Voice of London

For centuries, fear of monsters have been bringing communities and cultures together. And not only during the Halloween celebrations.

Fascination with monsters has been undeniably a part of cultures for ages. Being curious and looking for threats to the survival of mankind are two things which are quite natural for a human.

The roots of the horror genre go back to the Spanish baroque period, which started in the 17^th century.

The Middle Ages were characterised by fear. Apart from social problems, people were creating characters which could give their fears some face. And to this day it still is like this. We are still doing it.

There can be many reasons why we seek such things, why we are obsessed with them. The vast majority of people perceive fear as a negative emotion. The state of mind is induced by expecting something bad.

When we are scared, our bodies release hormones like endorphins, adrenaline, dopamine. These give us euphoric feelings and therefore, we like it and want to experience it again and again.

Such feelings make us feel more confident and proud that we stepped out of our own comfort zone.

Some monsters have become an integral part of the popular culture celebrated in books, films, comics, TV shows. These are discussed in podcasts, YouTube videos and various Facebook groups.

There are people who still believe in them, who are trying to discover them, but also those who just roll their eyes at them.

Whether we belong to one group or another, we cannot deny that these beings have become celebrities to some extent. So, let’s take a look at the most famous ones.

Werewolves

From a mythology, werewolf is a person who temporarily under certain circumstances (usually a full moon) turns into a wolf, behaves like a wolf and is dangerous for people. A man usually becomes one by the imposition of a curse. But in popular culture werewolves are often romanticised, portrayed as attractive and irresistible people.

In 2005 Stephanie Meyer In the Twilight Saga, described werewolves as muscular, handsome muses. The later released films have only supported this perspective. American TV series Teen Wolf portrayed young werewolves as heroes defending their city. American TV series True Blood is just an addition to the list of non-scary werewolves.

Vampires

A mythical creature feeding with human blood has become one of the biggest phenomena of the 20^th and 21^st century. Led by Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, Vlad Dracula-the ruler of Romania as a real historical figure has inspired thousands of authors around the world to write about bloodthirsty beasts, sensitive to the sun.

 In recent years however, vampires have also moved from being villains to heroes and sexualised objects. Interview with the Vampire starring Tom Cruise and Brad Pitt from 1994 is an ideal example of a romantic vampire. Twilight Saga book series and later films with Robert Pattinson and Edward Cullen aroused the desire of girls and women all over the world to be bitten by the creature that so many people feared in the past.

Zombies

Rotting corpses that rose from the dead and are hungry for people’s brains – that’s the first thing we think of when it comes to zombies. Coming from Haitian culture, zombies describe a person under a power of Voodoo priests and shamans.

Claims that they have no brains come from real situations where people under the influence of hypnosis acted as if they had no brains. The 1932 film ‘White Zombie’ brought this term to Hollywood and started a series of several films starring these scary creatures. Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later and The Walking Dead series.

Witches

Witches have been scaring people since time immemorial. Their sorcery powers, flying on broomsticks led authorities to burn women accused of witchcraft at the stake. In some cultures, witches were honoured as good healers and community helpers.

In popular culture – media and art – we can find both good and bad witches. It is worth mentioning the classic Disney fairytale Snow White, where the evil witch queen tried poisoning her with an apple. Or Harry Potter, who literally made the world go crazy. But this time as a positive witch figure.

So don’t forget to give them a chance this Halloween. And actually, not just on Halloween. Because we want to be scared all year round.

Words: Zofia Sookyova | Subbing: Steve Hill