Favorite movie classic monster

[MasterHaosis]

Hello guys. I wonder what is your favorite monster from old black and white movies, which is popular even today (in many modern adaptations, stories, media etc...), and why. So, I made list for 12 characters/monsters and types/species they represent.

First 7 are Universal Classic Monster, 8. is included in several Universal movies, while others are classics from various movies. Each of them belongs to specific type of monsters with some exceptions, so list will be versatile and could fit different tastes.

1. Dracula - Classical vampirism. And first association is Bela Lugosi and iconic Dracula. Later, we got tons of such movies. Man in ,,traditional vampire" elegant suit, drinks blood and has plenty of abilities such as hypnosis, transforms into bat, enhanced strength and so on. And some of weakness of course.

2. The Wolfman - That werewolf may look ugly (not wolf like), but he is inspired by real illness which people had. So, this is the most realistic looking possible. Full moon, transformations, roaring and killing people, it all inspired later werewolf movies. Fans of those movies should vote for him.

3. Frankenstein - Proof that God is not only who can bring life (crazy scientists can too, but cannot create soul anyway). And human's creation from several corpses made Frankenstein. Actually it got name from it's creator, Dr. Frankenstein, it was famous just as ,,Monster". Anyway, basically ,,tank monster", just brute strength and limited intelligence and is wild (because he has brain from killer). There are too many versions of Frankenstein even today. And not to forget about Bride of Frankenstein, popular as well. Fans of him or reanimated corpses should vote for him.

4. The Mummy - Immothep is here resurrected. As old and ,,main" mummy he has plenty of powers and abilities at his disposal because of curse throwed at him. All mummy movies later are inspired by this one. So, whoever likes mummies, exotic ancient and mystic Egypt, deserts which associate with mummies should vote for him.

5. Gillman (Creature from black lagoon) - This is one tropical water themed monster. Humanoid fish looking, powerful, swims and dives deeply, it can terrorize coasts and waters. Whoever likes this thematic should vote for him.

6. The Invisible Man - Crazy scientist who found way to make himself completely invisible to eye. He is not monster like rest, but he is definitively dangerous as one or even more. From all Universal classical monsters he has highest score in killings! (he caused train with all wagons to fall from cliff, killing all people inside). Not as strong as others, no fancy abilities, but one cannot see him coming. Whoever likes invisibility should vote for him.

7. Phantom from Opera - Honestly I forgot about this one much as I haven't seen him for very long time, but basically dangerous disfigured man, who is actor and masks himself much. And kills. Whoever remembers better and likes him the most should vote.

8. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Another scientist. He created potion so he can split personality. His alter ego, Mr. Hyde looks differently, like ape appearance, and is murder, wild, and fast, strong, agile, can fight with multiple men and escape them, but did not escape single bullet which killed him. Famous character, present in many movies too. Whoever wants characters with split personality should vote for him.

9. Dorian Gray - Lesser famous and present in movies than previous monsters, but still popular. Dorian gray is human whose sold soul or did some magic to bound himself with his own portrait. So his portrait ages instead of him, which means that Dorian is actually immortal, and unlike other monsters, he is pretty actually, and used/abused it to charm women. And he is killer as well. When his portrait got stab, Dorian dies, and exchanges appearance with portrait, so at end, portrait got his pretty face, and his corpse got old disfigured face.

10. The Wicked Witch - This wicked with came from Wizard of Oz. Her iconic appearance and behavior made her one of main symbols for witches. Green face, black suit and hat, and broom... We saw this in many movies so far and is common for Halloween costumes for girls. She has plenty of abilities as well. Whoever likes her and witchcraft should vote for her.

11. Professor Edward C. Burke or The Man in the Beaver Hat - This is special case. This character came from ,,London after Midnight" movie which was lost. It was silent movie, before those Universal classics. This character is tricky as professor ,,The Hypnotist" actually hired actor to play this character as vampire so he can find real murderer in movie. So technically he is not monster, but he inspired many other evil characters until today with this unique scary appearance (scary face, long hat and lamp), so we saw similar characters as grave robbers/diggers and others.

12. Nosferatu/Count Orlok - This is exception, as Dracula belonging to vampire already exists. But this Count in movie is made before Dracula himself and is different, which also made symbol for this type of vampire with different appearance. Unlike Dracula who is in elegant suit with some abilities, Nosferatu actually is hairless and has long fingers and nails, and has two sharp teeths like bat itself. Also, another main difference from Dracula is that Count Orlok brings himself plague in surrounding area, so people shortly start massively dying because of unknown disease. Now, fans of vampires needs to chose which one they like more.


Here you got with short brief. Now vote and post comment, what and why you liked someone the most.

 

[Shido]

I prefer my boy Frankie, being afraid of surrounding is something i share to him a lot. Frankie threw a girl in the lake is same as I threw my actual boyfriend in the river * as a joke/challenge*.
I know the Bribe, unless most of the monsters are single ? Idk, correct me

 

[Vinz]

Voted for Nosferatu. I find it fascinating.

Runner up's Dorian Grey. I'd like for him to use me.
Third choice would be Dracula - it wouldn't hurt to suck in style.

