I’ve been thinking a lot about the words we’ve been using throughout the course of the semester to discuss monsters. Looking back through my notes, there are a few words that repeatedly pop up on every page I’ve written: monster, monstrous, and monstrosity. Now, our course is called Literary Themes: Monsters/Protean Figures, and, as was […]
There’s a reason Sinister is the only movie that gives me nightmares. Not only does it corrupt beautiful little children and turn them into brainwashed-family-killing-baby-psychos, it also basically has the monster trifecta: corrupting what’s considered “safe” by our culture, haunted places, and the cyclic quality of monstrosity. Bagul targets the children he wants based on […]
Isolation. This word, this idea…it’s my worst fear. It may sound silly, being alone being “my monster” for this blog post, but this idea is very real to me and is something that has affected me my whole life. Now I’m not talking about Cast Away stuff where I’m stuck on an island with only […]
I’m a hypochondriac. There I said it. I haven’t always been this way, and I guess I have knowledge to thank for that. So many times throughout the semester we have talked about how there is this “fear of the unknown” and while I have to agree, I also think that knowing isn’t really all […]
I have been wracking my brain trying to think of a monster archetype that frightens me, a physical or visual representation of fear that I was particularly scared of when I was younger, or even just one specific object that still inspires terror in me. And I just can’t do it. Which is not to […]
After discussing the archetypes of monsters from class, I want to expand on my idea that monsters are a symbol of our fear of death. For example, in my last post, I discussed how I was seriously afraid of a fictional character as a child. This is obviously a very irrational fear since I […]
I’ve loved scary movies since I was a child, but they never seem to have that lifelong bone-chilling effect on me that everyone goes on about. It wasn’t until about a year ago that I finally met my match. My most memorable example of monstrosity, and the only figure that has succeeded in consistently giving […]
Photo Credit: http://lotr.wikia.com/wiki/Gollum OK, I’ll admit it, I’m afraid of Gollum. Why? I honestly don’t have a rational reason. Maybe because the fantastic creatures of Middle Earth are really a threat to humanity. Alright, that’s not likely. Nevertheless, I found him frightening on screen, and when my father did an impersonation of the sickly creature one night […]
Growing up in a religious home and attending Catholic schooling from elementary through high school, the ideas of the devil and the spirit world have never been completely foreign. While I have always believed (and was taught) the devil was an existent entity, the idea of the spirit world has been more of a touchy subject. […]
As a kid I could be convinced of pretty much anything. I loved to read (#englishmajorprobs) and anything that happened in the stories I read I imagined being real and happening to me. I think this just helped aid people in convincing me that the unreal was in fact real. My neighborhood was chocked full […]
In our discussions in class, we all seemed to come to the obvious conclusion that monsters are evil. However, there was some disagreement as to what evil actually is. Specifically, whether or not an action was extreme enough to be considered evil. I found it interesting that there seems to be a distinction […]
“The Black Hole” is a science fiction Disney movie from 1979. My parents rented the VHS for us to watch when I was little because it’s Disney sci-fi, so it can’t be scary, am I right? Having re-watched it recently, I now realize that, while you can clearly tell that it was made […]
Halloween has come and gone, so there’s no better time to discuss monsters. Hopefully we have all recovered from our candy-induced stomach aches, and from the little frights caused by decorations and costumes. How many watched a horror film that night or weekend? I had the pleasure of viewing the 1986 remake of “The Fly” […]
Random fact: as a child I absolutely loved The Wizard of Oz movie. And by “as a child” I mean I still do. When they walk through the forest, scared over “lions, tigers and bears,” this seems like a legitimate fear. We see monsters described in terms of animals quite often. The likelihood of actually […]
I’m a worrier. It’s just in my nature to think of the worst possible case scenario and to say, “with my luck it will happen”. This is to be said for my health as well. It all stems to one particular instance, or at least I think it does. I was younger, maybe six or […]
I’m sure just about every kid, at some point, saw a movie they were maybe not quite old enough to see when their parents weren’t looking. For me, that movie was The Thing, which has to be pretty close to the all-time worst possible choice in that scenario. Besides continuing the 80’s trend of […]
When I was young, going swimming was my monster. Not specifically water because I was fine on a boat or when I was near water. I did okay putting my feet into water but once it came to actually venturing into the water, I was terrified. Even thinking back to being in the water then […]
Darkness is a great shade. It’s a wonderful contrast for lighting a stage or low-lighting skin for a photo. It leaves mystery as a background for a ballerina. Or it defines the skull of the performer. Black is a dramatic color. We are easily intimidated by people who wear too much. In essence, darkness drastically […]
When I think of monsters I think of childhood. As I’ve grown up I’ve come to believe that a lot of creativity is lost in adulthood. We are told to be thinkers and that means to be more analytical than imaginative. We toss away our coloring books, are told that “doodling” is wrong because it […]
Gender, intercourse, religion, morality, individuality, society, and family all have definitions of sex. Countless times in this course, sex has been a topic, especially in our last two novels: Dracula and The Last Werewolf. The act itself is discussed openly. Years ago, one would be slapped for mentioning it. Today, these things can still happen. […]
In my last post I discussed some of the classic “monstrous” traits of witches. So now I’d like to offer a different perspective: a defense of witches. Perhaps they’re not so wicked after all. The first point I’d like to bring up is something I touched on in my last post: The Salem Witch Trials. […]
