May Monster Madness

It's time for May Monster Madness!  This bloghop is hosted by Annie Walls, Little Gothic Horrors, and Something wicKED This Way Comes.

The goal is simple.  Write a post about monsters.  It can be anything, like writing a story about monsters, ideas for monster related crafts, famous monsters, monster movies.  Anything goes.

I decided to write and share two drabbles that have to do with monsters.  I hope you enjoy them!

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Monster Under the Bed

“Do all beds have monsters under them?”  At six years old, T.J. hung on his older brother Kyle’s every word.  When Kyle confirmed that there were really monsters living under T.J.’s bed, he never thought to doubt him.

Kyle sat beside him on the bed.  “Not all.  Not yet anyway.  Monsters take little girls and boys and turn them into monsters.  If the monster gets you, it’ll turn you into one too.  Then maybe you’ll go after me, or maybe Mom and Dad.  That’s why you can’t let it get you.”

T.J.’s face blanched as he clutched his teddy bear.

Face of a Monster 

“Not all monsters look ugly,” Patricia said as she wound spaghetti noodles around her fork.  “The most frightening monsters are the ones you can’t see until it’s too late.”

This first date started out with light conversation about horror movies, but now Nadia feared it was taking a turn into darker realms.  That was the last thing she wanted.  “I know the world is filled with killers and rapists, but do we need to talk about that now?”

Patricia smiled sweetly.  “Honey, you misunderstand me.”  She dropped her fork, and with a sickening sound, talons burst forth from her fingertips.

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I hope you enjoyed my drabbles!  Be sure to check out some of the other participants!

An InLinkz Link-up

May Monster Madness #7: Vampires

To read my entry for the Best/Worst Movie Remake Blogfest, click HERE.

To read my next installment in the "Memoirs From the End of the World" serial, click HERE.

To help me Celebrate the Small Things, click HERE.

May Monster Madness is hosted by Annie Walls, Little Gothic Horrors, and Something WicKED This Way Comes.

I know this is a shift from the technological menaces I've been covering, but I have a specific reason for doing it this way.  Vampires were my mom's favorite monsters.  If there was a vampire movie coming out, she had to watch it.  She loved vampire novels.  It's safe to say she was obsessed.

Two years ago today, my mom passed away at the age of 47.  She had a genetic condition called hemochromatosis.  This is a condition where the body absorbs too much iron.  Given that there's no natural way for the body to get rid of excess iron, removing blood from the body is the first treatment.  I think my mom would have rather had a handsome vampire handle this part than a doctor, but oh well.  Unfortunately, the condition went undiagnosed too long, and it took its toll.  It wore down her immune system until she couldn't fight off the most commonplace of infections.

Anyway, I thought it would be fitting to cover vampires today.  

Why do we find vampires so alluring?  Is it the promise of immortality?  Is it the sensuality of neck-biting?  It is the mixture of attraction and repulsion?  The fact that they still feel human emotions while being monstrous creatures?  Do we wonder if we can tame the beast within?

I think it's a combination of all these factors, as well as others I haven't yet named.

Here's a short video that talks about the history of vampires in popular culture.

I agree that adding romance in with the horror of the vampire created something alluring that exploded throughout popular culture.  This romance humanizes them enough that we're drawn to the monster.  I guess girls really do like a bad boy, huh?

In case you're interested, here's a LINK to the only vampire story I've ever written.  It's a science fiction story as well, so it isn't a traditional vampire tale, but I'm happy with it.

Links

http://io9.com/5124225/why-are-vampires-so-damn-sexy

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/history-archaeology/The-Great-New-England-Vampire-Panic-169791986.html

May Monster Madness #6: Skynet and the Terminators

May Monster Madness is hosted by Annie Walls, Little Gothic Horrors, and Something WicKED This Way Comes.

Writing about the Cybermen for yesterday's post, I got to thinking about how technology plays the role of monster.  While technological monsters may not be the grotesque creatures we pictured living under our beds or in our closets as children, they often represent a monstrous threat in fiction.

When I think of technological threats, though, I shudder when I think of Skynet. Brought to us by the Terminator franchise, Skynet is a self-aware artificial intelligence that uses machinery, including terminators, in its goal of exterminating the human race.

Though Skynet was created by humans, it feels no affinity toward us.  It is not interested in reasoning with us.  And since Skynet does not exist in a centralized location, it is all but unbeatable.  In a world where this artificial menace is in control, machines build other machines, so while humans have become an endangered species, there is no shortage of war machines ready to do Skynet's bidding.

Most monsters will show their face at some point.  Skynet doesn't.  We only see its soldiers, the terminators (which are frightening in their own right), which will easily be replaced as soon as they are destroyed by the human resistance.

Given these facts, I think it's safe to call Skynet a monster.  At the very least, it would be considered a monster to the few remaining humans who have to inhabit that world.

