Welcome to the Haunting Horror

Happy belated Halloween! Did you guys have a spooky time? I was suffering from some extreme jet lag as I had spent the past week exploring the Pacific Northwestern region of the United States. Then I decided to take the red-eye home. The only thing scary about my day was the lack of sleep.

When was the last time you felt scared?

The feeling doesn't have to be because of something major. I feel scared for many reasons, some of them even silly. Fear, horror, and terror are all associated with feeling scared. I tend to find myself terrified of some social situations (none I will specify here) or when one of my cousins decides to take a mountain pass road on the side of a cliff...in the rain (“it’s only 8 miles” my foot).

Fear is subjective.

As a child I was always fearful of mysterious monsters in my closet or under my bed. I would build a wall of stuffed animals to keep vampires and ghosts away. Don’t even get me started on zombies. I can’t stand zombies even to today (if only they weren’t a real probability of occurring right?).

Did someone say monsters?

It took a long time for me to be able to watch or read horror stories. There are some stories I still won’t watch (mainly of the torture/slasher variety). I don’t like blood and gore at all. Even in college I wouldn’t watch the show Supernatural after a certain time.

Except things started to change.

It was a slow process. I was always aware of stranger danger, but it wasn’t as big of a reality until I moved away from my friends and family. The idea that I could fail didn’t seem as scary until I was responsible for providing for myself. The future always seemed bright and shiny until I realized there was very little I could do to control it.

My fears went from imaginary monsters to intangible realities. I can’t punch a fear that doesn’t have a physical form.

I also started embracing more of the horror genre as a way to deal with my own nightmares. Slowly at first with kids shows and cheesy movies from the 30s, 40s, and 50s. I became drawn to the beautiful side of horror. Gothic sets with ominous lighting and music scores that could draw out every emotion the characters felt. I really liked horror video games with their intricate stories and emerging the player as both the protagonist and omnipresent observer. Fatal Frame and The Haunting Grounds are two great titles that pull this off.

Now, it’s become a lot harder to horrify me with movies, books, and even video games. It’s not that I’ve seen it all or that I know the genre too well. It’s more that a lot of horror mediums these days rely on cheap scares to jolt their audience into an adrenaline rush.

The type of horror I’m drawn to is subtle. It isn’t a sudden jump scare or loud “boo” to the face. It’s seductive, able to draw their victim in to a beautiful trap that leaves them shaking for days after wondering when the next bout of terror will come. It’s a horror that stalks its prey long after the prey has escaped.

A great example of this horror done well is the new Netflix original The Haunting of Hill House. I was surprised by how off putting and truly terrifying the mini series was. The very few jump scares were on point and not cheap thrills.

The new Suspiria movie that just came out is an equally terrifying experience (though I wasn't so keen on the Epilogue portion of the movie). Much like 2018's The Haunting of Hill House, this remake of the 1977 classic takes things in a completely new direction while keeping the bar bones of the original. It's a slow burn horror movie that draws the viewer in and isn't shy about being upfront with the supernatural aspects of the movie.

However, these examples might not be seen as scary or engaging enough for everyone.

The thing about horror is that its incredibly subjective. A movie like the 2017 It doesn't scare me for a couple of reasons: 1) I'm not scared of clowns, 2) I know that there's a whole other part because I watched the original 1990s miniseries, and 3) the imagery that's supposed to shock me - doesn't. That doesn't mean there weren't a few good scares in the movie. I definitely jumped when I first saw the headless boy following Ben and the scene with Pennywise coming out of the projector was creepy as all get out. I still enjoyed the movie, I just wasn't scared by it.

I may find it creepy, but it's not scary.

As my taste in horror media changed, so too did the things that scared me. I'm no longer scared of ghosts or witches or vampires. Now I'm scared of things that are a lot more abstract and less straight forward to fight back against. I'm scared of the a future I can't predict. I'm scared of hypothetical situations that I can neither control nor account for. I'm afraid of isolation and being forgotten about.

People have different fears, anxieties, and feelings. What one person finds scary another finds invigorating. Some people like being scared, others hate it with every fiber of their body. Fears morph and change as your life does the same.

Just remember one thing: whatever your scared of, no matter how mundane - it's okay to feel that fear.

Just try not to let those fears take over your life.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Welcome to Monsters Part 6: The Monsters in My Head

I was originally going to end this blog post with the Monsters Next Door post, but there's one more type of monster that I feel I should address. Those are the ones my mind creates.

