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Classic Halloween Monsters

GypsyPirate by GypsyPirate

What goes bump in the night?

Halloween. You can't have it without a few classics. Even if you make a cartoon out of them and put a pretty smile on their faces - you're still going to have a time honored cast of characters at your Halloween, or it isn't going to be quite right.

Who do I mean? Well, you have to have werewolves, ghosts, mummies, vampires, Frankensteins, zombies and witches hanging around ready to scare the life out of every one. These are the time honored classics. Step inside my haunted page here to learn a little history on each of them (if you dare!).

Don't you just love Halloween?

vampireI admit that I haven't always been very enthusiastic about Halloween. I am quite a wimp if the truth be told and I don't like to be scared. Haunted Houses were the bane of my existence during the Octobers of my youth!

I've finally come to grips with the holiday and now quite enjoy it on my own terms. I fuss and bother over a costume every year. I drag up my containers of decorations and merrily fling Halloween charm throughout my house. I do still avoid going to Haunted Houses (even though there are enough of them in my home state that I gave them their own lens!), but I have watched a number of classic Halloween movies now, and I regularly attend Halloween parties. And, I know enough to know that the icons of the holiday deserve to get their props. Talk about lasting the test of time - these monsters have done that in spades. Ask anyone about them and I can guarantee you that they will have some knowledge of them. So, I've rounded them all up here to share with you what I know.

Boo!

Werewolves

A werewolf, also known as a lycanthrope (from the Greek anthr%u014Dpos), is a mythological or folkloric human with the ability to shapeshift into a wolf or an anthropomorphic wolf-like creature, either purposely, by being bitten by another werewolf, or after being placed under a curse. This transformation is often associated with the appearance of the full moon, as popularly noted by the medieval chronicler Gervase of Tilbury, and perhaps in earlier times among the ancient Greeks through the writings of Petronius.

Werewolves are often attributed superhuman strength and senses, far beyond those of both wolves and men. The werewolf is generally held as a European character, although its lore spread through the world in later times. Shape-shifters, similar to werewolves, are common in tales from all over the world, most notably amongst the Native Americans, though most of them involve animal forms other than wolves.

Werewolves are a frequent subject of modern fictional books, although fictional werewolves have been attributed traits distinct from those of original folklore, most notably vulnerability to silver bullets. Werewolves continue to endure in modern culture and fiction, with books, films and television shows cementing the werewolf's stance as a dominant figure in horror.

(from Wikipedia)

Werewolves To Watch

An American Werewolf in London (Full Moon Edition) [Blu-ray]

An American Werewolf in London (Full Moon Edition) [Blu-ray]

Amazon Price: $6.98 (as of 06/01/2012)Buy Now

Re-discover one of the most gripping horror films of all-time with the cult classic An American Werewolf in London. Blending the macabre with a wicked sense of humor, director John Landis (National Lampoon's Animal House) delivers a contemporary take on the classic werewolf tale in this story of two American tourists who, while traveling in London, find their lives changed forever when a viscious wolf attacks them during a full moon. Featuring groundbreaking, Academy Award-winning make-up by Rick Baker (The Wolfman), this digitally remastered Full Moon Edition also includes the new feature-length documentary Beware the Moon.

Ghosts

A ghost - or spirit or apparition - is the energy, soul or personality of a person who has died and has somehow gotten stuck between this plane of existence and the next. Most researchers believe that these spirits do not know they are dead. Very often they have died under traumatic, unusual or highly emotional circumstances. Ghosts can be perceived by the living in a number of ways: through sight (apparitions), sound (voices), smell (fragrances and odors), touch - and sometimes they can just be sensed.

(from About.com)

Ghosts To Watch

Thirteen Ghosts

Thirteen Ghosts

Amazon Price: $6.50 (as of 06/01/2012)Buy Now

A family inherits an elegant steel-and-glass mansion from a deceased relative. The catch is that along with the house comes a slew of ghosts that can be seen only through special goggles.

 

Mummies

A mummy is a body, human or animal, whose skin and organs have been preserved by either intentional or incidental exposure to chemicals, extreme coldness (ice mummies), very low humidity, or lack of air. Some authorities restrict the use of the term to bodies deliberately embalmed with chemicals, but the use of the word to cover accidentally desiccated bodies goes back at least to the 1730s. The oldest known naturally mummified human corpse is a decapitated head dated as 6,000 years old, found in 1936 at the site named Inca Cueva #4 in South America.

Mummies of humans and other animals have been found throughout the world, both as a result of natural preservation through unusual conditions, and as cultural artifacts to preserve the dead. Deliberate mummification is a feature of some ancient South American cultures in areas which, like Egypt, have very dry climates. There are more than 1000 mummies in dry Xinjiang, China.

Of course, for the purpose of Halloween, the only mummies we're interested in are the ones that come back to life and chase people around!!

Mummies To Watch

The Mummy Trilogy [Blu-ray] [Blu-ray] (2008) Brendan Fraser; Rachel Weisz

The Mummy Trilogy [Blu-ray] [Blu-ray] (2008) Brendan Fraser; Rachel Weisz

Amazon Price: $29.98 (as of 06/01/2012)Buy Now

The Mummy Trilogy -- The Mummy; The Mummy Returns, and The Mummy: Tomb Of The Dragon Emperor

Vampires

Vampire \Vam"pire\, n. [F. vampire (cf. It. vampiro, G. & D. vampir), fr. Servian vampir.]

