Fantasy Book Club discussion

Okay, here is another "favorite" question.

I was participating in this discussion on another site, and I want to see what my Fantasy Book Club friends think!

What is your favorite monster? (or your most hated depending on how you read the question)

I have to say Pennywise from Stephen King's It.

I apologize to everyone that loves them, but clowns freak me out!!

Let's hear some of yours...

I don't know if I have a favorite monster, but Grendel from Grendel by John Gardner (the story of Beowulf told from the monster's POV) is certainly memorable.

The skinwalker from Dresden files,Ungoliant from LOTR.

From movies, the alien from Alien. And the monster from Pumpkinhead.

From books? What constitutes a monster? I love the Balrog from LOTR. But also Gollum, who is kind of a monster.

I hate Clowns! LOL

The Head Vampire in Salem's Lot

Ku'Sox from The Hollows and Shelob from LOTR. That skinwalker thing Krishna mentioned was pretty scary too.

Frankenstein's Monster? I guess I would hardly consider him a "monster" though

Gmork is another good one from The Neverending Story.

The Illithid from any number of Dungeons and Dragons novels/game products. I've always found them fascinating and terrifying.

Just about any Lovecraft beastly.

I'll second Pennywise. I had a freaky nightmare after reading It where he was a giant parrot covered in blood.

Traci wrote: "Just about any Lovecraft beastly."

Oh how could I forget Lovecraft. Cthulhu wins over any monster :P

I just read all the replies and all of them are so good!

I'm finding ones I completely forgot about, like Cthulhu, and new ones I haven't even heard of before, like the skinwalker from Dresden Files.

Oh, and Celine, your nightmare about Pennywise sounds horrible. Give me a roomful of zombies over a single clown any day!

I would say that the as a reader, the more alien and inhuman a monster is, the more I like it. I like the Loveraftian monster-theme: that these things are evil in that human suffering doesn't enter into the moral calculus for them.

As a writer, my favorite monsters are humans. I enjoy having it turn out that even in a world with all manner of beasties and supernatural terrors, the worst things done to humans are by humans.

The shrike from Dan Simmons Hyperian books.

The white apes from the Burrough's Barsom novels.

"Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthulhu R'lyeh wgah'nagl fhtagn"
Love Cthulhu, a classic.

I also like the Calaban from Dan Simmons Ilium. I really love tribal fears reimagined by authors. You know, give me something slivering, shrieking, and speeding through the dark, something that makes me want to stoke the fire up higher so that everything around me is illuminated.

Actually, as a reader, I'd really like to see a return of the vintage monster.

Becky wrote: ""Actually, as a reader, I'd really like to see a return of the vintage monster. "

define vintage. Anything in particular? I'm in the middle of something now.

When I say vintage I was thinking HP Lovecraft, Andre Norton, Edgar Rice Burroughs....

Honestly I think that was why I enjoyed the so much this year. The people are still really interesting, and play off each other, but the over arching bad guys are demons. Really nasty, evil, demons. Its comfortable to hate them, its relaxing even.

Elise wrote: "Frankenstein's Monster? I guess I would hardly consider him a "monster" though

Gmork is another good one from The Neverending Story."

Is Gmork that horrible wolf thing? That scared the hell out me as a kid! I'd definitely go with Shelob though. Urrgh. Makes me shiver just to think of her.

Hmmm, I would have to say the psychological creature (thought to be a bear) from "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon." Although there was actually no physical monster following the young girl in this book, her mind lead her to believe in this terrible monster. I guess paranoia was the real monster at hand.

My favorite monster is the velociraptor because---Oh, my god, they're opening the kitchen door!

Savage intelligence with five inches of claw is a heady mix.

Æ wrote: "My favorite monster is the velociraptor because---Oh, my god, they're opening the kitchen door!

Savage intelligence with five inches of claw is a heady mix."

so great awesome pick


I love Zombies...dont know if youd call them monsters...but they eat people

but the monster that scared me diffidently Shelob
and ET I dont care if people dont think he is a monster that thing is horribly creepy

Non-human monsters, I suppose the aliens from the Alien movie series.

Human monsters - Lon Chaney as the Wolfman or Bela Lagosi as Dracula.

Not really Fantasy, but I love the computer from Daemon / Freedom (TM). Might be because I am studying computer science...

Other than that, the... thing from the end of Leviathan Wakes, and I am getting the feeling that I am missing something / someone completely obvious...

Æ wrote: "My favorite monster is the velociraptor because---Oh, my god, they're opening the kitchen door!

Savage intelligence with five inches of claw is a heady mix."

This could not me any more correct. haha yes!

My favorite monster is the dragon from THE HOBBIT by J.R.R. Tolkien. And, the monster form THE BLACK LAGOON.

The various demons from The Painted Man are really awesome, if they can count as monsters.

Okay, if we are counting monsters from any genre and medium my absolute favorite is definitely the alien from Alien. I just love that design. Creepy. Scary. And maybe I'm strange but...beautiful. I have a thing for special effects. Closely followed by anything from Ray Harryhausen. And Stan Winston's monster from Pumpkinhead.

