Evolution of Monsters

I talked a little bit the other day about how Bayonetta is a surprisingly good representation of a classical witch. I still maintain that. If you want a good breakdown of her character, Gaijin Goomba did an amazing job breaking it down (video at the end of the blog) but suffice it to say that our perception of what monsters look like and behave like have been greatly influenced by Hollywood. 

I won't get too much into witches since, well, Gaijin Goomba has it pretty wrapped up down below, but I will say this. They were sexual beings. Very sexual. They used guns. Hair was important to their rituals. And they had witch marks. But what else has changed since inception?

One of my favorite old movies is Nosferatu. For those who don't know, you've more than likely seen clips of it or seen it referenced in other media. It's about this dapper gentleman.

See, the creator of the film wanted to a do film adaptation of the book Dracula but didn't have the rights. So Dracula became that dude up there, Count Orlok. Dracula, who was a dashing, competent, and powerful figure, became this grotesque parody. Because of the difficulties of filming and, perhaps to be a little different, they decided to kill Orlok differently than Dracula died (being stabbed with knives, for the record.) This lead to the daylight thing. Prior to this movie, vampires had no problem with daylight, or, at most, became a bit weaker. 

Let's look at just a small portion of Dracula's abilities. Transformation into bats, wolves, mist, and a few other things. Those transformations, however, can only happen at certain times of the day (sunrise, noon, and sunset.) A wild rose left on his coffin (check my short story!) will seal him there. He can move about during the day. He has a freakin' mustache!

That's just Bram Stoker's depiction of Dracula. Vampires before this were even more varied and different from the creatures we see depicted today. So when you see weird interpretations of monsters, stuff that doesn't fit with what you know, keep an open mind. Your interpretation might be the weird one.

For the future, should I explore more things like this? Werewolves? Angels? The Devil himself? Let me know.

​DFTBA

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