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{{Short description|Fearsome or grotesque fictional being}}
{{About|the legendary creatures||Monster (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2022}}
{{More citations needed|date=October 2016}}
[[File:Arminianism as five-headed monster.JPG|thumb|A polemical allegory represented as a five-headed monster, 1618]]
A '''monster''' is a type of imaginary or fictional creature found in [[literature]], [[folklore]], [[mythology]], [[horror fiction|horror]], [[fantasy]], [[fiction]] and [[religion]]. They are very often depicted as dangerous and [[aggressive]], with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes [[Anxiety|terror]] and [[fear]], often in humans. Monsters usually resemble [[wikt:bizarre|bizarre]], deformed, otherworldly and/or mutated [[animal]]s or entirely unique creatures of varying [[sizes]], but may also take a [[human]] form, such as [[Mutants in fiction|mutants]], [[ghost]]s, [[Spirit (supernatural entity)|spirit]]s, [[vampire]]s or [[zombie]]s, among other things. They may or may not have supernatural powers, but are usually capable of killing or causing some form of destruction, threatening the social or [[moral]] order of the human world in the process.

Animal monsters are outside the moral order, but sometimes have their origin in some human violation of the moral law (e.g. in the Greek [[myth]], [[Minos]] does not sacrifice to [[Poseidon]] the white bull which the god sent him, so as punishment Poseidon makes Minos' wife, [[Pasiphaë]], fall in love with the bull. She copulates with the beast, and gives birth to the man with a bull's head, [[Minotaur|the Minotaur]]). Human monsters are those who by birth were never fully human ([[Medusa]] and her [[Gorgon]] sisters) or who through some supernatural or unnatural act lost their humanity ([[Werewolf|werewolves]], [[Frankenstein's monster]]), and so who can no longer, or who never could, follow the moral law of human society.

Monsters may also be depicted as misunderstood and friendly creatures who frighten individuals away without wanting to, or may be so large, strong and clumsy that they cause unintentional damage or death. Some monsters in fiction are depicted as mischievous and boisterous but not necessarily threatening (such as a sly [[goblin]]), while others may be docile but prone to becoming angry or hungry, thus needing to be tamed and taught to resist savage urges, or killed if they cannot be handled or controlled successfully.

Monsters pre-date [[recorded history|written history]], and the academic study of the particular cultural notions expressed in a society's ideas of monsters is known as ''monstrophy''.{{r|CallForPapers}} Monsters have appeared in literature and in feature-length films. Well-known monsters in fiction include [[Count Dracula]], [[Frankenstein's monster]], [[werewolf|werewolves]], [[vampire|vampires]], [[demon]]s, reanimated [[Mummy (undead)|mummies]], and [[zombie]]s.

==Etymology==
[[File:The Allegory of Immortality by Giulio Romano, c. 1540.jpg|thumb|''An Allegory of Immortality'', {{circa|1540}}]]
''Monster'' derives from the [[Latin]] ''monstrum'', itself derived ultimately from the verb ''moneo'' ("to remind, warn, instruct, or foretell"), and denotes anything "strange or singular, contrary to the usual course of nature, by which the gods give notice of evil," "a strange, unnatural, hideous person, animal, or thing," or any "monstrous or unusual thing, circumstance, or adventure."<ref>[https://books.google.com/books?id=l_UsAAAAYAAJ&q=latin+english+dictionary The Rev. J.E. Riddle, ''A Complete English-Latin and Latin-English Dictionary'', London: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1870, s.v. ''monstrum'', Latin-English part, p. 399].</ref>

==Cultural heritage==
In the words of Tina Marie Boyer, assistant professor of medieval German literature at [[Wake Forest University]], "monsters do not emerge out of a cultural void; they have a literary and cultural heritage".{{r|Boyer}}

In the religious context of ancient Greeks and Romans, monsters were seen as signs of "divine displeasure", and it was thought that birth defects were especially ominous, being "an unnatural event" or "a malfunctioning of nature".{{sfnp|Beagon|2002|p=127}}

Monsters are not necessarily abominations however. The Roman historian [[Suetonius]], for instance, describes a snake's absence of legs or a bird's ability to fly as monstrous, as both are "against nature".{{sfnp|Wardle|2006|p=330}} Nonetheless, the negative connotations of the word quickly established themselves, and by the playwright and philosopher [[Seneca the Younger|Seneca]]'s time, the word had extended into its philosophical meaning, "a visual and horrific revelation of the truth".{{sfnp|Staley|2010|pp=80, 96, 109, 113 et passim}}

In spite of this, mythological monsters such as the [[Lernaean Hydra|Hydra]] and [[Medusa]] are not natural beings, but divine entities. This seems to be a holdover from [[Proto-Indo-European religion]] and other belief systems, in which the divisions between "spirit," "monster," and "god" were less evident.