 

[Zebreva]

Giving my nr 1 to the Wolfman even though it's the more modern Werewolves it inspired that I really like. Always fascinated by the "inner beast" theme, especially when the werewolf's human form is a socialite, paragon or other "upstanding citizen" kind of deal.

 

[Mr.Goblin]

Nosferatu, hands down.... it made ... the horror movie genrah famous. With the scary forshadowing and the lighting etc.

 

[Championfighter25]

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, because they represent the constant clash between good and evil in an interesting way.

 

[Shar Dundred]

Mah boi Dracula.
One because Dracula, two because he reminds me of the times when vampires were not
what they are now.

 

[Maxwell]

Nosferatu, the classic of horror itself (comment, so MasterHaosis can rep me )

 

[Chaosy]

I am not old enough to have seen all these old movies.

I'd say Frankenstein' Monster is pretty cool story wise tho

 

[MasterHaosis]

Guys, so far it is good. Dracula got 4 votes so far, The Wolfman and Nosferatu got 3, Frankenstein got 2 and Dr. Jekyll and mr Hyde got 2 votes.

@Shar Dundred , @morbent , @WhiteFang , @ClariceGonzalesBR thank you for voting. May anyone explain why did you chose Dracula himself?
Shar Dundred, thanks for comment man! I was thinking same. Even not original storywise Dracula, he still put standard how vampires look. And mostly Halloween costumes are either him or Nosferatu. Good old mysterious gentleman which turns into bat and attack ladies at night. Kinds scary as idea. And what we got now? Those ,,modern facebook generations" vampires. High-school vampires you know those ,,shock" haircuts, baby-doll faces, and always girls. or even better, women vampires, like prostitues, vampires+sex, attracting men into bed. If woman can't, then vampire woman can. If you do not know what to put, make soft porn. It always works. Have you seen Twilight? Or new Dracula, failed Universal project? OMG

@Zombie , @stein123 , @Zebreva thank you for voting too. Can any of you explain why you chosed Wolfman?
Zombie actually told me ,,I voted for Wolfman because I love furries also vampires are romanian" Well, Zombie, technically Bela Lugoshi himself is born in Austria-Hungarian Empire back then from Hungarian father and Serbian mother. Word vampire actually is only one of two Serbian words adapted because previously they did not have name until documented case happened in serbian part which was under Austria-Hungary back then. After that, all news reported vampire attack, and word vampire got used worldwide. Вампир on my language. Old people in our old villages still have garlic in front of main door as vampire superstition. Thats how shit was serious here. And yes, Dracul from Romania himself and those myths. But hey, you border with us, you also got Elizabeth Bathory or so, that vampire woman whose killed so many girls and buried them beneath castle. She showered and had bath in their blood to remain forever young. I think it was in your country. So, our whole region is fileld with vampires and got famous for it. While Brothers Grimm used black forests as witch base, and Europeans burned witches massively, and later Americans, we actually used to had issues with vampires mostly.

@Shido , @Chaosy , thanks for voting for Frankenstein. + rep for both of you. Chaosy, yes, I like story as well. Shido, oh yeah, that scene where he threw girl in river. She drowned. Well he is afraid of nasty suroundings, but do not forget that brain he got is actually wrongly taken brain from murderer instead of scientist.

@deepstrasz , @Championfighter25 thanks for voting. Championfighter25, I agree, that is good battle between evil and good. However, Dr. Jekyll made that problem to himself ignoring warnings about such experiments as he tested it to himself first causing murder. I just watched recently old black and white version from 1931, epic movie.

@Mr.Goblin , @Mythic , @Maxwell thanks for commenting and voting. + rep for you. Yeah, Nosferatu basically is one of first who started this kind of genre. Those shadow scenes, long nails and fingers... And he brings disease everywhere he went.

NOW MY TURN! I voted as well. I voted for The Invisible Man! I like idea of stalking around completely invisible. You could do many things! Oh yea, in this movie character did good job. @Mechanical Man , you did not see this coming! What did you decide, you were doubting between vampire and gillman today.

 

[WhiteFang]

I like Dracula's version of vampirism,much better than the sparkly emo teens from Twilight for example.Dracula arguably is the main reason vampires became as popular as they are,and his influence is undeniable.

 

[morbent]

I don't like the twilight style vampires and am not a big fan of the Nosferatu ones, at least in their typical representations. I chose Dracula cuz those types of vampires have the most potential to be developed into a cool looking creature. Usually a combination of Dracula + Nosferatu looks amazing (https://magic.wizards.com/sites/mtg...ration/images/magic/daily/stf/stf167_lord.jpg or https://i.pinimg.com/originals/b2/4a/8b/b24a8b6e57cf82738b2936ccc8ae2504.jpg) but I'd classify those closer to Dracula than Nosferatu.

Frankenstein's monsters I always found a little bit.. boring. It's just too specific and there hasn't been much experimentation nor can there be much. Usually there are Frankenstein's Monster lookalikes, like fleshy zombies but I dunno, I wouldn't put them in the same place.

