Basilisk (Fantasy World by Papo)

The basilisk is famously known as the “king of serpents,” a venomous creature so lethal that simply looking into its cold eyes brings upon death. According to Pliny the Elder’s Natural History, written in 79 AD, “When it hisses, all the other serpents fly from it: and it does not advance its body, like the others, by a succession of folds, but moves along upright and erect upon the middle. It destroys all shrubs, not only by its contact, but those even that it has breathed upon; it burns up all the grass, too, and breaks the stones, so tremendous is its noxious influence. It was formerly a general belief that if a man on horseback killed one of these animals with a spear, the poison would run up the weapon and kill, not only the rider, but the horse, as well.”

Papo’s basilisk toy came out in 2023. It measures 29.5 cm long from the tips of its protruding tongue to the end of its tail and is coloured blue-green with dusty brown wash, a pea green underbelly, yellow eyes, a dull pink mouth, beige teeth, and maroon for the aforementioned tongue. While many might be accustomed to portrayals of the basilisk as a humongous beast, Pliny described it as being only around 12 inches in length, which would make this toy 1:1 scale.

The main selling point of this basilisk is that its body is made from soft plastic surrounding a bendable wire, thereby allowing it to put in a number of undulating poses, although due to its length and girth, you really can’t wrap it around another toy like a constrictor. Also, as anyone who’s played with such toys knows, repeated bending can gradually wear out the soft plastic and lead to tearing. But it is undeniably fun to fiddle with. I gave this to my older son for his 7th birthday last summer and he’s adored it since.

The basilisk’s head is made of solid plastic and features an articulated lower jaw that opens to about 40 degrees. The inside of the mouth is nicely detailed and the large, forked tongue is on a hinge that allows it to be moved up and down for additional play. The lower jaw is devoid of teeth, but there are visible holes to accommodate the ones in the upper jaw. Naturally, the basilisk also has two very large fangs for injecting venom, which are visible along with the tongue when the mouth is closed, and it closes nice and snugly at that.

The head strongly resembles that of a viper’s and the brow ridges over the eyes give it a permanently angry appearance. The head is covered in large overlapping scales along with curved spines jutting out from the cranium and the back of the skull. The body is protected by large plates, which too are scaly and have spines jutting out from the top and the sides. The underbelly is done like most snakes’, with large overlapping scale to protect it from abrasion during movement.

There’s no question that this is a creepy, scary-looking monster. According to Pliny, the basilisk could only be destroyed by tossing a live weasel into its burrow. The odour of the weasel would then kill the basilisk, although the former would also die in the process. Other accounts claim that it can be killed from the crowing of a rooster, or from gazing at itself in a mirrored surface. It is also worth noting that, while the basilisk is frequently thought to be the same creature as a cockatrice, the former is said to be hatched by a cockeral from the egg of a serpent or a toad, whereas the latter is hatched from a cockeral’s egg (don’t ask me how that happens) incubated by a toad or a serpent. And while the basilisk is often depicted as a monstrous snake, the cockatrice is more like a wyvern with a rooster’s head. Perhaps Papo should make one of those in the future. Reckon it’d be cool.

Overall, this basilisk is a rather neat, fun, and not too expensive toy. And might I add, a fitting review subject for the Monster Toy Blog given that this is the Year of the Snake. It is available at most online stores and in some brick and mortar businesses stocking Papo products.