The Terminator films examine the need for responsible science.  Science can do, and has done, exceptional things.  Science should continue to do what it does to make our lives better.  At the same time, we need to consider the potential consequences of the advancements we make.  Otherwise, we may exterminate ourselves by virtue of our own brilliance.


Links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Skynet_(Terminator)
http://singularityhub.com/2011/04/19/skynet-becomes-aware-launches-nuclear-attack-on-humanity/
http://technorati.com/technology/article/skynet-goes-active-terminator-judgment-dayapril/
http://www.wired.com/underwire/2011/04/skynet-becomes-self-aware/

May Monster Madness #5: Cybermen

May Monster Madness is hosted by Annie Walls, Little Gothic Horrors, and Something WicKED This Way Comes.

Yesterday I wrote a little about the Weeping Angels.  Today I wanted to look at the Cybermen.

The Cybermen have been a staple of the Doctor Who universe for a long time. The Cybermen and the Daleks both tap into the fear of the technological overtaking the biological.  This is a fear that the Star Trek universe examines with the Borg.

In the original series of Doctor Who, the Cybermen were not originally human but were "upgraded" Mondasians.  In the new series, however, they were humans who were upgraded  by John Lumic of Cybus Industries.  Lumic's goal was to overcome the infirmities of the body.  Flesh decays and can be damaged.  By placing the brain into a robotic body, this inevitable bodily decay could be thwarted.  However, the mind couldn't cope with being placed in such a body, so all emotions had to be switched off.  The result is the death of the human.

Sure, the physical brain of the person still exists inside the metallic head, but without any emotion, how can anyone recognize the person they once were.  Is immortality really worth it if you have to give up all semblance of self to get it? Most people would say no.

Cybermen, once upgraded, do all they can to make sure everyone else they encounter is upgraded.  To them, this is the natural thing to do.  There seems to be no real malice in their actions.  The goal is to eliminate the painful realities of organic life.  Unfortunately, there is no reasoning with them.  They violate the autonomy of those they forcibly upgrade.  Looking into the eyes of the Cybermen, their victims can see the empty shells they are about to become, and that has to be terrifying.

As humans we fear loss of autonomy.  We fear that violation of self, and we intuitively know that when the things that make us human disappear (the ability to think independently, the ability to feel emotion), the self that we know disappears also.

I think this is the reason why the Cybermen have continued to be popular Doctor Who adversaries over the years.  As our dependence on technology grows, we fear we're losing something essential to ourselves.  Fortunately, I think we as humans can engage in science and create technology, because we're aware of what can happen.  We know there are boundaries, and while we may change in relation to our technology, and we may make mistakes, we will hold on to what makes us human.

Links

http://tardis.wikia.com/wiki/Cyberman

http://io9.com/neil-gaiman-gives-doctor-whos-cybermen-what-they-need-502086438

http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Cybermen

http://www.thedoctorwhosite.co.uk/cybermen/

May Monster Madness #4: The Weeping Angels

May Monster Madness is hosted by Annie Walls, Little Gothic Horrors, and Something WicKED This Way Comes.

First of all, I'd like to give a shout out to Stephen Tremp who did a post on the Weeping Angels yesterday.  Click HERE to check out what he had to say about this fearsome monster.

I am a huge Doctor Who fan.  This is no secret to anyone who knows anything about me.  The Weeping Angels are one of those monsters that can make even brave adults afraid of the dark.

The Weeping Angels attack when you're not looking.  They make the dark a dangerous place to be.  They strike when your back is turned.  And when they touch you, they zip you back in time and feed off the potential energy of the life you might have lived.  Who isn't terrified of the dangers they can't see coming?

I found this video, and I think it does an excellent job of exploring the mechanisms of fear and why the Weeping Angels make us shudder.  I highly recommend watching this.

May Monster Madness #3: Skeksis

May Monster Madness is hosted by Annie Walls, Little Gothic Horrors, and Something WicKED This Way Comes.

On this third day of monstrous fun, I decided to visit a film I viewed many times throughout my childhood.  As an adult, I love it just as much now as I did then.

Skeksis!

The 1982 film The Dark Crystal features a classic quest story, a battle between good and evil, and stunning visuals.  The story features a young Glefling named Jen who needs to heal a crystal by finding a shard of it that split away.  When the split happened many years ago, a species of tall, flowing beings were split into two races called the Mystics and the Skeksis.  

The Mystics are gentle, kind, and wise.  The Skeksis are dishonest, scheming beings who will do anything to get what they want.  These two races represent the good and evil that resided within each member of the race that spawned them when the crystal cracked.  Healing the crystal when the Great Conjunction comes (which is the three suns aligning in the sky) will bring these two parts back together to form a whole.