Mummies are great, probably a close second vote for me, along with werewolves. However, wolfman is a bit farther than a werewolf, in that werewolves developed into something slightly more differently which actually makes the concept be not only cool on paper, but also in practice. Turning into something during a full moon is a very interesting concept, but turning into a wolfman is lame af. Turning into a dog also... but turning into a humanoid-wolf looking beast is amazing. You take a cool concept and do it well and it's great.
Now you might say, well hang on, Dracula is also just a lame regular human who drinks blood and wear aristocratic robes, he doesn't necessarily have to look like a powerful being with wings and demonic face. Well yea, but Dracula is good either way. As a human it's a great concept with good execution - the aristocratic Dracula image also looks great and feels right. And turning into a more demonic-looking vampire makes the concept even more awesome. Of course, there is the case of Twilight of turning into a glowing 21st century hipster, but that is the lowest of the low, not the highest. So it should be ignored. I judge these concepts by their maximum capabilities and what has been reached.

Witches can be amazing, they have great potential. Not my type though so I wouldn't vote for them. I appreciate them in a story or artwork and want them to be there but they are not my favouritte if you get what I'm saying I don't know. They're pretty great still.

Phantoms are awesome. But phantom of the opera (in the way you described it) sounds like a zombie with added stuff and acting. Also, haven't seen it often and developed in an interesting way much. It's also got the frankenstein problem a bit - it's too specific.

And the rest are just random, lame or too narrow character-specific concepts, with little development throughout the years. I suppose if we count Gillmen as merfolk I'd include them, but it's kinda like the werewolf concept amped up. It's just too different from the core, not sure if it's fair to pick them. A boring ass gillman compared to a Naga or Merfolk (of the cool looking type) is sooo radically different technically.

It's kinda like the Joker. At first he was a random dude who fell in a vat and just killed people, now it's a complex character that is used to tell stories about society and such. The idea was sound from the start, but the execution was garbage and so it was an okay concept, but not much more than that. Now it's great.
Vampires (of the dracula and nosferatu type), Werewolves, Mummies and Witches have developed into amazing concepts. Personally I admire the Dracula-vampire most, so I picked that cuz no multivote



I didn't reread or edit my message at all so sorry if it's a big blobby mess.


edit: o, also, invisible man in and of itself I think is kinda boring , it's the ability that is interesting. But it's not a creature or monster type as much as it is an ability. For like wizards, mages, rogues or superheroes or such. As a monster? It's just... it's just a human. Everything that is just a human is boring. That's why twilight vampires suck. And witches that are just alchemists suck, unless in a super realistic setting where mythology hypes these creatures up to be more than they are, but that's different, it's story n such, creature type remains lame, it's just amplified by other factors. So an invisible man can be made amazing if in a medieval setting there is hype and mythology around this, like he is some ghost and such. But story =/= the monster. I guess that's why I don't like frankenstein's monster as much. As a creature it's a disfigured zombie, which is .. alright. But it's the story that makes him great. Without the story though it's just that - alright
edit 2: (and since we are evaluating the monster archetypes, not them in their specific stories, I think most just lose the contest immediately like Professor Edward C. Burke or The Man in the Beaver Hat. Cuz you don't really copy stories 1:1. And shouldn't. Like I can't just copy this character and make movies with it. Meanwhile, with the vampire archetype.. well there is so much variety. I guess that's why some got used a lot more than others huh... hmm. Just thinking.. or writing out loud here.)
edit 3: Actually, I guess that's why the invisible man died, but the ability is very prominent. At the same time werewolves and vampires and mummies.. everything that went in as a package - art and setting remained the same or very similar. The story changed a lot, but the concept of "Moon - Beast" or "Royal - Drink Blood" or "Dead - Mummified" is the same. And people had to drastically change the concept of Frankenstein's monster to make it useable - by creating this new thing called zombies. I assume frankenstein's monster influenced that a lot.

 

[ClariceGonzalesBR]

I chose Dracula because the first horror book I read was exactly Bram Stoker's masterpiece.

Dracula is basically the devil's son. His personality is intriguing and iconic:
Elegant and malicious.

It is an immortal being that depends on the blood to live.
In the Old Testament, it was forbidden to consume the blood of any creature, because for God, this was where the "soul" of our being was. That is, the Count of Transylvania is a soul eater lol

It's a very strong character in my opinion:
When he absorbs the blood, he gets stronger, faster, smarter and younger.

It is capable of disappearing in shadows or smoke. It can turn into a bat and a wolf. He can control the weather (summon storms and fogs).
In addition to their telekinetic abilities, mind control, persuasion and concealment.

Those bitten by it become minions, and when they die, they become nosferatus (undead). He could create an army if he wanted to.

To me, he's scary enough to panic you with his bright red eyes in the dark and powerful enough to defeat you with one slap.

I also like him because of his origin:
It was based on a real character, Vlad "Steppes" Drakwl. Responsible for impaling thousands of Turks in Romania.
Macabre origin lol

Your weaknesses are light, wood (cross/staurós), silver, communion and fire.
So cool for me (a roman catholic).