Since we have discussed so much about vampires and werewolves, I thought I switch gears for a bit and focus on cars. Anyone who has a car will say that they either love their car, or call it a piece of crap. However, what would happen if the car was represented from a different universe […]
So I left off with the attic last time. Well life continued on as usual in our family. The paranormal activity just seemed to be part of the routine for a few months. Well that predictable routine ended when my sister Ashley and I decided to explore in the basement. At first glance it just […]
When we were reading Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, I was constantly reminded of the story of Jack the Ripper. I thought it was probably just because of the similar settings and the image on the cover, but the Afterword included in the version of the book we read in class also mentions the […]
We’ve all seen the horror movies set in the beautiful house that hides dark secrets. The house and atmosphere start out normal and inviting. It draws you in and lures you into a false sense of comfort. Then something happens that makes the family start to question everything around them. At least for the brave movie […]
I’ve been racking my brain trying to find a monster that’s really stuck out to me in life but I wasn’t able to think of a specific monster I wished to write about. I finally realized there is something that I do think is a monster, but the thing is, I don’t think it’s always […]
This past summer, I’ve read Anne Rice’s The Queen of the Damned. Before, I have read Interview with the Vampire and thought the novel was entertaining. Now, after having read The Queen of the Damned, I was astonished with the type of villain Rice created in this novel. The Queen of the Damned is […]
With Halloween approaching, I can’t help but think back to Trick or Treating as a kid. With the hundreds of different Halloween costume possibilities, year after year I always wanted to dress up as a witch. What can I say? I loved the black pointy hat and pretending to have magical powers. Not to mention, […]
I sort of began to explore the concept of death in my last blog post, where I briefly touched on the idea of survival being the key to our deepest fears. Evolution has hardwired survival into our heads, and most of our fears stem from the fear of death. As such, humans have developed a […]
I love dogs, although I wouldn’t exactly say I’m a “dog person.” For instance, Riley – the Australian shepherd that ate both my prized, hand-made, parchment-threaded journal from high school and my hard-cover edition of Dracula – is not making my top ten list. Regardless, I do love most dogs, and I don’t think I’m alone […]
Sirens, you’ve probably heard the name before, beautiful creatures that damn men to their death, by their hypnotic song. When I was little I always thought that Sirens were well, mermaids. Every time I pictured a Siren, I ended up picturing Ariel singing on that rock, while a wave crashed behind her. Ariel wasn’t at […]
Many people have Aquaphobia, otherwise known as the fear of drowning. I believe that thought of monsters in sea or any other form of water, only intensified this fear; leaving humans to want avoid deep waters and to stay on dry land. One of the monsters that helped to bring the fear of drowning to […]
In my first post I went over my personal history of fear with Freddy Krueger, a brief recap of what his actions were in the movies and the deep rooted questions the monster archetype provokes. For this post I want to focus on several things. First, I want to explore Freddy Krueger’s personal history and […]
There has been one monster that has plagued my nightmares since I was a small child. The king of nightmares himself: Freddy Krueger. My fear of this popular movie icon began when I was seven years old at a neighborhood sleepover. My parents always limited the types of movies and television shows I watched so […]
In the Harry Potter universe, there is a particular creature called a “boggart“, which upon confrontation, turns into the thing that most scares its adversary. For Ron Weasley, it was a spider, for Hermione Granger, it was failure of all her exams, and for Harry Potter it was dementors (or fear itself). The truly unfortunate […]
Is there ever an inappropriate time to shout out Spider-Man? I hold several things to be true in this world. Spiders are cooler when they come in man form, men are cooler when they come in spider form, snakes are creepy no matter what, and Michael Myers is a terrifying mother f***er. I’m not scared […]
When I was a kid, there was this really (probably) awesome show on Cartoon Network—that I was forbidden to watch. It’s a strange story because although I grew up in a staunchly Lutheran home, we were by no means zealots. However, my father had put his foot down regarding The Smurfs, and […]
I’m sure that you could guess that yes, my monster comes from the mind of J.R.R. Tolkien but it not the one you may think. I find that the ring itself is a monster I think of. Many times in the books (and movies) the ring seems to have a mind of its own and […]
As far back as I can remember I’ve never had a specific “monster” character that consistently scared me. When I was younger, the scariest character lived in a reoccurring dream that I often had. In this dream, all of my loved ones were dead, and my sister, my cousin, and I were the only ones […]
I have spent the past three summers as a camp counselor, and I’ve heard my share of ghost stories and other bizarre anecdotes (it’s natural campfire conversation, after all). I’ve even told a few of my own: I used to perpetuate the rumor that there were giant, hungry, freshwater sharks on the other side of […]
Earlier this year I read Carrie by Stephen King. This was my first King novel, and I was not disappointed. Carrie was dark, blunt, and one of the more thought provoking novels that I have read in a while. The main character, Carrie, fits into the archetype that we are developing about monsters in literature. […]
To me, spiders are monsters. They crawl around dark corners where they make their homes. They are stealthy, horrific, living organisms that will crawl on you when you least expect it. Do not ever try to perform any form of communication with me when I see a spider crawl across the floor, as I will […]
At an early age many of us identify the things that scare us and become the proverbial monsters under our beds.Whether they be something like spiders, heights, something we’ve seen on t.v. or been read to by our parents(the real Grimm’s Fairy Tales was not meant for young children). Although I developed a fear of […]