Monsters

I've been watching reviews about all the old Universal monsters. You know the roster: Dracula, wolfman, Frankenstein's monster, the Mummy, etc, etc... It's intriguing to see where the current lore came from. If you go back to the source material like Bram Stoker's Dracula or Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, you see that the movies barely touched the source material. 

Some of the was the limitations of the era in effects, some limitations of storytelling, after all, Dracula wasn't meant to be experienced in one continuous narrative; it's told in a series of diary entries and letters. You get tiny bits of the plot revealed as it goes on from different points of view. But what I think is even more intriguing is what the modern audience has decided is the cannon lore. Those old monster movies had a much deeper impact than anything the original books did.

Only a wooden stake through the heart can kill Dracula. Well, according to the novel, you can do it just fine with knives. Frankenstein was a hideous monster with bolts in his neck. Well, Mary Shelley seemed to think he was incredibly good looking and well-spoken by the end of the book. And where the heck did Igor come from? Did you realize that both the Dracula "bent arm" pose and the Frankenstein "hands out" pose are courtesy Bela Lugosi? Neither of those were characteristics of the character. Dracula happened to be hiding himself from wolf's bane (oh yeah, that repels him) when he pulled the cape up and hid his face. Frankenstein had gone blind when he started lumbering around with his arms outstretched!

So what I'm getting at is this: I'm feeling less and less inclined to follow any particular set of rules for monsters. I think that's good. The Paladin really needs it's own world and it's own set of rules for what makes creatures behave they way they do and how to destroy them. After all, Dracula's been killed by knives, stakes, running water, freezing, burning, and lightning! I'm fairly certain one of the Universal movies killed a vampire with a freakin' shower. A bathroom shower!

Anyway, after all that research, I'm feeling much better about my monsters, my demons, and all my little children of the night (another great Lugosi line!) So be prepared to enjoy The Paladin when it releases without having to worry about what you think monsters are like, because frankly, it doesn't seem to matter.

​I never drink. Wine.