There's no doubt that I have an overactive imagination. I was one of those kids who could make up a fantastical story on the spot (but I couldn't lie to save my life). I definitely remember being absolutely terrified by a giant spider in my basement as a kid that would only be able to get me if all the lights were off.

Now that I'm older the monsters my mind conjures up have changed with me. I still get plenty of nightmares where a monster is chasing/hunting me (usually featuring a talking velociraptor). I'll wake up in a panic and it'll take me several minutes to realize that I'm perfectly safe and can go back to sleep. 

There are also the nights were I wake up for no real reason and feel like I'm being watched or there is someone in my room with me. Since I haven't shared a room with anyone since college, it's a freaky feeling. Suddenly every shadow contains a vampire waiting to suck my blood or a ghoul ready to feast on my flesh. 

Lately I've been waking up with the mental image of what I can only describe as a combination of a plague doctor, a Hayao Miyazaki creation, and a tengu (click here for the wiki page on tengu) watching me from across the room. Some day I'll have to create a story or mythos featuring this creature. But just because it looks terrifyingly cool, doesn't mean I enjoy confronting this image in my post-nightmare haze.

An example of a Tengu

These imaginary creatures are great inspiration for my horror stories. I want to know what they are and what they do. Why they might torment someone. Are they a corrupted spirit or an offended god? Will it drink my blood or does it feed off my fear? How do you kill it?

Famous monsters that appear is video games, movies, and books are often used to symbolize a character's (or even the creator/director/author's) inner turmoil. Pyramid Head from Silent Hill 2 is said to follow the player around because they are the manifestation of main character's (James Sunderland) desire to be punished for what happened to his wife. Another example would be the dementors from Harry Potter. J.K. Rowling said that the inspiration for the dementors were a manifestation of her depression. Seems appropriate since they suck out all the happiness from a person, leaving them cold and empty.

Fan fiction writers everywhere, write me a story based on this image!

For some people, depression and anxiety are like monsters. The constant feelings associated with these mental illnesses can feel like a person is battling a monster. And like most monsters I have mentioned in this series, they can be very difficult to defeat. (However, please do not tell someone suffering from a mental illness that it's just in their heads and that all they need to do to be happy is to "feel less sad".)

We all have our personal monsters to face, but that doesn't mean we have to face them alone. Unlike the ancient heroes of old, we shouldn't be afraid to ask for help when confronted with a monster. I know I feel better if I have someone with me helping me overcome my fears and challenges.

Monsters take many forms in our culture. They can represent what we fear most or be used to symbolize our emotional health. Some monsters aren't meant to cause harm, but to teach people to look past someone's physical appearance. Other times monsters are able to seamlessly hide themselves in our society and are only identifiable by how their actions.

I don't think the monster archetype will leave our culture anytime soon. Instead it will keep changing to match what our biggest fears are and reflect which challenges we still need to overcome.

I hope you have all enjoyed my series on monsters. I have certainly enjoyed researching and writing it. I might visit this topic again at some point (I do write a lot of horror right now after all). If you feel there's something I've missed in this series, please let me know.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. Until next week.

Welcome to Monsters Part 4: The Monster in the Machine

Before I begin today's blog, I have an announcement. A few weeks ago, I worked up the courage to submit a short story I had written to a literary magazine. Today I got my first rejection email. Yeah, I know it's not good news. However, it did get me over my fears of rejection. I'm going to keep trying until I get that sweet acceptance. Even if that means getting hundreds of rejections.

I am a glutton for punishment after all...

Monsters are very often associated with the unknown and what is more unknown in today's society than where technology will take us next. There are dozens to hundreds of movies, books, and video games out there where robots or AIs have had enough of human's shenanigans and decides we must be terminated.

There's even a movie called Terminator which has this very basic plot point.

Which one is out to get us Mr. Smith?

When ever AI (artificial intelligence) or robots are brought up in the media, there's always this underlying worry that one day they'll go on a murderous rampage against humanity. It's not a new fear. Frankenstein's monster could easily fall into this category if he were made of metal instead of flesh.

Now, do I believe that humans will be eradicated by machines?

No, not at all. I highly doubt the apocalypse will happen because of angry robots or an AI system gone rouge. Sure, they might replace us in the workforce, but it's highly unlikely they will suddenly get minds of their own and wipe out humanity. Someone or a group of someones will hack the machines first.