Its appearance is disgusting: pale skin, sharp teeth showing, thinness, white hair, large nose and deep eyes (this when it is scarce of blood).

My dad would tell me stories of Dracula he made up in the dark, with just the two of us at home at night and all the lights out. That's because I lived on a small farm. Imagine the fear lol.

It marked my childhood a lot.
Just reading the book to really understand. Mainly the beginning, at the entrance of the castle.

It has inspired many games like Castlevania. I believe the Dreadlords were based on him.

In the end, I think he would defeat all the other monsters on the list. Nosferatu itself is just a spin-off of Dracula lol.

 

[MasterHaosis]

@morbent I will write later something.

@ClariceGonzalesBR GIRL THAT ROCKS! I am impressed by your knowledge. You described in details what is being written in books.
However, we are more lucky here regarding vampires. This shitty country but has good history regarding those stuff.
Story is long, but this is what happened in reality. Not based on anything, but actually real event. I am not believing in vampires but it is offical document from then Austrian-Hungarian government. They wrote detailed report.
In short, Serbia was for about 500 years under Turkey biggest part, while smallest part was under Austria-Hungary empire. Here, in Austrian part was one man Petar Blagojević, thez wrote Peter plogojewitz or something like that because of name translation. Nevermind, that man became vampire, and killed several people. People rapidly had fears because of vampires and got mass hysteria. People almost wanted to riot because its better for them to be killed from Austrian government than from vampires. Rulers of Austria sent directly expedition, people with orders to bring raport what is happening there. Unlike our Serbia under Turkey, this was civilized country, you cannot dig and stab dead as you wish because of some superstition, but special permission was granted to exhume his corpse. When they opened his grave they reported that he moved in side, was covered in blood, had little beard and all that like he is alive even he is not. And several other characteristics for vampires. Then they gave permission villagers to stab him with wooden stick and burned him and others whose believed to be vampires! Then expedition went back to capital to report. next day it was all in news about first documented vampire case. here is something about it, read it Petar Blagojević | Wikiwand so regardless of what books says, we have legends, and people fear of it in this day. morbent knows about it as he is my neighbor, he knows about those stories and superstitions people have. That is much stronger than some book based on character. So, ,,real" vampires did not have those abilities. later I will write you about their characteristics.

 

[deepstrasz]

Will never like such a misleading character like Dracula.

 

[Zombie]

@MasterHaosis Lugosi Béla is an actor, not an actual vampire. Actual vampires are Romanians

so I chose the Wolfman because he is a furry therefore a man before his time

 

[deepstrasz]

Actual vampires are Romanians

as you can see here the conflict between Romanians and Hungarians

was pretty much not just myth.

 

[Misha]

I'm with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde xD

 

[MasterHaosis]

@Misha haha you are always extra.

@morbent this is how those classics look like in Monster Squad from 1987.

also, invisible man in and of itself I think is kinda boring , it's the ability that is interesting. But it's not a creature or monster type as much as it is an ability.

Actually, I guess that's why the invisible man died, but the ability is very prominent.

But there are tons of movies, in about 20 movies such as:The Invisible Man, The Invisible Man Returns, The Invisible Woman, Invisible Agent, The Invisible Man's Revenge, Hollow Man 1 and 2, Abbott and Costello Meet the Invisible Man, TV series Invisible Man. he appears in the League of Extraordinary Gentlemen. And now, it is being filmed, with release date about february/march 2020. So, while character died in first movie, there are many other movies regarding this.

 

[deepstrasz]

But there are tons of movies

and games

 

[Zebreva]

I already, in brief, replied to @MasterHaosis s question regarding why I chose Wolfman in my first reply but I suppose I'll expand into more details since it was asked of again.

I chose Wolfman despite it not being the perfect candidate for my absolute favourite monster of all time, the Werewolf, this is because the Wolfman made the werewolves enter the public consciousness similar to how Nosferatu (and later Dracula movies) broadened the audience for Vampires. Unlike Vampires however Werewolves don't have, as far as I'm aware, an equivalent to the Dracula book to anchor it as a "classical monster" (at least not to the same degree) despite people being persecuted as werewolves along with Witches doing the witchtrial craze (men were often killed for being werewolves while women were often pointed out as witches, though exceptions existed for both). Thus the Wolfman movie is real important to the propagation of werewolves into popular culture and that's how I felt justified in equivocating the two.

As for why I love werewolves as much as I do, it's about the duality of what we show to the outside world and what we're really like on the inside. Given enough strain & stress and pretty much everyone reverts to a more basic type of being capable of all the things our sensible sides deplore as barbaric and monstrous. This is why I particularly enjoy it when it is someone known for their restraint, their high class or social standing that falls under the werewolf curse as it shows what they are really like inside.

