Sunday, October 30, 2011

My Favorite Monster

For this blog chain post, the question on everyone's mind is: What's your favorite monster?

This topic was started by Matt, who's been writing a whole series on monsters and magical creatures this month. Very informative. Check it out! Michelle posted before me, and Margie will post tomorrow, on All Hallow's Eve! Spooooky!

When I was a kid, I wasn't afraid of monsters... I loved them! Anything that would freak me out was spine-tingling, bone-chilling fun. There were lots of monsters in movies when I was a kid. My Pet Monster, The Monster Squad (still one of my favorites. "there's only one way to kill a werewolf"), but none of them ever scared me.

Until I saw Legend.

Yes, with Tim Curry in that creepy demon outfit (seconded only by the creepiness that was tim curry as dr. frankenfurter. talk about scary! lol!). This picture doesn't do the scariness justice, but it haunted me for years after seeing the movie. That red skin, those horns, the cloven hooves! Scared the bejeesus out of me. To this day, anything demonic is still the scariest to me, and at the same time, the most intriguing. It's no wonder I write demons into my stories wherever I can.

What's so scary about demons, you might ask? If you went to catholic school like I did as a kid, demons were about the scariest thing ever because they weren't just trying to kill you, no. They were after your immortal soul.

I'm not the most religious person these days (though i do consider myself spiritual, i just don't identify with the tenets of most organized religions), but the idea of demons, and how they were used over the centuries in a propagandist way still fascinates me. And it's amazing how much time and work ancient scholars put into classifying demons in books like The Lesser Key of Solomon. Sound familiar? ;)

What's your favorite monster? Do you find demons scary, like I do? Or fascinating? Or do you just want to leave the demons alone to keep from attracting the devil's attention? I'd love to hear it!

15 comments:

Michelle McLean said...

Oooo good one! Yep, that one scared me to death too. Excellent choice!

Tricia J. O'Brien said...

I have to say The Gentlemen in "Hush" on Buffy the Vampire Slayer chilled me to the bone. That's one of the greatest episodes ever.

Dr. Mohamed said...

I'd have to say Frankenstein. Despite his physical ugliness, he's so articulate and all he really wants in live is to be loved.

Alexandra Shostak said...

Love Tricia's comment about The Gentlemen. That is one fantastic Buffy episode, and one of the scariest.

My favorite (or least favorite, depending on how you look at it) monster is disease. Contagion. Plague. Pandemic. Bacteria and viruses. I feel like other monsters I could fight, because I could see them. Even against all odds, I'd rather face a monster I can see, and a monster that's only a single entity. Because you can't fight a disease the same way--you can try to prevent it, but once you have it it's up to your immune system, and the scary ones (like ebola!) almost always win.

I think this is part of why I find zombies so fascinating.

Christine Fonseca said...

Oh yes, that is a GREAT one!

Krispy said...

Great choice! He scared and fascinated me too when I first saw Legend back when I was a wee Krispy. I was in it for the unicorns. Imagine my surprise when the devil showed up. Haha.

Shannon O'Donnell said...

That is one scary demons! Any creature that is devil-related is uber scary to me. :-)

Emy Shin said...

I've never seen LEGEND, but he does look very frightening -- now I'm curious to watch it and find out more.

Kate Karyus Quinn said...

LOL. I totally hear you on the Catholic school thing - demons are no joke.

Margie Gelbwasser said...

He's one scary demon!!

Matthew MacNish said...

Excellent selection, Tere! Demons sure can be scary.

Michelle H. said...

Wow, I completed forgot about the demon on "Legend." It was one of my favorite teen movies.

Theresa Milstein said...

I'm scared of monsters. Except lovable, furry ol' Grover. Did you ever read The Monster at the End of This Book? That was one of my favorites when I was a kid.

Shannon said...

I agree that demons are at the top of the scary list. I'm actually freaked out by any type of evil monster thingy.

Sandra Ulbrich Almazan said...

Those are some nasty horns! I wouldn't want to bullfight him.