Types of Monsters

“That truth is that monsters are real, and ghosts are real, too. They live inside us, and sometimes they win.”– Stephen King, Introduction to The Shining (Simon and Schuster edition, 2002)

(I made that sign. Isn’t it cute?)

Ah, October. What a lovely, spooky month. And what better time to turn our minds to thoughts of goblins, beasts, vampires, murdering psychopaths, ghouls, zombies, and the occasional resident ghost?

Wikipedia tells me that “the word ‘monster’ derives from Latin monstrum, an aberrant occurrence, usually biological, that was taken as a sign that something was wrong within the natural order.” So if you think about it, monsters are simply the abnormal in the worst possible way — anything different that is perceived as frightening.

Since I love to categorize and classify things, let’s break it down, shall we?

(Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

I contend that there are only 2 broad types of monsters:
1) Physical
2) Metaphysical

A monster is one, the other, or both. No monster is neither, or it does not exist and is therefore not a monster.

And all monsters can be categorized in one or more of the following sub-types:

Alien– from another planet/world/dimension/time
example: Alien

Belief-based– only exists if the victim believes it exists
example: Voodoo creatures

Historical– long-lost, previously existing creature
example: Bigfoot, King Kong

Human– people, but bad
example: Psycho, American Psycho

Supernatural– things with no explanation other than “it just is”

Magic– spells, power, ritual, etc.
example: Pet Cemetary

Religious/mythological– beings created by higher powers
example: Cerberus, Satan

Biological– a being or creature with a viable scientific explanation

Man-made– an experiment
example: Mr. Hyde

Natural– a species created through evolution, etc.
example: apes in Planet of the Apes, Graboids in Tremors

Perceived/false– the faux monster
example: The Sandlot’s “The Beast,” To Kill a Mockingbird’s Boo Radley

And all of these types are scary for one or more of these reasons:
Malicious intent

Motive unknown
example: Michael Myers in Halloween

Motive known
example: Aileen Wuornos in Monster

Instability of motive
example: Jack Torrance in The Shining

Superior ability

Intelligence
example: Jigsaw

Strength
example: Jason

Speed
example: 28 Days Later zombies

Authority
example: Hellraiser, Lestat

Powers
example: The Ring, The Faculty

Willingness to do evil
example: villains in Scream, killer in Frailty

Physical appearance
example: Nosferatu, The Grudge, monster in Pan’s Labyrinth

The unknown
example: The Sixth Sense

Distant presence
example: The Blair Witch Project

All of this works together to create a sense of inevitability, a sort of looming powerlessness as if the protagonist/victim is helpless against what’s coming. And that, my friends, is why monsters are scary.

What do you think? Who (or what) is your favorite monster? What “type” are they? And of all the types, which kind is the scariest to you?

I’ll be doing several scary/horror-based posts this month in honor of Halloween. Welcome to my dark little corner of the world. Happy October.