The Unknown

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We, as a specie, have always been afraid of what we don’t understand. Whether it is eccentric behaviors of our fellow peers or objects of unknown origins, we view and condemn them with such a biased mind because of what we don’t comprehend simply terrifies us. Since the beginning of history of mankind, we’ve been creating tales or stories to compensate our lack of understanding of objects that weren’t clear to us. We try to implement some kind of definite shape or meaning to things, so we can feel like we have a firm grasp on them. But even with them, our subconscious fear leads us to creating tales of horrifying creatures; the countless monsters that, apparently, reside in the dark, beyond the exuberant light that shines above humans.

Horror movies pry on this primal fear of the unknown. The protagonists are always left in the dark, literally and figuratively, and constantly unsure of what the future beholds for them. Carroll mentions this in his definition of threatening, in the senses of psychological. The minds of these protagonists are put to the test against the other characters as the distrust spreads due to uncertainty, but also with themselves, as they they are losing a firm grasp on the reality as they know it. Their gradual loss of reality would eventually lead to their downfall, as a group and as individuals. Their abilities of reason and logic deteriorate, which leads them to be physically threatening to others, and sometimes even to themselves

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He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named

he-who-must-not-be-named

Admitting this makes me feel like a chicken, but… the ending of the first Happy Potter movie has haunted me for years. The particularly scary scene takes place in a chamber, while Harry and his professor stand inside a circle of flames. Professor Quirrell unveils that he is actually He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named by unwinding his head wrap and revealing the face of Harry’s assailant on the other side of his head. Every time, this makes me reach for the nearest object at hand to cover my eyes.

I had never thought of this before, but by Homer’s definition, Professor Quirrell/He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is a monster. I had always categorized him as an evil sorcerer… so in this case, does evil sorcerer = monster?! Professor Quirrell/He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named is psychologically threatening to his pupils while he is a professor at Hogwarts, and is most definitely threatening while he is exposed as He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named in more than one way—in fact, he is threatening in all ways. Moving down Homer’s list of criteria; the evil wizard is impure. However, is he/they an example of fusion of fission?  They are two entities—one of a professor and one of a dark wizard—living on one body simultaneously. Since Professor Quirrell such is a devoted follower of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, he does not make decisions based his own needs, but of the dark force he is serving. This complete indoctrination of one’s soul almost morphs the professor with the Dark Lord, aside from the actual linkage of their bodies. This sure sounds like fusion. But, they are not technically morphed into one identity since they both have a face on either side of the head and have their own train of thought. They could even have a conversation. This very well may be fission.

A question still remains: is He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named still a monster when he takes his own form?

Teen Wolf

The title of the show is very misleading and I will be the first one to point that out. “Teen Wolf” does not sound like it could be something enjoyable for anyone else but a tween girl obsessed with the mainstream appeal of the supernatural. Sure, the show has all the ingredients of a potentially bad plot: attractive actors/actresses playing characters in distress, overly dramatic music and werewolves. Majority of the world has deemed werewolves no longer as something feared but cool. Thus, many do not stop and try to give Teen Wolf a viewing it deserves. Honestly, I find the show to be extremely entertaining. The past 3 seasons had incredible story lines and some unforgettable characters, Personally, I especially enjoy and appreciate how much effort the writers put in the backstory of the monsters that the viewers come to know over the course of the show.

There is always great attention and inspiration taken from various mythology backgrounds as well as history itself. One of my favorite monsters created on the show was a nogitsune – a dark fox spirit who feeds on pain and chaos. It was originally called upon by a fox (another supernatural creature) in order to seek revenge on the soldiers at an internment camp for the japanese during World War II. After possessing a body of a person the spirit became uncontrollable, killing everything in sight and was soon stopped. In the present day, due to certain events the spirit was accidentally unleashed yet again and it took over one of the main characters, Stiles Stilinski. Throughout the season we see an internal fight within his best friend Scott Macall as to whether or not the consciousness of Stiles is still present in his body to be potentially saved or is he forever lost under possession and would have to be killed. What would you do if you’re best friend was suddenly committing mass murders, sending out freakish mass hallucinations and indulging from emotional vampirism? I would certainly be lost in action.

Kids

...petrifying.

…petrifying.