==Monsters in fiction==

===Prose fiction===
The history of monsters in fiction is long. For instance, [[Grendel]] in the epic poem ''[[Beowulf]]'' is an archetypal monster: deformed, brutal, and with enormous strength, he raids a human settlement nightly to slay and feed on his victims. The modern literary monster has its roots in examples such as the monster in [[Mary Shelley]]'s ''[[Frankenstein]]'' and the vampire in [[Bram Stoker]]'s ''[[Dracula]]''.

Monsters are a staple of [[fantasy fiction]], [[horror fiction]], and [[science fiction]] (where the monsters are often [[Extraterrestrial life|extraterrestrial]] in [[nature]]). There also exists [[monster erotica]], a subgenre of [[erotic fiction]] that involves monsters.

===Film===
{{main|Monster movie}}

====Pre–World War II monster films====
[[File:Frankenstein's monster (Boris Karloff).jpg|thumb|left|150px|Hollywood's interpretation of Frankenstein's monster, played by [[Boris Karloff]]]]
During the age of [[silent film]]s, monsters tended to be human-sized, e.g. [[Frankenstein's monster]], the [[Golem]], [[Werewolf|werewolves]] and [[vampire]]s. The film ''[[Die Nibelungen|Siegfried]]'' featured a [[dragon]] that consisted of [[Stop motion|stop-motion animated]] models, as in [[RKO]]'s ''King Kong'', the first giant [[Monster movie|monster film]] of the sound era.

[[Universal Pictures|Universal Studios]] specialized in monsters, with [[Bela Lugosi]]'s reprisal of his stage role, [[Dracula]], and [[Boris Karloff]] playing [[Frankenstein's monster]]. The studio also made several lesser films, such as ''Man-Made Monster'', starring [[Lon Chaney Jr.]] as a carnival side-show worker who is turned into an electrically charged killer, able to dispatch victims merely by touching them, causing death by electrocution.

There was also a variant of Dr. Frankenstein, the mad surgeon Dr. Gogol (played by [[Peter Lorre]]), who transplanted hands that were reanimated with malevolent temperaments, in the film ''[[Mad Love (1935 film)|Mad Love]]''.

[[Werewolf|Werewolves]] were introduced in films during this period. [[mummy|Mummies]] were cinematically depicted as fearsome monsters as well. As for giant creatures, the cliffhanger of the first episode of the 1936 ''[[Flash Gordon (serial)|Flash Gordon]]'' [[Serial (film)|serial]] did not use a costumed actor, instead using real-life [[lizard]]s to depict a pair of battling dragons via use of camera perspective. However, the cliffhanger of the ninth episode of the same serial had a man in a rubber suit play the Fire Dragon, which picks up a doll representing Flash in its claws. The cinematic monster cycle eventually wore thin, having a comedic turn in ''[[Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein]]'' (1948).

====Post–World War II monster films====
[[File:Gojira 1954 poster 3.jpg|thumb|upright|Original film poster for ''[[Godzilla (1954 film)|Godzilla]]'' (1954)]]
In the [[Aftermath of World War II|post–World War II]] era, however, giant monsters returned to the screen with a vigor that has been causally linked to the development of [[nuclear weapon]]s. One early example occurred in the American film ''[[The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms]]'', which was about a [[dinosaur]] that attacked a lighthouse. Subsequently, there were [[Cinema of Japan|Japanese]] film depictions, ([[Godzilla]], [[Gamera]]), British depictions (''[[Gorgo (film)|Gorgo]]''), and even [[Cinema of Denmark|Danish]] depictions (''[[Reptilicus]]''), of giant monsters attacking cities. A recent depiction of a giant monster is depicted in [[J. J. Abrams]]'s ''[[Cloverfield]]'', which was released in theaters 18 January 2008. The intriguing proximity of other [[planet]]s brought the notion of extraterrestrial monsters to the big screen, some of which were huge in size (such as [[King Ghidorah]] and [[Gigan]]), while others were of a more human scale. During this period, the [[fish]]-human monster [[Gill-man]] was developed in the film series ''[[Creature from the Black Lagoon]]''.

