Given that today is the 16th anniversary of 9/11 and in light of the ongoing devastation caused by natural disasters, I thought it appropriate to discuss monsters.

In the first chapter of his masterful book, Writing Monsters, Philip Athans says, “A monster can be a lot of things, but ultimately it all comes down to one word: scary.” I believe “scary” is an apt word to describe terrorism and category 5 hurricanes. And I believe that is why we actually enjoy stories that feature monsters. These stories help us to make sense of a world that sometimes doesn’t make sense; a world that is at times dangerous and, well, scary.
Writing Monsters: How to Craft Believably Terrifying Creatures to Enhance Your Horror, Fantasy, and Science Fiction
When I was a kid, Dad kept a little wastebasket outside his bathroom that was stuffed with old copies of Creepy, Eerie, Vampirella, and even a few U.F.O. magazines. Amid those gorgeous painted covers by Frank Frazetta, Ken Kelly, and Dan Adkins (to name a few) were scores of black-and-white nightmare-fueling pages filled with monsters and mayhem. Sadly, the ones Mom didn’t get rid of, my brother and I used for coloring books. I think I may have a total of four left, and none sporting a Frazetta cover (a couple sport no covers at all). But it was in the pages of those old Warren magazines that I learned to cope with horror and devastation. Or so I thought. Because even in Uncle Creepy’s world, the only people the monsters usually hurt were the ones who had it coming to them, and if the monsters were truly the bad guys, well, then some strapping young hero would always save the day (and most often the girl).
CREEPY VOL. 1: COMICS TO GIVE YOU THE CREEPS: THE FIRST FOUR ISSUES OF THE CLASSIC HORROR MAGAZINE FROM 1964-1965
Unfortunately, this is not the case in the real world. Terrorism and disasters affect us all, with far less discrimination and far more devastation than a scheming vampire or a ravening werewolf ever could. Illness strikes the just and the unjust alike with the stealth and finality of a vengeful spirit. That’s why we’ve told stories of monsters since our ancestors first sat around campfires on cold, dark nights. Monsters are metaphors for the things that scare us about the real world. As Guillermo del Toro has said, “They are symbols of great power.” By using those symbols and binding them in our stories, we have sought to control that power and thus our fear of these things, if not the things themselves.

So the stories help us grapple with our fears; to understand them and, hopefully, to cope with them. But it is ultimately up to us as individuals to become the strapping young (or old) hero or heroine, to rise to the occasion, overcome our monsters, and save the day and each other.

There’s a world full of monsters out there – some featured on the Weather Channel and others on the nightly new. Just remember how they all get it in the end of the best stories, and go out there and face them without fear. Become the hero you were meant to be.