The Skeksis meet many of the criteria for being monsters. They're incredibly ugly, first of all. While it is undeniable that not all monsters are ugly, being hideous does add to a monster's street cred.  They also crave power, and they don't mind who they step on to get it.  They drained most of the Gelflings of their vital essence to prolong their own youth.  They then proceeded to do the same to the Podlings, and they used the withered husks that remained as slaves.

Since they were spawned from the darkness that resided within the original race, this hails back to a recent post I did about Monstrosity and Storytelling.  The basic idea is that we look at the monsters we see inside ourselves in bring them into the world as physical beings so we can confront them.

Since the main audience for this film, however, is children, the Skeksis are not only monstrous.  They can also be quite ridiculous and funny.   The monstrous aspects of these beings are undeniable, but the humor helps dispel and repulsion and fear that might result from seeing their monstrosity.  In a way, the humor operates as a way of defeating the monster.  While it may harm those on screen, being able to laugh at them reminds children that these monsters won't harm them.  A monster's power is diminished when you don't give in to the fear.

May Monster Madness #2: Monsters From the Id

May Monster Madness is hosted by Annie Walls, Little Gothic Horrors, and Something WicKED This Way Comes.

On this second day of monster mayhem, I'd like to take a quick look at a monster that is disturbing because it springs from our own minds.

Monsters From the Id

The Id was named by Sigmund Freud, and describes the part of the mind composed of our primitive basic instincts.  These instincts include the need to procreate and to protect ourselves through aggression.  As human beings, we have to ability to control our impulses, even though those impulses are still there whether we're willing to acknowledge them or not.

In the 1956 film Forbidden Planet, and expedition is sent to a distant planet to discover what happened to a human settlement.  They learn that an ancient race once lived there, and this race had invented and built a machine that could produce anything from the thoughts of the people who lived there.  These intelligent aliens were exterminated practically overnight.

The cause of death: the monsters from the Id. Even the most advanced beings still possess the Id, the unconscious place that lies beneath reason and restraint.  The machine, which was supposed to make life better, inadvertently unleashed the beast within that was regulated by conscious thought.  Let loose upon the world, extinction came quickly.

This film came at a time when we were well aware of our own ability to cause extinction.  Films about giant insects brought about by nuclear radiation were popular at the time.  We knew all too well that the monster resided within ourselves.

The monsters from the Id are frightening because they are part of us.  They can take any form, and their wrath can be nothing short of devastating.

Links!

http://www.monstersfromtheid.net/trailer.html

http://psychology.about.com/od/iindex/g/def_id.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Id,_ego_and_super-ego

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forbidden_Planet

May Monster Madness #1: Zombies

May Monster Madness is hosted by Annie Walls, Little Gothic Horrors, and Something WicKED This Way Comes.

Monsters frighten us by tapping into the most basic human fears.  Over the next week, I'd like to take a look at some of the monsters that I've found interesting over the years, and I'll talk a little about why they frighten us.

The first monster I'd like to talk about has gained popularity over the last few years, though this monster has actually been around a long time.

Zombies!

We all know what zombies are.  They've permeated popular culture.  Why do these repulsive creatures appeal to us?

From George Romero's 1968 film
Night of the Living Dead

Zombies terrify and fascinate us, because they are walking reminders of our own mortality.  When death climbs out of the ground and comes looking for us, we cannot help but face the fact that we too will one day rot.  This is not a pleasant reality for most people.

That certainty of death also means that the zombies will keep coming.  Some zombies may be agonizingly slow, but their strength comes in their numbers.  While the whole of society crumbles around the survivors, the zombies keep moving toward their next meal.

From George Romero's 1968 film
Night of the Living Dead

The inevitability of death also guarantees that everyone who survives long enough will see someone they love turn into a zombie.  The horror of having to face that and the necessity of putting them down taps into some of our deepest fears as human beings.

The theme of cannibalism is also part of what makes zombies unsettling.  Zombies, who were once human, feast on humans. There are plenty of instances of cannibalism throughout our history.  Some cannibalism is ritualistic in nature, while some resort to cannibalism in a desperate bid for survival in extreme circumstances.  We look at these instances with a curiosity fueled by repulsion.

Zombies seem to come in two ways.  There are zombies who've been created by man in an attempt to cheat death.  We create a cure for cancer, or we experiment with dangerous viruses in an attempt to understand them.  The zombie outbreak spreads like a plague, and efforts are made to contain it.  These zombies serve as commentary on our attempts to overcome nature.  Whether that commentary is justified or not is up for debate.

The other zombie event seems to come from supernatural sources.  The dead all over the world rise at once.  These are frightening because there seems to be no hope of stopping it.  This zombie apocalypse is entirely beyond our control, and all people can do is try to survive as long as they can.

Zombie Links!
http://io9.com/a-history-of-zombies-in-america-5692719
http://www.theatlanticwire.com/entertainment/2012/10/brief-history-zombies/58574/
http://zombie.wikia.com/wiki/Zombie_Wiki
http://zombie.wikia.com/wiki/Cannibalism