[[File:Obake Karuta 4-12.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Card from the Japanese game ''[[obake karuta]]'', {{circa|early 19th century}}{{efn|Each card features a monster from [[Japanese mythology]] and a character from the [[hiragana]] syllabary.}}]]
Britain's [[Hammer Film Productions]] brought [[Color motion picture film|color]] to the monster movies in the late 1950s. Around this time, the earlier Universal films were usually shown on American television by independent stations (rather than network stations) by using announcers with strange personas, who gained legions of young fans. Although they have since changed considerably, movie monsters did not entirely disappear from the big screen as they did in the late 1940s.

Occasionally, monsters are depicted as friendly or misunderstood creatures. King Kong and Frankenstein's monster are two examples of misunderstood creatures. Frankenstein's monster is frequently depicted in this manner, in series and films such as ''[[Monster Squad]]'' and ''[[Van Helsing (film)|Van Helsing]]''. [[The Hulk]] is an example of the "Monster as Hero" archetype. The theme of the "Friendly Monster" is pervasive in pop-culture. [[Chewbacca]], [[Elmo]], and [[Shrek (character)|Shrek]] are notable examples of friendly "monsters". In the ''[[Monsters, Inc. (franchise)|Monsters, Inc.]]'' franchise by [[Pixar]], the monster characters scare (and later entertain) children in order to create [[energy]] for running machinery in their home world, while the furry monsters of ''[[The Muppets]]'' and ''[[Sesame Street]]'' live in harmony with animals and humans alike. Japanese culture also commonly features monsters which are benevolent or likable, with the most famous examples being the ''[[Pokémon]]'' franchise and the pioneering anime ''[[My Neighbor Totoro]]''. The book series/webisodes/toy line of [[Monster High]] is another example.
{{clear left}}

===Games===
Monsters are commonly encountered in fantasy or role-playing games, as well as video games, as enemies for players to fight against. They may include [[Extraterrestrial life|aliens]], [[legendary creature]]s, extra-dimensional entities or [[mutant|mutated]] versions of regular animals.

Especially in role-playing games, "monster" is a catch-all term for hostile characters that are fought by the player. [[Sentience|Sentient]] [[race (fantasy)|fictional races]] are usually not referred to as monsters. At other times, the term can carry a neutral connotation, such as in the ''[[Pokémon]]'' franchise, where it is used to refer to cute fictional creatures that resemble real-world animals. Characters in games may refer to all of such creatures as "monsters". Another role playing game that has many different fantasy creatures (monsters and dragons alike), is ''[[Dungeons & Dragons]]''.

In some other games, such as ''[[Undertale]]'' and ''[[Deltarune]]'', "Monsters" (which are usually NPCs) refer to strange beings that are either [[undead]], [[robot]]s, [[humanoid]]s or mythical creatures that share similarities with human beings.