While yes, it is true, kids are some of the scariest things in existence and can very often be more terrifying and monster-like than any other creature in imaginable, the fear caused by young, snot-filled, dirty children is not what this entry is about. This post is meant to be thought provoking on the subject of why kids are afraid of things that go bump in the night and when (or if) they grow out of this. Young children all seem to have common fears—the dark, a monster under their bed, a vicious creature in their closet at night. They also tend to go to their parents for help in these situations, asking them to check under the bed for The Bogeyman or to turn on a night light near their bed. A rather interesting question to ask ourselves is why don’t kids need to check under Mom and Dad’s bed for a monster lurking in the dark? A rather far-fetched scenario, I’ll admit, but still one with thinking about.
baby face

Is being frightened by monsters something children grow out of? or is it more so that adults are able to get used to the idea of a monster? While it is the job of a parent to ensure the safety of their child (even if it is from an imaginary beast), when do humans make the switch from being afraid of the monster to being the thing the monster is afraid of? Why are parents the child’s saving grace when they are frozen with the fear of an unlikely danger? Perhaps its just an act, because I personally believe no one would ever be able to grow out of being afraid of a monster. No matter the age, no one would ever be able to look a monster in the eye (let’s just go with the idea that there is such a thing) and say they weren’t even the slightest bit on edge. Being afraid is something which can only be repressed— not eliminated completely.

Monster under the bed

The Monster Nian (Chinese monster)

When it comes to the topic of monster, “Nian” is usually the first name that pops up in Chinese people’s minds. As a China born kid, i have heard numerous terrifying stories about superb Chinese monster Nian. In Chinese mythology, Nian has a shape of lion body and head of a unicorn. Ordinarily, Nian lives under the deep sea; however, it will come out and eats people, cattle and children in each spring around Chinese New Year time. With its extraordinary strength, lightening speed and the ability of controlling fire,   Nian can easily tear down a village in minutes. Eye of the Cyclops, neck of the titans (from Attack on titan), heel of the Achilles, even the greatests have their weakness, fortunately, Nian has two. This big bad ferocious beast is very sensitive to loud noises  and is afraid of red color (surprise haha).

nian nian2

By now, you probably can figure out why do Chinese people like to wear red color and light up fireworks during New Year time. With the combination of loud drums and red custom body suit, Chinese Dragon/Lion dance was made to scare off monster Nian essentially. Furthermore, the tradition of giving kids red pocket during New Year shares the same ideas. As far as i know, at least half amount of Chinese traditions were invented because of the existence of monster Nian. How lovely, isn’t it?

Along the same lines as the connection between Nian and Chinese custom; ghost, monsters and hallows have conspicuously effects on the eastern tradition holiday Halloween. And With more and more samples coming together, the relationships between peoples customs and the stories of monsters had me thinking, how much percentage of our tradition was based on the stories of monsters? What would our life be without monsters’ stories? Although monsters are precisely not something that we should be thankful to, our life certainly would be less interesting without them.

Human Centipede

If you were to ever hear a loud shrilling scream in the middle of the night, followed by heaving breathing and desperate cries for help, you’ll certainly know that I have just crossed paths with a centipede. With sometimes over a hundred skinny legs attached to individual segments of their long brown bodies, these monstrous creatures never fail to make me cringe in utmost fear. They roam around dark, damp places and carry around deadly venom in their system as they search far and wide for prey to inject it into. Although this venom isn’t toxic enough to be life endangering to humans, the fact that these centipedes practically move at the speed of light and will disappear from my sights in a matter of seconds definitely doesn’t help to ease my mind at all.

Carroll points out that some artists use the technique of magnification as they significantly increase the size of creatures we already deem as horrifyingly disgusting in order to evoke a more intense feeling of revolution and fear among viewers. For me, a certain Dutch horror film called “The Human Centipede” immediately comes to mind. For those who have never heard of the movie, it is about a doctor named Heiter who specializes in separating Siamese twins but is eager to perform a new experiment where he surgically connects three humans to create a creature that shares a single digestive system. He trains his human centipedes to perform tasks and physically harms them if they disobey his orders. Eventually, in an attempt to escape from the ward, the victims attack Heiter by stabbing his left leg with a scalpel.

In a side by side comparison between the typical house centipede and this malicious human centipede, the house centipede truly appears to be harmless. My irrational fear is purely psychological and I’m aware that all sharp toothed, hairy, and hundred-legged critters have no intention of killing humans. In thinking under this light – Can this scenario apply to other monsters as well? Are some monsters more scared of us than we are of them? Have they just been exerting means of self defense because they see us humans as a threat? Have we just been oblivious to their true intentions all this time?