Not really a fan of the analogues with Rabies, though I do understand how the two are connected as the probable foundation of the werewolf legend coupled with Hypertrichosis. It just doesn't gel with how I want it to be more an exploration of a characters inner desires. I also wish more was done with werewolves beyond just being a transformation due to outside factors. I think it'd be more interesting to see someone transformed when they're in a high stress situation where they cannot help themselves from acting out their conscious/subconscious desires, be them for good or ill (Imagine a dude who's in love and because of it, during a stressful moment transforms and murders to get to be by his beloved, I think that could be part of a really cool story), similar to people that lack inhibition control etc.

little rambly but it seems like it was ok with long posts. Hope that's ok ^^

 

[Zombie]

as you can see here the conflict between Romanians and Hungarians

was pretty much not just myth.

if you take out vampires and werewolves, it still is not a myth

 

[RED BARON]

Selected from a fairly personal perspective, meaning my favorite tend to be closely related to what I can imagine myself being.

Picked Dracula.. a tough choice though. Keeping in mind that I would have picked Malkavian in a heartbeat had the selection been based on a rather different genre, I did also consider Nosferatu due to him being the more bad-ass option, which I also associate more closely to Anne Rice's novels. But I love the cool, classy way of Dracula more.

However I could have considered many of the others as well.

- Dorian fascinates me, but his personality and ending isn't for me - Dracula on the other hand has transcended his movie form, and become more of a symbol, and to an extend he is actually quite the generous host. '

- The invisible man, he offers something truly unique that matches well with my huge curiosity, but the invisible mans life, sucked. He had no choice and lost everything - his case felt more like being isolated from the world, and that wouldn't be something I could see myself doing.

- The Wolfman is a good representative of the duality and the thought of turning into a beast with extra powers e.g. is tempting, however I have read far too many stories about Werewolfs and I dislike the forced nature of their switch and the influence it has on their nature. If the option was a druids beast form that might be something different, which again is why Dracula offering up potential for shapeshifting as well (pending on version) wins out.

- Gillman (black lagoon creature).. yea.. never interested me and never saw the movie. Not to mention I rather fly than swim.

- Wicked witch - Magic has always been a huge dream of mine, but the wicked witch has a terrible ending, an awful character and a look that I wouldn't want. Elminster has always been more my type. So unless we were talking about the alternate version from the brilliant musical wicked where the personality is changed, I couldn't really select her. To some extend Dracula can perform magic, so again picked him.

- The mummy - Yea, a dead guy not really any huge fan of it. There is magic involved, but mostly revenge - never really caught my eye. The newer movies works fine for action and I might have slightly felt bad for the mummy, but he was never any favorite. I prefer close to death, but not quite - ignoring the Van Helsing movie where they can only create dead children and what not.

- Professor Edward C. Burk, yea, not catching my fancy. I remember character, I know it inspired the now removed animatronic at Disney lands House of Horror, but Gravediggers, Jack the Ripper and so on.. nah. I want style.. like Dracula.

- Phantom of the Opera, is a tragic figure, but while the play is amazing, the character himself.. a scarred, murderous person never caught on. The never movie/play where he is given a lot more humanity, doing it all for lost love and actually giving up his own feelings to let two lovers be together and remembering the one he lost forever is more romantic, but if I was going for disfigured people with a tendency to violence and a willingness kill for conviction, I prefer V, from V for Vendetta (He is also slightly a monster ).

- Jakyll & Hyde - The idea is interesting, the power of his second form and the willingness to let lose. However the utter lack of control isn't for me. I like the story for all it inspired, most famous of which is likely the Hulk, but just as I am more into Doctor Strange than Hulk, I am much more interested in Dracula, who to some extend also has two sides to him, with the added bonus of being mostly in control.

 

[Misha]

i really like split personalities, when it comes to monsters

 

[Ralle]

Where is Voldemort when you need him?

 

[deepstrasz]

Where is Voldemort when you need him?

Snape shot him.

 

[Tipsilon]

Always been a werewolf fan, also i highly recommend a netflix animated show "Love, death & robots" episode 10 tilted Shapeshifters. It has an awesome animated monster fight between 3 werewolves. In fact just go watch that fight this instant on youtube

 

[MasterHaosis]

Where is Voldemort when you need him?

But he is not movie classic from black and white, or is he?

@Zebreva , thank you for detailed comment. + rep! Sorry for mentioning you before, yes you wrote comment, but I accidentally put your name, because other did not, so I did mass naming. But it is not harm if you keep writing. More, better.

@RED BARON, that was awesome. RED BARONAGE STYLE! All monsters touched. I planned to put more monsters into opinions, but I though those 12 are enough. 4 more supposed to come.