If you think about it, the Three Laws of Robotics has humans covered. That is, if we're certain these three laws are totally applicable. I believe they are and, without some human element, unlikely to fail. If you're unfamiliar with Asimov's Three Laws, they are listed below:

1) A robot may not injure a human being or, through inaction, allow a human being to come to harm.
2) A robot must obey the orders given it by human beings except where such orders would conflict with the First Law.
3) A robot must protect its own existence as long as such protection does not conflict with the First or Second Laws.

Technology, for the most part, is a tool that helps human kind. Like all tools, accidents can happen. I'm far more worried about a driverless car glitching and causing an accident than I am about a robot realizing that I am obsolete. If the robot apocalypse does happen, it will be because some stupid/ and/or vengeful human programmed it to.

That doesn't mean there are other monsters in the machine to worry about.

Technology is changing daily and it really is only a matter of time before we begin to merge with our tools. Cyborgs already exist (no not the DC character - though that would be totally awesome and I can't wait for the movie). I'm talking about people (or really any organic being) who have biomechatronic body parts. How common will a mechanical arm be in the future? What about implants that allow us to access the Internet with our eyes?

My biggest fear is what hackers will be able to do with all this technology.

When Stephen King wrote the novel Christine, do you think he was envisioning a world where driverless cars would someday be the norm? Probably not since Christine was a possessed car. But think about it. How likely is it that a hacker might be able to kill someone with a car that drives itself? What about killer drones?

Then there's what happens in Ghost in the Shell. For the record, I'm only familiar with the 1995 anime movie and one of the creepiest parts that I remember from this movie is about a guy believing he had a wife and daughter. Except he didn't. In fact didn't have any family whatsoever. You see, the people in Ghost in the Shell had merge themselves with technology. Very few people are 100% organic in this world. The villain of the story had "ghost-hacked" this person and fabricated memories. No matter how much evidence was shown to him, he truly believed his wive and daughter were waiting for him at home.

Ghost in the Shell (at least the 1995 version) raises a lot of questions about how technology and humans will interact in the future. There are a lot of questions about identity, reproduction, and what it means to be alive. There's a sense that, at some point, humans might not be able to disconnect themselves from the technology they so heavily rely on.

Which is why I don't think robots are the monsters. It's what people do with the technology that I'm worried about.

So, why are there so many stories featuring rouge AIs and robots as monsters? I think it comes back to the age old question of why are humans here? Why do we think? Why are we so curious, creative, and destructive? The philosopher René Descartes once said "cogito ergo sum" or "I think, therefore I am" as proof of one's own existence. We can only prove our own existence (and by extension other humans) because we know we can think. What we don't know is what else can think or, at least, has some form of self awareness? How will we be able to tell if a machine has gained some form of self awareness?

Answer: we can't. And that's what makes technology such a threat.

So don't be scared of technology. Be afraid of who programmed it. Be afraid of who can hack it. Because humans are the ones behind it all.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off), please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me. I have a least two more blog posts planned for this particular series. So I hope you are enjoying my take on monsters.

Until next week!

Welcome to Monsters Part 1: Evil Predators Under the Bed

So I wanted to get a few things out of the way before really diving into this week's post. First, everything that I am writing is my opinion which is based on my own experiences and (occasional) research. How I interpret something could be entirely different from how someone else does. Second, I am aware that there are people out there who have done a much better analysis than I am about to do on this topic. That's not going to stop me. Third, I enjoy writing and (to a lesser extent) reading horror. This series has been buzzing in my brain for a while and I'm not entirely sure how long it will go for. You've been warned.

An image from my sketch book... 

The monsters of my childhood were simple. They hid in the darkest shadows of my bedroom, waiting for me to peak out from under the safety of my covers and spirit me away. Only my army of stuffed animals kept the evil creatures at bay.

Or at least that was what my childish logic told me.

They are the predators and we are the prey.

Humans have it pretty good right now from an evolutionary stand point. We've somehow managed to populate every continent on Earth and it's only a matter of time before we start looking at colonizing the moon or building underwater dwellings deep on the ocean floor. There isn't anything on our planet that uses us as a primary food source (bacteria don't count). We are the dominate species.

But we weren't always the top dog and I think a part of our instinct subconscious remembers that.