Bigfoot

Bigfoot

When you think of Bigfoot, you get the image of a huge ape-like creature walking on two BIG feet roaming the forest. Whether you believe that this creature exists or not is up to you but there are many people who believe it does exist. Doing some research, I found out that there is an organization devoted to finding Bigfoot called The Bigfoot Field Researchers Organization. There are many reports of sightings and footprints but some believe that it isn’t enough evidence for this creature to be real. People are still trying to find the Bigfoot and uncover its mystery.

Is this mysterious beast considered a monster? First, we don’t even know if it exists. Second, the Bigfoot seems like a shy, friendly giant who is probably not dangerous so why are we scared of it? Is it because of its size? Or is it because of its mysteriousness? It seems as though this monster is hiding from humans rather than going after them. Actually, we are the ones looking for this monster so doesn’t that seem weird? If we are the ones hunting, are we the monsters? What if Bigfoot just wants to be left alone and all we’re doing is bothering it?

According to Carroll, Bigfoot would be a fusion monster combining a gorilla or ape with human mechanics. Bigfoot would also fall under magnification especially in the name BIGfoot with its unusually large feet leaving footprints behind. However, Carroll believes that monsters need to be threatening. Bigfoot may seem threatening but I don’t think it’s trying to be. The fact that it runs away and hides makes the creature seem more passive rather than aggressive. When we think of monsters, we think about something that is aggressive and is out to kill. However, Bigfoot is not looking for a fight, maybe it’s just looking for friends.

Another

The first horror anime I ever watched was called Another.  It was incredibly good and I highly suggest it.  The premise is that a certain class at a high school is “haunted” by a former student who died an untimely death.  Now the students in the class die untimely deaths about once a month until its figured out how to stop the curse. Its really good and all the deaths are final destinationish and the finale is really good. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wwUzWZBN7CE that’s a link to the first episode on you tube if you are interested.

I really like that through out the whole series there is never a definite monster.  All these horrible things keep happening to members of the class and their family members but there isn’t a set evil doer.  The sense of mystery and suspense is great throughout the entire series.  Feeling like anyone of the characters could die at any moment kept great suspense and horror throughout.  The extremely gory deaths helped too.

This “monster” has very little known about it and is extremely dangerous.  Despite that it fits very well with Carroll’s theory.  First it is extremely dangerous in a physical way.  Second it represents his idea of impurity.  The monster is a dead school girl yet she can still interact with the physical world.  This shows the fusion Carroll talked about in regards to his impurity.

I find it very interesting and intriguing that a Monster who is never seen or shows any sense of existing besides killing people can cause so much horror.  It seems the less one knows about a monster the scarier it is.  Is it simply just a fear of the unknown?  The kind that stopped explorers from initially crossing the Atlantic.  Fears of sea monsters that didn’t exist.  Or rather is it that the human imagination that makes monsters scarier than they are?  That really the only thing we have to fear is fear itself, and umbrellas. (watch Another to understand that)

Gamera

Gamera was known as “the original mutant turtle” when it first appeared on the big screen in 1965. Its title came from the second issue of the Gamera: The Guardian of the Universe comic. Gamera was a species of ancient prehistoric turtles that lived on the earth around 8,000 years ago. The size of Gamera was similar to that of Godzilla, which is estimated to be about 100-150 meters. Gamera was known as both a hero and a monster in the world of film, where he brought both destruction and happiness to the people of Japan. It was first awakened from his deep slumber by an atomic blast in the Artic. It consumed flames and other radioactive substances as food. After his awakening, it unexplainably goes on a rampage destroying towns and cities. Until, it met a boy, Toto, who lived on a small fishing island off the coast of japan. This changed everything, Gamera protected this boy with the cost of his life, by sacrificing himself to destroy evil kaiju (monsters) that began to appear. When Gamera successfully saved the boy, Gamera became a hero known as “friend to all children in the world”. Toto was left with an egg and shiny stone beside it.

Unknown

The origins of Gamera were different between the two series of movies. One of which was created during the Showa era of films, which was explained in the paragraph above. The other was created in the Hesei era of films, in which Gamera was one of the many creatures created by the lost city of Atlantis to defend the human race against other kaiju (monsters) that were capable of wiping out the world. Some questions that Gamera brings up are: Can it really be considered a monster if he is kind at heart? Is it considered a monster even though it is an oversized tortoise? Can it be a monster if it wasn’t the only one of its species? Is Gamera a monster even though it was created to protect the earth?