@ClariceGonzalesBR , oh since you said you like Slavic myths. I was grown between them, I like old stories. Difference between that Dracula book you read and our myth/stories is that book is designed to bring more readers for profit. While something is based on reality (like Dracula's life and such which inspired Bram Stoker to write book), vast majority of things are completely made up and imagined, to bring ,,effect" to character and story and to impress people. Turns into bat, wolf, mist, control storms, create undead army, slaves... Really? Why not calling meteorites with finger slap to destroy wold, its much easier. Those overpowering stuff do not impress me because you feel artificial level in it. I mean that book is wery well made, as you said it is masterpiece. And movie too. But that is all, just for fun and Hollywood. Fun and money.
This is where our stories differ. There is no fun, money, Hollywood, movies, marketing. There was fear. Our stories came from true events, regardless if it exists or not. That documented case you read about may not be vampire, maybe clinical death or something else but it did happen. I will tell you another example:
Village where from my mother came from is about 40km from my city. Near that village (above from it) is place which is called literally old village. I walk there regularly when go I am there. In past times, villages were located in hills, so far from roads, so thieves and conquerors would avoid it. People lived from agriculture mostly. Young people used to gather in some place to hang out, sing and such. And one day, something happened, something killed all young people. Either vampires or something else (which has no translation in English anyway). People were so afraid after that that they literally moved village near road! There is nothing, ruins. That happened centuries ago.
Our myths always happened from something and always caused action or reaction. In our culture, when someone dies, it is believed that his soul is wandering around for 40 days. He must be stabbed with some needle or something, so he wont turn into vampire. Candle or light should be lighten up so soul can ,,follow light to clear path" to home where it lived. People believed and reported everything. That custom lives even today. We do not believe it, but it is custom. And it exists since those times when fear of undead and vampire was present. People were just uneducated and believed in various craps, so they did ,,rituals" to protect themselves from witches, vampires, ghosts, demons and such. You can't see this in Hollywood as it was considered ,,serious".
So, while our local stories are not ,,cool or fancy" as Dracula turning into mist, you would not consider cool or fancy when you hear report that your neighbor is seen wandering around and scaring people just after he got buried! He can just scary you, or even choke you or bite you which is not close to vampire's ,,powers and abilities" from movies or books, but hey, man whose you know for your life to be reported seeing in dark my several people is enough to make you scared to death when you enter street to back your home (if you can even go outside your house). And now, imagine this all in old times, village, hills, forest. Wind blowing, noise from trees and bushes, dogs and cats. And shadows. You would be 10x times more afraid than from book or movie vampire. Thats how our people got afraid that much.

 

[ClariceGonzalesBR]

But he is not movie classic from black and white, or is he?

@Zebreva , thank you for detailed comment. + rep! Sorry for mentioning you before, yes you wrote comment, but I accidentally put your name, because other did not, so I did mass naming. But it is not harm if you keep writing. More, better.

@RED BARON, that was awesome. RED BARONAGE STYLE! All monsters touched. I planned to put more monsters into opinions, but I though those 12 are enough. 4 more supposed to come.

@ClariceGonzalesBR , oh since you said you like Slavic myths. I was grown between them, I like old stories. Difference between that Dracula book you read and our myth/stories is that book is designed to bring more readers for profit. While something is based on reality (like Dracula's life and such which inspired Bram Stoker to write book), vast majority of things are completely made up and imagined, to bring ,,effect" to character and story and to impress people. Turns into bat, wolf, mist, control storms, create undead army, slaves... Really? Why not calling meteorites with finger slap to destroy wold, its much easier. Those overpowering stuff do not impress me because you feel artificial level in it. I mean that book is wery well made, as you said it is masterpiece. And movie too. But that is all, just for fun and Hollywood. Fun and money.
This is where our stories differ. There is no fun, money, Hollywood, movies, marketing. There was fear. Our stories came from true events, regardless if it exists or not. That documented case you read about may not be vampire, maybe clinical death or something else but it did happen. I will tell you another example:
Village where from my mother came from is about 40km from my city. Near that village (above from it) is place which is called literally old village. I walk there regularly when go I am there. In past times, villages were located in hills, so far from roads, so thieves and conquerors would avoid it. People lived from agriculture mostly. Young people used to gather in some place to hang out, sing and such. And one day, something happened, something killed all young people. Either vampires or something else (which has no translation in English anyway). People were so afraid after that that they literally moved village near road! There is nothing, ruins. That happened centuries ago.
Our myths always happened from something and always caused action or reaction. In our culture, when someone dies, it is believed that his soul is wandering around for 40 days. He must be stabbed with some needle or something, so he wont turn into vampire. Candle or light should be lighten up so soul can ,,follow light to clear path" to home where it lived. People believed and reported everything. That custom lives even today. We do not believe it, but it is custom. And it exists since those times when fear of undead and vampire was present. People were just uneducated and believed in various craps, so they did ,,rituals" to protect themselves from witches, vampires, ghosts, demons and such. You can't see this in Hollywood as it was considered ,,serious".
So, while our local stories are not ,,cool or fancy" as Dracula turning into mist, you would not consider cool or fancy when you hear report that your neighbor is seen wandering around and scaring people just after he got buried! He can just scary you, or even choke you or bite you which is not close to vampire's ,,powers and abilities" from movies or books, but hey, man whose you know for your life to be reported seeing in dark my several people is enough to make you scared to death when you enter street to back your home (if you can even go outside your house). And now, imagine this all in old times, village, hills, forest. Wind blowing, noise from trees and bushes, dogs and cats. And shadows. You would be 10x times more afraid than from book or movie vampire. Thats how our people got afraid that much.

Haha makes sense!
If even today with such technology we have already been terrified, who will say at that time.

It is quite possible and explainable that these myths were created out of the fear of the people of the time.

Here in Brazil there are THOUSANDS of werewolf and chupacabra stories! Farmers swear to the soul that they saw these creatures.

