Monsters: Embodiment of Fear

               Children are the inventors of monsters. Children are scared of the dark, the unknown, animals, or heights. They have instinctually based fears. Monsters can cause physical harm. But as one ages the monsters change and mature as well. They no longer just cause physical harm but monsters also cause emotional or spiritual damage. Adults see monsters differently because there is the fear of being permanently scarred from a monster. This development of monsters gives them new abilities to manipulate the soul, break the spirit, or threaten sanity and emotional stability. These powers are reflected in the modern depiction of monsters in literature and media.

Modern monsters in literature have developed to reflect these fears and have new abilities to manipulate human emotions. Monsters infiltrate our lives completely but humans have a need to believe monsters can be managed and they can have benefits. Modern monsters have developed a complexity in order to feed humans need for meaning. This belief is why so many monsters are ‘lovable’ and may have aspects of human emotions. The most common human emotions monsters are capable of is love. In today’s society love is such a central aspect of our culture and it is embedded in the portrayal of monsters. Monsters cannot fully grasp human love but instead cultivate a sexual, possessive love or desire. These kinds of portrayals are seen in the vampires from Dracula, Carmilla, and Dead Until Dark, and in the media renditions of these books.

In each of the books the main protagonist develops a relationship with a monster, specifically a vampire. These relationships become consuming and problematic, often isolating the protagonist from their friends or society either mentally or physically.  Jonathan Harker is isolated physically from his home by Dracula and there is a hidden sexual nature to their relationship. Dracula is also possessive of Harker and later has hidden sexual encounters with other characters. Carmilla preys on Laura’s need for a friend and they also develop a hidden love. Sookie is alienated from her society as she develops her relationship with Bill Compton and she struggles to gain the support of her friends. These vampires have the additional power of being able to ‘glamour’ people to fulfill their wishes, often sexualized desires. These relationships are physically draining and emotionally tormenting for the characters throughout the novels. They are derived from love but also an instinctual fear of powerlessness. The fear of these kinds of relationships and the need to be accepted fuels the development of these monsters. These monsters show the development of monsters into not only physically threatening beings but beings with the ability to cause emotional harm.