Monster
A creature that threatens or disrupts the moral order.
A monster is a fictional creature found in literature, folklore, mythology, horror, fantasy, and religion, often depicted as dangerous and aggressive with a grotesque appearance that inspires terror. Monsters may resemble bizarre or mutated animals, or take human forms such as vampires, zombies, or ghosts, and they typically threaten the social or moral order. They can also be misunderstood or friendly beings that cause unintentional harm, and their study is known as monstrophy.
Quick Facts
- Latin root
- monstrum (from moneo, 'to remind, warn, instruct, or foretell')
- Notable literary examples
- Grendel (Beowulf)
- Frankenstein's monster (Mary Shelley)
- Dracula (Bram Stoker)
- Notable film examples
- Frankenstein's monster
- Dracula
- werewolves
- mummies
- King Kong
Facts from the source article.
Did You Know?
- Monster derives from the Latin monstrum, from the verb moneo ('to remind, warn, instruct, or foretell').
- The term monstrum denotes anything 'strange or singular, contrary to the usual course of nature, by which the gods give notice of evil'.
- Monsters may be depicted as mischievous and boisterous but not necessarily threatening, such as a sly goblin.
Cultural heritage
Monsters have a literary and cultural heritage, as noted by medieval German literature scholar Tina Marie Boyer. In ancient Greek and Roman religious contexts, monsters were seen as signs of divine displeasure, with birth defects considered ominous unnatural events. However, the Roman historian Suetonius described a snake's lack of legs or a bird's flight as monstrous because they were against nature. By the time of the philosopher Seneca, the term had gained a philosophical meaning: a visual and horrific revelation of the truth. Mythological monsters like the Hydra and Medusa were divine entities, reflecting a Proto-Indo-European heritage where distinctions between spirit, monster, and god were less clear.
Monsters in fiction
The history of monsters in fiction is long, with Grendel in Beowulf serving as an archetypal monster: deformed, brutal, and strong, raiding a settlement to slay and feed. Modern literary monsters include Mary Shelley's Frankenstein's monster and Bram Stoker's Dracula. Monsters are staples of fantasy, horror, and science fiction, and there is a subgenre of monster erotica. In silent films, monsters were human-sized, such as Frankenstein's monster, the Golem, werewolves, and vampires.
The film Siegfried featured a stop-motion dragon, and RKO's King Kong was the first giant monster film of the sound era. Universal Studios specialized in monsters, with Bela Lugosi as Dracula and Boris Karloff as Frankenstein's monster. The studio also made Man-Made Monster, starring Lon Chaney Jr. as an electrically charged killer. Mad Love featured Dr. Gogol, a mad surgeon who transplanted reanimated hands.
Werewolves and mummies appeared in films of this period. The 1936 Flash Gordon serial used real lizards for battling dragons and a man in a rubber suit for the Fire Dragon. The cinematic monster cycle eventually turned comedic with Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein.
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