Very interesting. I didn't know about this version. Thank you! It is an honor to receive culture directly from the mouth (digits lol) of a Slav, properly.

However, vampires aren't the only ones that scare me into Slavic folklore.
For example, I find it very interesting (and SINISTER) the Baba Yaga legend:

She is described as a deformed and fierce woman who flies through the sky on a mortar and erases the trail left behind. She lives inside a forest, in a house that stands on crow's feet and the lock is a toothy mouth. Baba Yaga has an appetite for human flesh and uses magic, just like the witches we know, and she is very intelligent. In some versions it is said that the creature is not just a woman, but three who have the same name.

Another thing that really freaks me out is the Domovoi: The appearance of this creature is of a small, old, over 100-year-old humanoid, his body covered with gray hair except around his eyes and nose.

Some of them have horns and tails, but they can change shape, thus resembling the inhabitants of the house or domestic animals. Domovoi is very quiet and doesn't bother anyone, unless the house where he lives is messy, he likes tidying up, besides he doesn't like mirrors;

It sounds harmless, but it makes me sick.
I suppose everyone here has already suffered from the famous "sleep paralysis". I have suffered several times. And the worst time that happened to me was a being like that.
He looked like a gnome, but much more sinister, devilish and scary.

I couldn't move, my vision was shaking, I couldn't scream. I spent a long moment suffering with that creature stabbing my belly and screaming and moaning with bizarre sounds. A very strange growl.

I woke up at dawn, in total darkness, sobbing and sounding.

What did I learn from all this?
That among vampires, witches and gnomes, I prefer PERUN, The Thunder God!

 

[MasterHaosis]

@ClariceGonzalesBR ,you impressed me again. You learned something about eastern culture. Those things are from eastern Slavs, my people are Southern Slavs. So, I heard about those all, but I am not that familiar with it. That Domovoi is called Domovik here or ,,homestic spirit". If you find him only way to destroy it is to throw him in boiled oil.
Baba Yaga, we have weaker version here Babaroga. baba means literally ,,granny/grandmother/old woman'', and we are used to be afraid of her as kids... Elders scared us if we are not good, baba roga will come to eat us. Here are tons of monsters in those cultures, but we did not have Hollywood to make those into movies. Yet again classic like black and white.

 

[RED BARON]

However, vampires aren't the only ones that scare me into Slavic folklore.
For example, I find it very interesting (and SINISTER) the Baba Yaga legend:

She is described as a deformed and fierce woman who flies through the sky on a mortar and erases the trail left behind. She lives inside a forest, in a house that stands on crow's feet and the lock is a toothy mouth. Baba Yaga has an appetite for human flesh and uses magic, just like the witches we know, and she is very intelligent. In some versions it is said that the creature is not just a woman, but three who have the same name.

See Baba Yaga is someone I might also be able to see myself as, just because the idea of lurking on the edges of society, creating fear and judging people while living forever in a walking house, now that is bad-ass. Also she makes for an excellent scary story that really should have been explored more (although she does have a fairly good showing in one of the recent tomb raider games). Overall though, Baba Yaga can compete very well with my Dracula choice, and she is a lot more immortal.

If we are looking at just folklore from that region I would also have a soft spot for Leshy, as giant sized characters, with shapeshifting power and a close relation to nature ticks a lot of my boxes. That he is likely immortal as well, just makes it better. To some extend its a mix between a Jotun and Odin. His clothing style still doesn't really beat Dracula, but he can change into anything.

 

[DD Mikasa]

I prefer mummy probably due to the fact that one the first playstation games I ever played and was obsessed with it was The Mummy.

Its movies have a nice does of comedy with Benny that guy cracks me up!

 

[The_Silent]

Mary Shelly's Frankenstein because of its literary impact on sci-fi and horror.

 

[Ralle]

But he is not movie classic from black and white, or is he?

I don't watch black and white

 

[deepstrasz]

But when you read, are the letters multiple colours and the pages they're on too?

You're missing a lot.

 

[MasterHaosis]

@DD Mikasa , thanks for voting and comment. I am glad that someone voted for Mummy.

@Petrovic , gospodine Petroviću! Thanks for voting and comment.

@deepstrasz hahahaa! Yes yes! Go tell him! He is rainbow man, all watching in multi-colore

@Ralle , haha! very interesting. Not black and white. But you are right, not everything is black and white. (Something is grey colored ) But it all started black and white, meaning it is ancient, therefore not ,,dirty and corrupted" like now-days Hollywood movies. Plus, accent is on old effect and character. When did you seen those old ,,naked" trees, fog effects, old black fences, chilling winds combined? Plus some spider web and weird noise. I cannot remember seeing this in any newer movie. Plus, all newer movies have accent on gore. Become monster and kill as many people you can. There, Dracula, Wolfman, Mummy and Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde did not kill many, in fact just few people. It was about discovering characters, not about senseless killings.

@ClariceGonzalesBR , I still owe you some story. Will do it soon.