Many of the scariest and most evil of monsters in our classic and popular culture (at least the western  culture which I am most familiar with) are terrifying because they prey on humans or want to cause serious harm. Manticores are known for consuming their victims whole, leaving no shred of evidence behind. Vampires want to suck the life right out of you. Zombies will tear out your throat and start eating you, while you're still alive. 

All pleasant images right?

Here there be monsters!

Explorers used to write on maps "here there be monsters" to indicate unexplored or extremely dangerous areas. It would be far from civilization where a lot of things that were unknown about these places. Those who went there, sometimes didn't come back. 

Creatures such as the kraken, manticore, siren, and harpy supposedly inhabited these area. They were blamed for shipwrecks, strange disappearances, and unexplained deaths. They preyed on humans in the same way that humans preyed on other animals.

Off the edge of the map, we weren't special anymore. 

I think the ones that can talk and easily mimic human speech are the scariest. They trick their victims into thinking they're in distress, but when the hopeless sap gets too close, it's too late. Human is eaten. The creepiest example that I have come across while doing research is from the Philippines's mythology. The tiyanak is sometimes depicted as a vampire like creature that makes the same sounds as a baby in distress to lure its victims to their deaths. 

I feel that is one monster I would easily tricked by.

The Odyssey had a lot of anthropomorphize creatures that tried to lead our heroes astray. The sirens in particular stand out. Their beautiful voices enchanting anyone who gets too close to their island, leading them to a horrible shipwreck. I was never certain if they did this to amuse themselves or if they ate their drowned victims too. Either way, they are hunting humans with hypnotic singing.

They were human once...

I've always thought that the most tragic monsters are the ones who started out as human. They are twisted into the evil creatures that haunt our nightmares instead of just being born to cause us harm. Vampires, werewolves, wendigos, and zombies are all creatures that (depending on source material) started out as perfectly ordinary people. 

And they need to eat us to survive.

There are different degrees to these types of stories. There's sometimes a shred of humanity still in them. But the need to survive nearly always wins. Dracula might have at one point been a human, but by the time he makes his way to London, he is perfectly fine eating an entire ship's crew. 

Zombies probably scare me the most in this category. Zombies were really popular when I was in middle school and I read a couple books and saw a few movies starring them. The heroes in these films were always under threat of being eaten or turned. Inevitably, one of the members of their party would get bitten and a morality crisis ensued. Did the group kill the infected individual before they could become the zombie or did they wait and hope the person didn't actually turn? Could they look into the face of their family/friend and kill them while they were still human? Could they do it after their family/friend became a zombie?

I don't know which is a worse feeling, the idea that I'm about to be eaten by a monster or that I might become the evil monster. Knowing that you're about to die is one thing. Knowing that you might be the cause of your friends and family's death is another. Would you rather die or become the monster?

Of heroes and monsters.

Monsters are typically vanquished by a hero. 

In the western classics, we are taught about how Hercules slayed the hydra (as part of his penitence for murdering his family) and how St. George saved a princess from being eaten by a vengeful dragon (and perpetuating a horrible cliche). The hero is either tasked to kill the evil monster to prove his worth or redeem himself from some horrible sin. It's not a matter of who will win the fight, but how the hero will succeed.

It is the classic good versus evil narrative. 

These types of stories continue exist in our modern culture. Tolkien told us about how a hobbit along with thirteen dwarves traveled to The Lonely Mountain to reclaim a treasure from a dragon (Hobbit). Buffy and her friends (Buffy The Vampire Slayer) protected us from the vampire apocalypse. The Winchester brothers (Supernatural) are still "saving people, hunting things" (you all knew I was going to work this in eventually).

The monsters are the evil that need to be destroyed and the hero is the good we root for. Good always wins the day.

We humans might be food monsters prey upon, but we are also the hope that keeps their evil at bay.

Alright that last line is a little sappy, even for me. 

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.

Let's see what kinds of monsters we'll meet next week.

Welcome to Monsters: A Quick Intro

I'm betting everyone reading this blog can name at least five different monsters off the top of their head. These monsters might be cute and cuddly, like Sully from Monster's Inc, or blood sucking creeps, like Dracula. I'm sure there's at least one reader who has all of the classic movie monster's memorized (I'm personally quite fond of the 1941 Wolf Man myself).

Monsters are a staple of our popular culture.

From ghosts to vampires to serial killers, monsters can take many forms. Most of the time, they are seen as creatures to strike terror into the hearts of humans (or just eat the humans). Sometimes the they are misunderstood and just need a hug. Other times they sparkle (though I've heard this trend is slowly dying out - fingers crossed).

