Early Years.
Monsters have been alive in our imagination from the very beginning of time. They go back as early as 2500 BC, when the Great Sphinx was built. Which according to Greek myth, she would challenge those who encounter her to answer a riddle, and if they fail to do so she would kill and eat them.
Mummies or mummification was practiced throughout Egypt around the same time. An Author, Bram Stoker created the first novel featuring mummies in a role as supernatural antagonists. However, it wasn’t until 1932 when Universal Pictures added The Mummy to their list of silver screen monsters.
Vampires and Werewolves are another classic, which Vampires came considerable earlier and are connected to dark spirits and demonology. Where Werewolves first appeared in Greek mythology. According to the legend, Lycaon angered the god Zeus when he served him a meal from the remains of a sacrificed boy. As punishment, the enraged Zeus turned Lycaon into a wolf. Vampires and Werewolves hunted each other in the Underworld.
The Big Screen
The big screen continued with many creatures which fascinated audiences. Jaws, The Thing, Alien, Mudusa, Frankenstien and Pinhead are among a few. Who can forget Nightmare on Elm Street with the vilian Freddie Kruger. A monster who stalked us in our sleep and whatever happens in our dreams was real. One, two, Freddies coming for you. Three, four, better lock the door. Five, six, grab your crucifix. Seven, eight, better stay up late. Nine, ten, never sleep again. Friday the 13th had the killer Jason who murdered various campers on Crystal Lake. This movie franchise had a total of 12 movies including Freddy vs. Jason.
Monsters can come as human people as well. Steven King brought us The Shining, which told the tale of a man named Jack Torrance. A struggling writer with a pronounced dark side. A caretaker for a remote hotel in Colorado’s Rocky Mountains. A combination of cabin fever and supernatual forces compels Jack to try and murder his family. Only his son, Danny had psychic gifts which the hotel fears.
He also brought us Misery. A story of a writer who has a number one fan, a nurse who rescues him from a car crash. Only to use the opportunity to trap him in her cabin until he finishes his new book. Other favorites are Carrie, Cujo, It, Christine, Creepshow, The Green Mile, and The Mist to name a few.
The Excorist follows a story of a demonic possession of a young girl, forcing her mother to seek the help of two priests to try and save her. Resulting in one of the scariest films of all time.
Let’s not forget the terrifying doll Chucky. A vintage doll turns up at a suburban yard sale and throws a town into chaos as a series of horrifying murders begin. The arrival of enemies from Chucky’s past threatens to expose the truth behind the killings, the dolls untold story of a ordinary child who somehow became this notorious monster.
Pinhead, also know as the Hell Priest is the main antagonist in the Hellraiser franchise. Said to be human who later transformed into demonic creatures devoted to the practice of experimental sadomasochism. The derivation of sexual gratification from the infliction of physical pain or humiliation either on another person or on oneself.
Leatherface is a character from The Texas Chainsaw Massacre series. A mentally disabled member of a family of deranged cannibals, featuring his now iconic face masks and chainsaw.
Zombies are a fan favorite. From Dawn of the Dead to Z they are sure to thrill. The term comes from Haitian folklore, in which a zombie is a dead body reanimated through various methods, most commonly magic like voodoo. Known not to eat each other because they only eat living human flesh. Once infected and full zombification has taken place, the zombie is no longer alive, so its flesh is not palatable to other zombies. There only weak spot; the brain! Attacking the brain is the only way to bring them down.
The Supernatural
The Haunting is a study in fear the escalates into a heart-pounding nightmare for a professor and three subjects trapped in a mysterious mansion.
The Conjuring is a ghost story inspired by true events. A paranormal investigation about a family who moves into a secluded old farmhouse, only to discover it’s hauted.
Aliens
Aliens brought us many scary movies, whether make believe or fiction. Each to their own. The Fourth Kind examines the mysterious disappearances in an Alaska town over the past 40 years. Based on actual case studies of alien abduction it will definitely scare you. War of the Worlds tells the story of an alien invasion seen through the eyes of one family desperate to survive. The Darkest Hour is also about a group of people caught in an alien invasion.
Predator brought us alien trophy-seeking hunters. Drawn by heat and conflict, they have been traveling to earth for centuries in order to hunt humans, the planets most dangerous game. Bound by strict codes of honor they only target those who can fight back and will not harm unarmed civilians, children, pregnant women of those with an illness. They are capable of both mercy and reason.
The 7 Deadly Sins
Known as the 7 monsters are pride, covetousness, lust, anger, envy, gluttony and sloth. Also known as self-love, inordinate love of money, illicit sex, hate, jealousy, over-indulgence, and laziness. The seven deadly sins as we know them had pre-Christian Greek and Roman precedents. Thought of dispositions toward sin and separation from God and fatal to spiritual progress.
Seven portrays two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, who hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.
Horror is Here to Stay
As you can see horror is here to stay. All of our vilians and antogonist have some kind of evil within them which creates great films. Hollywood keeps pumping them out and audiences flood the theater. Horror flicks are doubling their presence in cinema productions worldwide and appear to be as popular as ever.