With Halloween this month, what better topic for my October blogs starts with scary monsters, a 2-parter featuring classic monsters. On last week's blog, we looked at the first 7 of the list of 15 monsters. This week we'll take a look at the remaining 8.
8. Ghoul
Another undead, flesh-eating monster is the ghoul, but the
ghoul is not a picky eater. They will eat the living or the dead. They look
similar to their original human form but much more demonic. A ghoul's favorite
place to be is a graveyard—it's like their own personal underground buffet. Since
they will attempt lure the living in to try and feast on them, watch your step
if you're ever in a graveyard! According to ancient Arabic lore, the curse of
the ghoul is the result brought about on a human that has eaten flesh— living
or dead. Some lore states that ghouls can shapeshift and will appear as the
last thing they ate. For protection from a ghoul, the best thing to do is to
decapitate them.
9. Goblin
The goblin dates back to the Middle Ages and is a
mischievous creature that is usually small and often described as very gross.
Thought to be the counterpart to fairies, goblins have similar magical
abilities. Some lore even states that they can shapeshift. There are many
different types of goblins, mostly popular in Scottish, Irish, and English
folklore. Goblin is a term used to describe any sort of evil or mischievous
creature. In some legends, goblins are born from spores germinated underground. Others suggest they
reproduce in a manner similar to humans. Goblins live in temperate climates,
either in fields or preferably small caverns or caves. They are known to attach
themselves to a human's home and cause a similar disturbance to poltergeists.
10. The Headless Horseman
The most popular Headless Horseman legend is from 1776 and
1820 America. In 1776, a trooper in the Battle of the White Plains was
decapitated by a cannonball and his fellow soldiers carried his body away while
leaving his head on the battlefield. In 1820 author Washington Irving
wrote The Legend of Sleepy Hollow based on that incident. This
is the version of the story that is widely popular today. The legends state
that the ghost of the Headless Horseman rises from his grave in Sleepy Hollow
every night in search of his head. If he is unable to find his own, any head
will do. Until he is successful, he uses a menacingly lit jack-o-lantern in
place of his missing head—the jack-o-lantern being one of the symbols
associated with Halloween.
11. Troll
Trolls originated in Norse mythology. They are built similar
to humans but are much stronger and generally much uglier. In Nordic folklore,
trolls simply live in isolation in the mountains, caves, or rocky areas. They
live together as families and are not helpful to humans. In Scandinavian
folklore, trolls are much more troublesome. These trolls can either appear to
be the same as humans and simply live in isolation (much like Norse trolls), or
be extremely old and strong but equally dumb and dim-witted. These strong and
dumb trolls are man-eaters who turn to stone in the sunlight.
12. Swamp Monster
A swamp monster is a creature that lives and haunts a body
of water, primarily swamp or marshlands. They resemble humans but have traits
of aquatic animals such as webbed hands and feet, gills and large yellow eyes. In
Cajun folklore, swamp monsters are called the rougarou. This creature is
thought to have the body of a human, but the head of either a wolf or a dog and
wanders the swamps of Louisiana looking for misbehaving children to eat. Whoever
kills a rougarou could become infected with the curse if they were exposed to
the monster's blood. For this reason, fire would actually be the best defense.
13. Ghost
A ghost is the spirit of a once-living being that was left
behind trapped in the realm of the living. Ghosts resemble their once physical
form but are transparent and do not adhere to the laws of physics in the same
way that humans do—adding to their spooky factor. They can float through solid
objects and walls at will. Many believe that the reason ghosts choose a path
that goes through walls instead of around them is that the walls they go
through did not exist while they were alive. Most ghosts haunt places that they
were familiar with, even if that structure has been changed. There are ghosts
that don't mean any harm and simply make their presence known by continuing
their once-daily activities, then there are vengeful ghosts. Many stories say
that the reason the spirit does not follow the now-deceased being is that it
still has business to finish on this side of life. Some of the first mentions
of ghosts date back to the 16th century. Salt and iron can allegedly
offer protection from these ghosts, but the way to rid their spirit from this
world is to find their bodily remains, salt them, and burn them.
14. Poltergeist
A poltergeist is literally a noisy ghost. It
translates from the German poltern which means to make noise or to
rumble and geist which means ghost or spirit. Their appearance is much
like a ghost although poltergeists can at times be invisible. Poltergeists are
said to haunt a specific person and not a place, which is different from
regular ghosts. Stories of poltergeists gained popularity around the 17th
century and continue today. They cause disturbances by throwing objects,
moving furniture, or making any number of loud noises.
15. Aliens
Aliens, also known as extraterrestrials, refer to any being
that did not originate on Earth. The first mention of aliens in modern science
fiction was in the 1950s when the flying saucer phenomenon gained popularity because of the incident in Roswell, New Mexico, creating a plethora of outer space invader movies. Aliens can range in appearance
from tall, skinny humanoid-like creatures with pointed faces and large eyes to
giant squid monsters. The theory that we are not the only lifeform in the
universe has been around for a very long time. Mentions of aliens and UFOs can
be dated back as early as the 4th century in China. The motivation of aliens is
unclear. There are plenty of invasion stories where aliens will try and take
over whatever planet they see fit, kill off its inhabitants, and occupy that
planet for themselves. It is also theorized that they are peaceful beings and
simply wish to coexist with others in the universe.
In defiance of the concept that modern science fiction came about in the 1950s, we need to mention two writers responsible for popularizing modern science fiction in the late 1800s: H. G. Wells and Jules Verne. Both men were referred to as the father of science fiction, with Verne often called the father of modern science fiction due to his scientifically grounded works. H. G. Wells gave us THE TIME MACHINE 1895, THE ISLAND OF DR. MOREAU 1896, THE INVISIBLE MAN 1897, WAR OF THE WORLDS 1898. Jules Verne gave us JOURNEY TO THE CENTER OF THE EARTH 1864, 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA 1870, and AROUND THE WORLD IN 80 DAYS 1873.
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