I need a good monster...

Excelsior · Sep 9, 2007

Well, not a good one, per se. But it must be an uncommon one, or at least one that hasn't been beaten to death from a literary standpoint. No vamps, werewolves, zombies, etc. It must be human-ish sized, and able to inflict grievous harm while at the same time be extremely durable. Quite a list, I know, but I'm tired of re-tread monsters and want to do something different.

Anyone got any personal favorites?

Calla Lily · Sep 10, 2007

this isn't original, but it's one of my favorites. In Judge Dredd, the crazy cannnibal dad "modified" one of his sons to survive better. He replaced some of his bone structure with titanium (or some such), adapted his brain, and (the humorous touch) put a dial in his forhead to ramp up the power and aggressiveness when needed. The touch that made him more scary than funny to me was you could see some of the metal "bones" and new workings. Human experimentation always freaks me out. Hope that gives you an idea.

DeleyanLee · Sep 10, 2007

Monsters tend to reflect what that society had deemed evil and/or taboo. Really cool monsters hit both those points.

What aspects of your society's evil would be fun to personify into a monster? Whatever you want--Fx are free. ;-)

Bmwhtly · Sep 10, 2007

Excelsior said:
It must be human-ish sized, and able to inflict grievous harm while at the same time be extremely durable.

How about people infected with an extremely contagious disease?

The disease could, if you like, make them more 'durable'.
Not airborne disease, but one touch from them and there's nothing you can do.

No use?

Ok... how about... Animal-Human hybrids?

Mad scientist/Wierd space ray/Nuclear leakage causes animal and human DNA to fuse creating cross breeds of Humans with various beasties.
Imagine: Bear-Humans, Frog-People, Alligator-Folk. The possibilities are endless.

Haggis · Sep 10, 2007

Excelsior said:
Well, not a good one, per se. But it must be an uncommon one, or at least one that hasn't been beaten to death from a literary standpoint. No vamps, werewolves, zombies, etc. It must be human-ish sized, and able to inflict grievous harm while at the same time be extremely durable. Quite a list, I know, but I'm tired of re-tread monsters and want to do something different.

Anyone got any personal favorites?

I dunno. Is Richard Nixon still dead?

Bmwhtly · Sep 10, 2007

Haggis said:
I dunno. Is Richard Nixon still dead?

Futurama already did that.

Calla Lily · Sep 10, 2007

Haggis said:
I dunno. Is Richard Nixon still dead?

I'm assuming you want escapism horror, not "headline horror"--i.e., Jeffrey Dahmer, Karla Homolka, Hitler, Pol Pot.

A cloned and bionicized amalgam of Nixon, Tom Cruise, Richard Simmons, and Alfred Hitchcock would work for me. (Power-mad, Christ-complex, limitless energy, and diabolical cleverness all in one neat package!)

Bmwhtly · Sep 10, 2007

callalily61 said:
A cloned and bionicized amalgam of Nixon, Tom Cruise, Richard Simmons, and Alfred Hitchcock would work for me. (Power-mad, Christ-complex, limitless energy, and diabolical cleverness all in one neat package!)

Actually, that reminds me of Futurama too:

"Everyone's in favour of preserving Hitler's brain, but put it into the body a Great White Shark and suddenly you've gone too far"

Gillhoughly · Sep 10, 2007

Try the folklore section of your library. A big honkin' book about folklore around the world will provide plenty of monsters.

It'll be in the 300s section or Reference.

Bmwhtly · Sep 10, 2007

Excelsior said:
It must be human-ish sized, and able to inflict grievous harm while at the same time be extremely durable.

How about this:

A NASA mission runs across some wierd gaseous thingumy.
They return to earth and the astronauts are absolutely fine, no ill effects.

But that night, the Space Suits start moving. By Morning, the suits are walking around on their own. Ah? How about that?
Durable (as in hard to stop)? well, they're flame-retardant fabric. Able to inflict harm? well, they've got hands so they can carry weapons.