[Written also vampyre.]

1. A blood-sucking ghost; a soul of a dead person superstitiously believed to come from the grave and wander about by night sucking the blood of persons asleep, thus causing their death. This superstition was once prevalent in parts of Eastern Europe, and was especially current in Hungary about the year 1730. The vampire was often said to have the ability to transform itself into the form of a bat, as presented in the novel depicting the legend of Dracula published by Bram Stoker in 1897, which has inspired several movies.

(from Dictionary.net)

Vampires To Watch

Talk about an opening. The first few minutes of John Carpenter's Vampires--in which James Woods's vampire killer leads a dawn raid on a New Mexico "goon nest" of bloodsuckers--not only suggests a horror movie that will not pull any punches, it even evokes some of the more disturbing dream-memories of American Westerns. Muscular and uncompromised, the sequence suggests a new Carpenter classic unraveling before one's eyes.
John Carpenter's Vampires

John Carpenter's Vampires

Amazon Price: $3.97 (as of 06/01/2012)Buy Now

Frankenstein

Okay, first let's be clear: when I say "Frankenstein", you think of the big green guy with the bolts in his neck. That is the generally accepted definition. Technically, he is Frankenstein's monster, not Frankenstein. Frankenstein is the name of a scientist who tried to create a person. He worked tirelessly to accomplish this feat. It backfired on him when he created a monster. Most people think that Frankenstein is the name of the monster, Frankenstein is the scientist's last name. (His first name, the doctor's, is Victor if you were curious.)

Frankenstein's monster was made up from the body parts and organs of the dead, by Dr. Frankenstein himself. It could be said, therefore, that Frankenstein is a fitting name for the monster, since he is, in a way, the doctor's offspring, therefore should share his last name. However, nowhere in the original novel by Mary Shelley does the monster get referred to as "Frankenstein."

(Read more at wikianswers.com)

Also, the "it's alive" bit is true only of the movie. In the book, Dr. Frankenstein runs away in fear when the monster comes to life.

Frankenstein To Watch

Boris Karloff stars as the screen's most memorable monster in what many consider to be the greatest horror film ever made. Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive) dares to tamper with life and death by creating a human monster (Karloff) out of lifeless body parts. It's director James Whale's adaptation of the Mary Shelley novel blended with Karloff's compassionate portrayal of a creature groping for identity that makes Frankenstein a masterpiece not only of the genre, but for all time.
Frankenstein (Universal Studios Classic Monster Collection)

Frankenstein (Universal Studios Classic Monster Collection)

Amazon Price: $6.76 (as of 06/01/2012)Buy Now

 

Zombies

A zombie is a creature that appears in books and popular culture typically as a reanimated dead or a mindless human being. They are among the lower forms of the undead, and often appear in large numbers. No one is certain about the origins of these pathetic and horrible things.

Stories of zombies originated in the Afro-Caribbean spiritual belief system of Vodoo, which told of the people being controlled as laborers by a powerful wizard.

Zombies became a popular device in modern horror fiction, largely because of the success of George A. Romero's 1968 film Night of the Living Dead. Today, the modern zombie serves as a generic term that encompass a large variety of different undead-or-not creatures.

(from Monstrous.com)

Zombies To Watch

Four gruesome tales of zombies on the loose, obeying only their craven desire for human flesh and for revenge. Consists of four titles: George Romero's Night of the Living Dead, Revenge of the Zombies, Oasis of the Living Dead and White Zombie.
Zombie Classics - COLLECTOR'S EDITION TIN!

Zombie Classics - COLLECTOR'S EDITION TIN!

Amazon Price: $6.49 (as of 06/01/2012)Buy Now

 

Witches

Webster's defines witchcraft as the act or instance of employing sorcery, especially with malevolent intent: a magical rite or technique. Witchcraft calls upon the powers of the devil much like a believer prays and believes in the power of God.

Witchcraft is also the preferred medium to get in touch with ghosts and lesser spirits.

(from Monstrous.com)

Witches To Watch

The Witches of Eastwicke is a classic witch movie - get one for yourself and one for a friend!
The Witches of Eastwick (Keepcase)

The Witches of Eastwick (Keepcase)

by: John Updike

Amazon Price: $3.27 (as of 06/01/2012)Buy Now

Countdown to Halloween 2011

Halloween 2011: October 31, 2011

Still Need More Scary Movies?

Here's another list of thrillers that willmake you leave the lights on...

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SquidBOO!

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Monster Guestbook

What do you think of Halloween monsters? Do you have a favorite that I have left out? Are you scared? Let me know what you think, or just say hello. (But, if you don't leave a note, the monsters will get you!!!)

  • Specialeetees Sep 25, 2011 @ 11:13 am | delete
    Really enjoyed reading this lens. Some great movie suggestions too, will have to take a closer look at those; I do love a good horror film.
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GypsyPirate

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GypsyPirate

I'm a parrothead from the NorthCoast, ready to share my view on the world...

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