Why do we love monsters so much? Monsters aren't real, right?

The Manga "Monster"

Monsters aren't usually seen as human. Mythological creatures such as dragons or manticores are well known for causing humans great harm and being super mysterious. Today we see this example with Godzilla or the Jersey Devil. Often these creatures are seen as evil and require a brave hero to be vanquish. It is easy to see who is good (the human hero) and who is bad (the dragon) in these stories.

Then there are the monsters who used to be human, but aren't anymore. They are the fallen who can no longer empathize with the human experience. Zombies, vampires, and werewolves usually started out as humans, but were turned into their respective creatures against their will. These types of stories usually still have good versus evil narrative, but with a more tragic undertone or questions about what it means to be human.

There are a lot of unknown elements to these monsters. We don't always know how they came to exist (or where "patient zero" is) or why they exist. We just know they want to cause us to suffer. We, the humans, are prey against a large unknown entity.

I think monsters were created to help us rationalize our fears, especially of the unknown. Why else would maps have a "here there be monsters" section of uncharted regions?

Children tend to be the group most affected by monsters. Who doesn't remember asking their parents to check under the bed or in the closet late at night to see if there was something hiding there? There's a lot of media out there featuring monsters that is directed at kids.

I clearly remember growing up with Aaahh!!! Real Monsters, Goosebumps, and my personal favorite The House that Drac Built. Each book and TV show had a different take on what made monsters monsters. Aaahh!! Real Monsters treated monsters like goofy kids who were taught to scare humans (I feel I should make a Monsters U joke, but I haven't seen the movie). The House that Drac Built show cased all of the classic movie monsters being helped by children on Halloween. 

Then there was Goosebumps. I used to read the books and watch the show. Honestly I always felt the books were a lot scarier. The TV show was cool, but the special effects were nothing compared to the images my mind would conjure up while reading the stories (or listening to them on cassette). My mom, sister, and I still can't look at garden gnomes without shuddering. 

Eventually I found that I was consuming more and more stories featuring different types of monsters. There were still the stories where the monster was definitely the bad guy. I think the TV show Supernatural has created an entire fandom around the idea.

Then there are the stories that teach us that looks are deceiving when it comes to monsters. Some people or creatures are identified as monsters by the people around them, but in actuality are just unfortunate beings. The real monsters in these stories are those who put them in the terrible situation to be judged by society. The opening lyrics from Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame ask us "who is the monster and who is the man?" and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein (though I haven't read the book and therefore can't make a good statement on it) raise these questions. I would also argue that the entire message in Disney's Beauty and the Beast also highlights this idea, since by the end of the movie, Gaston is declared the real monster by Belle. 

What makes a monster a monster? Is it physical appearance or the lust to consume human flesh? What about the monsters who look like everyday people? Is there a need for conscious malice for someone or something to be a monster? Can machines be monsters (I'm looking at you HAL from 2001 Space Odyssey).

In the upcoming weeks (as I seem to have nothing better to write about), I want to take a look several different categories of monsters. These categories are entirely of my creation and discretion. Though if it feels like I'm missing something, feel free to let me know. 

• Monsters that are just monsters - these creatures evil, threatening to humans, and there's not much else to them. 
• The misunderstood monster - these are the monsters who aren't evil, society just thinks they are. These monsters usually need a hug and therapy...lots and lots of therapy.
• The good monster - these monsters aren't actually scary. In fact, most of them are nice and even helpful. They might even have their own society that humans know nothing about.
• Tech monsters OF THE FUTURE!!! - yes, the all caps are completely necessary because we all know the age of machines is coming, but will humans survive if we are declared obsolete?
• The monster next door - these monsters look just like everyday people, but looks are completely deceiving. They also might just pop up in real life...

These are just how I generally categorize the monster's I come across in popular media. They can be broken down further (in fact that first bullet point has a ton of nuance to it, that I might not cover everything the first time). There's also a ton of cross over potential for each category. Some stories that start out as a simple good versus evil narrative have taken a sudden left turn towards moral ambiguity when it comes to identifying the monsters (I recommend checking out the anime Shiki on Hulu for a good example of this situation).

I hope you guys enjoy my take on monsters.

Until next week.

If you enjoyed this post (or it really pissed you off) please like, share, and/or leave a comment. I love hearing from my readers and I hope you guys like hearing from me.