I just finished the Mistborn trilogy and that had some interesting beasties.

Oops. I just saw I already answered this. At least I stayed consistent. That could've been embarrassing. Lol.

Hmm, if Traci adds to her selection, I'll do it, too ;-).

After almost finishing Deadhouse Gates, I have to say my most hated creature has to be bloodflies. Nasty nasty things, I'd rather face a hound than those things.

I love Gratch! The gar that becomes so lovable in the Sword of Truth series. Kinda like evil, misunderstood creature has a funny lovable side (don't judge a book by its cover or by its eating, hunting, killing habits I guess lol!)

Traci wrote: "Okay, if we are counting monsters from any genre and medium my absolute favorite is definitely the alien from Alien. I just love that design. Creepy. Scary. And maybe I'm strange but...beautiful. I..."

Aliens is one of my all time favorite movies! Great answer :)

(And I accidentally answer twice in posts all the time...GASP!)

For books, my favorite is the Beast from Richard Laymon's Beast House series.


For movies, my favorite would either have to be John Carpenter's The Thing or the demon from Necromentia:

Human monsters: Hannibal Lechter (might have spelled that wrong?) from The Silence of the Lambs....insane psychopaths REALLY embody horror to me!

Half-human monsters: try the Inquisitors in Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn Trilogy ... wouldn't want to meet one of those in a dark alley (or anywhere else!)

Inhuman monsters: Gotta agree with everyone who voted for the giant spiders...Shelob and Ungoliant from Tolkein's middle earth. I freak out over the eensy weensie harmless ones ... I can't imagine being confronted by something like that!

Jesse, love the added picture. Kind of Clive Barker like. Pinhead. =) Loves Pinhead. And the monster from Jeepers Creepers. Also add Frankenstein to my growing list. Book. Movie. Whatever.

Erikson's D'ivers - either Gryllen, the Tide of Madness, aka many many many thousands of rats... or the one that attached herself to Iskaral Pust, the one that can turn into many many many spiders... or the one I forgot which that was able to turn into a swarm of wasps/hornets... those were pretty damn creepy :P

Traci wrote: "Jesse, love the added picture. Kind of Clive Barker like. Pinhead. =) Loves Pinhead. And the monster from Jeepers Creepers. Also add Frankenstein to my growing list. Book. Movie. Whatever."

That's actually what drew me to the movie--it reminded me so much of his work.

I like the Ravenous Bug-blatter Beast of Trahl, from the Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy. Well, not like, in the sense of y'know, want to meet it, but, as a monster, it's hard to beat.

Terri wrote: "I hate Clowns! LOL"

I so agree I have always hated clowns!!

Dana wrote: "My favorite monster is the dragon from THE HOBBIT by J.R.R. Tolkien. And, the monster form THE BLACK LAGOON."

I love the Creature from the Black Lagoon! Old classic horror movies are great!

My all time favorite is Dracula, From the book. Never thought the movies ever got him right.

Matt wrote: "Dana wrote: "My favorite monster is the dragon from THE HOBBIT by J.R.R. Tolkien. And, the monster form THE BLACK LAGOON."

I love the Creature from the Black Lagoon! Old classic horror movies are ..."

Great, can't go wrong with a classic. Even the strange music was enough to freak me out.

Totally forgot about The Creature From the Black Lagoon! Very worth mentioning!

Hmmmm, I think ... Jabberwocky from Alice in Wonderland always intrigued me...:)

Qeteb and Rox from the Sara Douglass's Wayfarer Redemption series. But really any of the Timekeeper Demons would make my most vile and hated list. They're just nasty, nasty creatures that make my skin crawl.

Isabella wrote: "Hmmmm, I think ... Jabberwocky from Alice in Wonderland always intrigued me...:)"

Alice in Wonderland has always freaked me out since reading that Kuttner story. The Last Mimzy: Stories.

Traci wrote: "Isabella wrote: "Hmmmm, I think ... Jabberwocky from Alice in Wonderland always intrigued me...:)"

Alice in Wonderland has always freaked me out since reading that Kuttner story. The Last Mimzy: S..."

Oh, I haven't read Kuttner's story! Is it a retelling of 'Alice'? Ah wait, you've provided the link:) Will go check it out...

I'd have to put my vote down as Nyarlathotep from the Cthulhu Mythos - especially since I more recently learned that one of the primary inspirations for his creation might have been Nikola Tesla and his demonstrations of scientific experiments and apparatuses. Somehow the association of Nikola Tesla with the Crawling Chaos just makes me love that old eldritch monstrosity even more.

Dana wrote: "Matt wrote: "Dana wrote: "My favorite monster is the dragon from THE HOBBIT by J.R.R. Tolkien. And, the monster form THE BLACK LAGOON."

I love the Creature from the Black Lagoon! Old classic horro..."

Wow! I forgot about the Creature from the Black Lagoon! I saw that in 3D on my TV when I was a kid. Loved it :)