Hodag

A mixture between a wolf and a spiny lizard, the hodag is a rare predator that lives in forests and plains, hunting large prey. Its spines have a nasty tendency to cause infected wounds, and it primarily hunts by ambushing its prey, inflicting multiple wounds with these natural weapons, and then letting the prey weaken from the ensuing infections before going in for the kill.
Hodags have a bizarre fixation on humanoid prey, and when they encounter civilization they tend to pick one individual, approaching when their target is alone in an attempt to frighten them, before fading away into the darkness. This pattern continues for days or even weeks, before the creature eventually decides to end the game and devours its target. Communities that attempt to shield a hodag's chosen prey become prey themselves, and a single animal can haunt a village for years if they refuse to expel its chosen target, slaying and eating any lone villagers who go beyond the walls alone.