 

[morbent]

@MasterHaosis most of those movies are from the 40s xD (Except, apparently, invisible woman which is 2013 and hollow man 1 n 2 (2000 n 2006))

That's pretty old, considering people didn't experiment much with fantasy back then and just took it as it was. My point was that the ability is what was mostly preserved cuz it's cool af, whereas a werewolf was good enough and was simply upgraded to look cool cuz honestly that guy in the picture you showed looks like a hairy ape, not really amazing

 

[MasterHaosis]

@morbent The Invisible Woman is from 1940 Die unsichtbare Frau (1940) - IMDb that is comedy, horror comedy, I did not watch it. Then it is war propaganda, Invisible agent from 1942 haha, fighting Nazis. Dont forget about The Invisible Man 2020 which will come soon The Invisible Man (2020) - IMDb , I still wait to see it!

Also, I think (but I am not sure) that The Wolf Man looks like this for a reason. While I do not like his appearance, this is almost exact looking of real life ,,werewolves". Actually people with condition called hypertrichosis, where fur literally grows and covers almost whole head and body.

So, technically, this is how they imagined that wolf man should look like and they are right according to reality. However, I prefer more ,,modern approach. Everything we need is classic style with modern appearance.

 

[RED BARON]

Also, I think (but I am not sure) that The Wolf Man looks like this for a reason. While I do not like his appearance, this is almost exact looking of real life ,,werewolves". Actually people with condition called hypertrichosis, where fur literally grows and covers almost whole head and body.

So, technically, this is how they imagined that wolf man should look like and they are right according to reality. However, I prefer more ,,modern approach. Everything we need is classic style with modern appearance.

Part of the reason for at least some "monsters" of old movies looking like real people with real conditions is that instead of special effects one simply used people who looked the way they wanted. Not the case with the Wolf Man movie I believe, but for instance the circus movie about freaks had a lot of it.

 

[deepstrasz]

Part of the reason for at least some "monsters" of old movies looking like real people will real conditions is that instead of special effect

 

[RED BARON]

Youtube link

Was that in reference to the real elephant man being used as a circus attraction?

 

[morbent]

Yea I know about the wolfman condition and they are probably quite related (although those people don't turn like that on a full moon but... w/e).
Still! Dracula was cool from the beginning cuz even with his most generic first look he looks cool enough

 

[Naze]

I'm more into the haunting-souls kind of horror stories anyway so none of those are really appealing, however I'm staying with Picture of Dorian Gray since I liked the book a lot back when I read it - same for Phantom of the Opera. Most of these stories suffer from being very well known so we already know what the book is about before even starting it haha.

Seeing how you guys described the influence of the Nosferatu movie really made me interested in watching it in future.

 

[TheLordOfChaos201]

I choose the witch because while the other peoples power is limited, her power is endless as long as no one throws a house on her or a pail of water.

 

[MasterHaosis]

@Naze what are powers of Phantom of Opera anyway? Dorian Gray, at least this one black and white is just immortal, and immune to diseases, and perhaps has some healing factor. He seems to have ordinary strength, speed and such. I do not know if he can die by ordinary means, cutting head, ripping hearth, or locking him without food for example. But once you stab picture, he is done. About Phantom of Opera, I cannot remember anything.

@TheLordOfChaos201 thanks for voting and posting! Yeah she is pretty much powerful character although I am not sure that her powers are limitless. What I remember from movie is that she has plenty of powers such as flying with broom, teleporting with red smoke effect, she could create fireballs with hands, create fog with broom, looking into crystal ball to see enemies, controlling animals, she has loyal servants/slaves... Plenty of powers but got killed by water, perhaps it was holy water.

 

[Naze]

@Naze what are powers of Phantom of Opera anyway? Dorian Gray, at least this one black and white is just immortal, and immune to diseases, and perhaps has some healing factor. He seems to have ordinary strength, speed and such. I do not know if he can die by ordinary means, cutting head, ripping hearth, or locking him without food for example. But once you stab picture, he is done. About Phantom of Opera, I cannot remember anything.

From what I remember the Phantom of the Opera is just a skilled illusionist with a sexy voice and infinite money to build what he wants inside that opera hall. He's also deeply ugly.

So no powers, he's just a very ugly 1910's version of batman / iron man

 

[natass9]

the mummy was always my favourite monster. this thread makes me want to watch the old hammer horror movies christopher lee was the best dracula.

 

[knight26]

I chose Frankenstein, because I love the idea of playing with dead bodies. During my final year in the morgue I was fascinated by the body examinations and different autopsies, add here my fascination with death in general. Forensic science is also great, combine the two and you get talking corpses.

I find psychiatric forensics the most interesting, so my next choice would probably be Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. I love the trilogy of Glass by
M. Night Shyamalan so it's nice to see where the inspiration came from.

Interesting choice of a discussion @MasterHaosis ^_^

 

[deepstrasz]

I love the idea of playing with dead bodies. During my final year in the morgue I was fascinated by the body examinations and different autopsies, add here my fascination with death in general. Forensic science is also great, combine the two and you get talking corpses.

Just try not to kill anyone for your fascinations.

 

[knight26]

Just try not to kill anyone for your fascinations.

But but -- What if, say, I were to raise them from the dead AFTER I kill them? Would that technically be murder??