My love of monsters

The time of monsters draws nigh and I am reminded of my appreciation for such things. How can creatures that fill us with terror also fill us with delight? Perhaps, it is because they are a reflection of us.

Monsters elicit the deepest of emotions, and the feelings that go deepest touch us the most. We are afraid, and yet mesmerized. Though desiring to run, we pause and reflect.

The best monsters are those that evoke sympathy: the hapless product of a mad scientist; the man cursed to become a beast under the light of the full moon; the restless spirit who is unable to leave this world and go on to the next. We feel for them, even though they frighten us. And maybe what we really fear is man’s propensity to become a monster.

Still we have a fascination for fantastic creatures. I have written about orcs, goblins and ogres. Each one strikes me differently: the ferocity of the orc, the power of the ogre, and the silent threat of the goblin.

I became obsessed with learning more about these beings: what would they really be like? If they were wholly evil, the interest would have abated. But we are drawn to them, and so the knife cuts much deeper…

Human beings are often afraid of what they like. Perhaps, it is because they are ashamed to like it. But evil is born in the heart and only manifests itself in the thoughts of the mind carried out by the hands. There is no shame in loving monsters, so long as you do not become one.