Gargoyle

Gargoyles originated in France as an architectural feature found on chapels and castles. They were carved from andesite and grey granites to look like ghastly hunched demons. However, they were used in a very different way than their appearance would suggest. Stoneworkers would put them on the rooftop corners of chapels and keeps to protect against evil spirits, even though they looked like the spirits themselves. They were modeled after a French dragon that went by the same name. Gargoyles were then spread across Europe, and later the entire world with examples coming from China and America. In Dungeons and Dragons, they are as described above, but are evil elementals that will serve masters with the patients of stone.