When the term monster comes to mind, many people immediately associate it with some kind of physically impure creature with a deformed appearance. According to Noel Carroll, these creatures are carefully constructed and designed with the idea of fusion and fission in mind. However, having a terrifying biological makeup doesn’t always have to be the case in order for something/someone to be qualified as monstrous.
What about earthquakes, hurricanes, or tornadoes? They are some of the most violent disastrous natural phenomenas that exist and they, too, happen to possess qualities of monsters in that they have the ability to kill and wipe out a large population in a matter of seconds whilst spreading widespread panic to rest of the country/world. Sounds relatively similar to a monster, doesn’t it?
Tornadoes are large funnels of loud rotating wind that form when warm moist air makes contact with cool dry air. These windstorms cause mass destruction as some of the winds can reach up to 300mph, pick up debris and dust particles and violently swirling them in a funnel formation. Take the movie Wizard of Oz, for example. In the film a powerful cyclone develops, uprooting trees, knocking down fences, and destroying property. Unable to open the door to the storm cellar, Dorothy quickly runs to her bedroom to take cover. After being knocked unconscious by an object blown from the strong winds of the storm she wakes up to find the entire house being taken up by the strong monstrous cyclone as the entire structure whirls around the funnel in mid air.
Earthquakes, although not quite as visible as tornadoes or cyclones are (which may make it even more terrifying), also happen to embody the characteristics of a monster as it’s powerful strength causes the ground to make pounding movements which, in turn, evoke feelings of fear and paranoia. We usually hear about these earthquakes attacking California but, just a few years ago, we experienced one in New York. I remember sitting in my dad’s car that afternoon when all of a sudden the vehicle started shaking left and right. We quickly looked to the back, thinking that someone was pulling a foul prank on us by using their weight to push our car back and forth, but there was no one there. In a matter of seconds I started hearing screaming and people began evacuating from the surrounding buildings. Thankfully the earthquake didn’t cause too much damage but those few seconds were still terrifying as, in the back of our minds, we knew that there was no escape from the the trembling ground beneath us.
This brings me to the question – Do all entities have to have a pumping heart and a conscience with rotten motives to be considered a monster? Do all monsters have to be physically disturbing and repulsive in appearance? Is it possible for certain natural disasters be considered monsters? If an entity causes mass destruction and evokes widespread panic, is that enough to qualify it as a monster?