DL Hegel · Sep 10, 2007

monsters

i agree folklore and mythology are rotten with all kind of nasty beasties.

dl hegel

ChimeraCreative · Sep 10, 2007

I'll have to get back to you on this one. I'm sure I have a list somewhere that'll help you along.

Personally, I'm terrified of the Wendigo. I heard a story about it when I was a kid and it's stuck with me over the years. But I don't think it fits the bill for your project this time. ^_^

-An

C.bronco · Sep 10, 2007

How about a breed of oversized porcupines that run amok at night and eat everyone's tires? (Gives me the chills just thinking about it).

John61480 · Sep 10, 2007

Try these sites:

Monstropedia

Or the Monster With White Eyes

You can also try a Chupacabra monster--that would be fun.

JB_Finesse · Sep 10, 2007

I'd suggest looking up some prehistoric creatures. For instance, Dunkleosteus. It was a huge fish with powerful jaws and covered in bony plates. Here's a picture of the skull. A humanoid with those qualities and a similar look would be quite something.

Del · Sep 10, 2007

Excelsior · Sep 11, 2007

John61480 said:
Try these sites:

Monstropedia

Or the Monster With White Eyes

You can also try a Chupacabra monster--that would be fun.

Thanks, all. Good ideas presented. And that Monstropedia site kicks ass!

Flapdoodle · Sep 13, 2007

Excelsior said:
Well, not a good one, per se. But it must be an uncommon one, or at least one that hasn't been beaten to death from a literary standpoint. No vamps, werewolves, zombies, etc. It must be human-ish sized, and able to inflict grievous harm while at the same time be extremely durable. Quite a list, I know, but I'm tired of re-tread monsters and want to do something different.

Anyone got any personal favorites?

Pardon me if this is stating the obvious - but why don't you invent your own?

donroc · Sep 13, 2007

It brought to mind Ogden Nash's TODAL (SP?) -- "ALL LIP, SMELLS LIKE OLD UNOPENED ROOMS, AND MAKES SOUNDS LIKE A MULTITUDE OF RABBITS" IF REMEMBER CORRECTLY.

www.donaldmichaelplatt.com

DonnaDuck · Oct 9, 2007

How about a Georeezney? It would be the end result of Bush's finger on the trigger and him, Condeleeza Rice and Dick Cheney getting melded together. Not only is that terrifying but it's damn near indestructable! Look at all the damage thus far and they're still separate entities!

Anyway, in a vaguely similar note, what about a soldier who's grossly deformed from a war, his kevlar fused to his body in a blast. Soldiers are supposed to be in pique physical condition, making them strong, the kevlar would make him nearly indestructible, he could become MIA but gets a little vengeful/spiteful and now you have a homegrown soldier in the battlefield that's pissing on the ally on top of the enemies. Almost like a Frankenstein monster but the guy never died. Makes for a more "realistic" type monster although to make it a little more marketable, you'd probably want to use the enemy as the monster, getting pieces of a tank fused to his body and now we have this near indestructable enemy that we can't fight.

Yeah, I don't know what it is with me and the mililtary lately. I don't even write military stuff, except for my novel but it's not your basic issue mili-drama.

HorrorWriter · Oct 10, 2007

Great site, John. I agree with Flapdoodle, Excelsior. Let your mind free and you can think of anything. I surprised myself when I began inventing monsters... :e2writer:

NeuroFizz · Oct 10, 2007

Have a biochemist come up with a synthetic anabolic steroid that avoids detection by sporting authorities, but that also had some nasty side effects (either genetic mutations or severe mental derrangements). You'll get mutants with really big muscles (and great strength). It'll make a trip to the local Gold's Gym a real interesting experience.

Saundra Julian · Oct 10, 2007

The tomato that ate NY!!!

Jack Nog · Oct 10, 2007

Succubus.

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