

Lord of the Rings was first published in 1954-55 (U.K.)/ 1955-56 (U.S.) (The Hobbit was published 1937 (U.K.) & 1938 (U.S.), then republished in 1951 & 1966, the latter of which are probably the times when most U.S. readers first read it). Here are six fantasy works that break the assumption that modern fantasy is entirely based on Lord of the Rings. Note that all but the first of them were cited by Gygax as sources for D&D. (Unless otherwise noted, all publication dates are for publication in the U.S., which is the most likely time that Gygax would have been able to read them.)

If you read all the books & authors listed in as sources in the 1st ed. Dungeon Masters Guide, you can see that yes, Lord of the Rings was definitely AN influence on the game, but definitely not THE influence--deCamp, Leiber, Merrit, Vance, Anderson, et al. had as much, if not more, influence on D&D. Given the relevant publication dates, those stories by those authors were definitely NOT influenced by Lord of the Rings.

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