==See also==
===Monsters in legend and fiction===
{{div col|colwidth=13em}}
* [[Abaia]]
* [[Almas (folklore)|Almas]]
* [[Scorpion man|Aqrabuamelu]]
* [[Baba Yaga]]
* [[Bakunawa]]
* [[Banshee]]
* [[Basilisk]]
* [[Beast of Gévaudan]]
* [[Behemoth]]
* [[Bigfoot]]
* [[Bishop-fish]]
* [[Bogeyman]]
* [[Bunyip]]
* [[Centaur]]
* [[Cerberus]]
* [[Changeling]]
* [[Charybdis]]
* [[Chimera (mythology)|Chimera]]
* [[Chupacabra]]
* [[Churel]]
* [[Cryptozoology]]
* [[Cthulhu]]
* [[Cyclopes]]
* [[Cetus (mythology)|Cetus]]
* [[Cockatrice]]
* [[Demon]]
* [[Devil]]
* [[Draugr]]
* [[Dragon]]
* [[Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde]]
* [[Evil clown]]
* [[Elemental]]
* [[Piranha (film series)|Evil Piranha]]
* [[Sharks in popular culture|Evil Shark]]
* [[Elf]]
* [[Ent]]
* [[Extraterrestrial life]]
* [[Fire-breathing monster]]
* [[Familiar]]
* [[Fairy]]
* [[Fearsome Critters]]
* [[Frankenstein's Monster|Frankenstein]]
* [[Fouke Monster]]
* [[Gargoyle]]
* [[Gashadokuro]]
* [[Giant]]
* [[Gill-man]]
* [[Goblin]]
* [[Ghoul]]
* [[Ghost]]
* [[Gorgon]]
* [[Gremlin]]
* [[Grendel]]
* [[Griffin]]
* [[Grim Reaper]]
* [[Gnome]]
* [[Headless Horseman]]
* [[Horned Serpent]]
* [[Halfling]]
* [[Homunculus]]
* [[Hobgoblin]]
* [[Imp]]
* [[The Invisible Man|Invisible Man]]
* [[Lernaean Hydra|Hydra]]
* [[Jersey Devil]]
* [[Jiangshi]]
* [[Jinn]]
* [[Killer toy]]
* [[Kaiju]]
* [[Kappa (folklore)|Kappa]]
* [[Kelpie]]
* [[Kraken]]
* [[Krampus]]
* [[Kobold]]
* [[Kuntilanak]]
* [[Lake monster]]
* [[Loch Ness monster]]
* [[Legendary creature]]
* [[Leprechaun]]
* [[Leviathan]]
* [[Lich]]
* [[Manananggal]]
* [[Manticore]]
* [[Mapinguari]]
* [[Merfolk]]
* [[Mermaid]]
* [[Midgard Serpent]]
* [[Minokawa]]
* [[Minotaur]]
* [[Mothman]]
* [[Merman]]
* [[Mutants in fiction|Mutants]]
* [[Mummy (undead)|Mummy]]
* [[Hybrid (mythology)|Mythological hybrid]]
* [[Nymphs]]
* [[Ogre]]
* [[Oni]]
* [[Orc]]
* [[Pichal Peri]]
* [[Raksasa]]
* [[Scylla]] 
* [[Sea monster]]
* [[Slime (fantasy creature)|Slime (monster)]]
* [[Siren (mythology)|Siren]]
* [[Siren Head]]
* [[Skin-walker]]
* [[skeleton (undead)|Skeleton]]
* [[Slenderman]]
* [[Spirit (supernatural entity)]]
* [[Swamp monster]]
* [[Tengu]]
* [[Shapeshifting|Therianthropes ]]
* [[Tiamat]]
* [[Troll]]
* [[Tikbalang]]
* [[Typhon]]
* [[Undead]]
* [[Unicorn]]
* [[Vampire]]
* [[Warg]]
* [[Wendigo]]
* [[Werecats]]
* [[Werehyena]]
* [[Werewolf]]
* [[Witch]]
* [[Wild man]]
* [[Yaksha]]
* [[Yamata no Orochi]]
* [[Yaoguai]]
* [[Yeti]]
* [[Yōkai]]
* [[Yowie]]
* [[Yara-ma-yha-who]]
* [[Zombie]]
{{div col end}}

===Related concepts===
*[[Freak]]

==References==
===Notes===
{{notelist}}

===Citations===
{{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="Boyer">{{Cite journal |last=Boyer |first=Tina Marie |date=2013 |title=The Anatomy of a Monster: The Case of Slender Man |journal=Preternature: Critical and Historical Studies on the Preternatural |volume=2 |issue=2}}</ref>

<ref name="CallForPapers">{{Cite web |date=28 November 2011 |title=Call for Papers for Preternature 2.2 |url=http://ruickbie.com/index.php/2011/11/28/monsters-need-your-help/ |access-date=30 December 2017 |publisher=Dr Leo Ruickbie}}</ref>
}}

===Bibliography===
*{{Cite book |last=Asma |first=Stephen |title=On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2009 |isbn=978-0195336160}}
*{{Cite book |last=Beagon |first=Mary |title=Philosophy and Power in the Graeco-Roman World: Essays in Honour of Miriam Griffin |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2002 |isbn=978-0-19-829990-5 |editor-last=Clark |editor-first=Gillian |chapter=Beyond Comparison: M. Sergius, Fortunae victor |editor-last2=Rajak |editor-first2=Tessa}}
*{{Cite book |last=Staley |first=Gregory A. |title=Seneca and the Idea of Tragedy |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2010 |isbn=978-0-19-538743-8}}
*{{Cite book |last=Wardle |first=David |title=Cicero on Divination, Book 1 |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2006}}
*Weinstock, Jeffrey Andrew, ed. (2020). ''The Monster Theory Reader''. University of Minnesota Press. 2020.

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline|Monsters}}
{{Wikiquote}}
*{{Wiktionary-inline|monster}}
*{{Wiktionary-inline|monstrous}}

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