Halloween: Monsters Through The Ages

Greetings readers!  Today we're celebrating the third anniversary of this blog.  Many thanks to all of my readers!

Tomorrow is Halloween, and since I've done seasonal posts for the past couple of years, I felt like carrying on the tradition.  With that in mind, I want to take a look at part of what makes Halloween so spooky: Monsters.

Monsters (and dressing up as them for Halloween) have gone hand in hand long before Universal began to create their monster movies.  The fictional costumes people now don for fun were once believed to be very real, and very fearsome.  Numerous folktales and legends from all around the world speak of these creatures.  From ghosts and devils, to witches and werewolves, up to vampires and zombies, here's a look at some of the most popular monsters throughout the ages...along with the reasons they were so feared.

The origins of Halloween lie in the Celtic holiday of Samhain.  During this festival, it was common practice to dress as one of the dead.  Ghosts, ghouls, and spirits were some of the guises worn by celebrants.  The vengeful, unquiet dead were said to roam free during Samhain, and humans could avoid their notice by dressing as undead as well.

A more cheerful variation on this theme lies in the Latin American celebration of Dias de los Muertos, the Days of the Dead.  Taken from the Catholic All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day, which themselves stem from Samhain, Dias de los Muertos is a time to honor the dead and celebrate their life.  My own city does a parade every year for this holiday in which people paint their faces to look skeletal, and wear more traditional Mexican garb.

Witches and devils stem from Christianity's influence.  In fact, throughout the years Halloween costumes have been heavily influenced by religion.  A lot of the early horror writers were Christian authors.  (Nowhere is this more obvious than in The Curious Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, in which both the dangers of repression and the horrors of a life without morals are explored.)  Because of this religious influence, most of the more popular costumes, those included, feature individuals either dead or damned.

For the most part, these monsters share similar goals.  They are deadly predators.  As such, they are immensely dangerous and something to be feared.  But it also means that they follow certain rules.  They seek prey.  They defend their territory.  Occasionally, they look for a mate.  Think of the Mummy seeking revenge on those who disturbed his tomb, or Dracula hunting for a bride.

It is when these monsters move outside of their territory, or attack for a reason other than food or revenge, that they are at their most terrifying.  Frankenstein's monster sees parts of this, because he has no real goal when he is first born, and cannot be predictable.  Dracula becomes infinitely more frightening when he leaves his territory and travels to another country - where his tactics are no longer known, and where most don't even know of his existence.

But there is one monster even more frightening than this, and it's one which has risen in popularity in just the last few decades.  Originally, zombies were very different from the creatures which now dominate movies, TV shows, and video games.  Raised by voodoo and witchcraft, a classical zombie was slow-moving, shackled to its creator's will, and had no brain function.  They were more in keeping with what one might expect from a necromancer's slaves.

Over time, these zombies morphed into the rage-virus zombies we're now so familiar with.  Many monsters owe their popularity to common fears at the time - fear of the occult, of the foreign stranger, of "heathen" religions, or of certain diseases transmitted by blood.  Modern zombies are no different.  They stem from fear of the viral outbreak, the disease with no cure which just keeps spreading.

In many ways, this is what makes the zombie so terrifying.  It's certainly why I find them the scariest of the monsters.  Unlike their other Universal brethren, the zombie apocalypse is not a traditional predator.  It does not seek to feed, to defend, or to find others like itself.  Its single goal is the extermination of all other life.  Like the Borg, it seeks to assimilate everything else, until there is only the virus.  This makes it difficult to defeat, and impossible to predict.  It breaks the mold of monsters that have come before it, which I think is part of why the rage-virus has become so popular.  It's something new and terrifying, and it holds audiences spellbound.  (It's also a good platform from which to explore the darker side of humanity, and to see just how far someone desperate to survive will go; just look at The Walking Dead, where most of the conflict is between warring human factions, not humans versus zombies.  That's another kind of horror all in itself.)

I'm very interested to see how the horror genre changes as society's fears change in the future.

What are some of your favorite monster movies?  The Mummy remains one of mine!

Happy Halloween!

Behind the Scenes: Treebound and the Gnome Run

Hello all!

Today I wanted to do a special post about an event I recently participated in.  It's one that I'm very passionate about; so passionate, in fact, that I included it in Treebound.  Here's the excerpt:

Within the room Tom could see a desk liberally coated with more of Flynn's notes.  In the middle of the desk stood a computer monitor, upon which a massive number of short people with bright pink hair were inexplicably running together in a video game.

"The Gnome Run," Flynn offered by way of explanation as he settled onto an armchair across from the couch.  Seeing Tom's raised eyebrow he continued, "We raise awareness for breast cancer by running on toons with pink hair."  When Tom continued to look confused, the author laughed and raised his hands.  "Nevermind.  It's a gamer thing.  What brings you by?"

If you read my books, you probably know that Flynn is a huge geek.  He drops movie references and quotes every chance that he gets.  He's also a big fan of video games...including World of Warcraft.

The Gnome Run which Flynn is participating in is an event started by World of Warcraft players years ago.  It's also been called The Running of the Gnomes, or The Great Gnomeregan Run.  It took place on October 14th.  The event was started as a charity run to raise funds and awareness for breast cancer.  Those who choose to participate create a level 1 gnome character with bright pink hair.  As a group, all of the gnomes run across one of the continents in the game.

(For those who play WoW: The run begins in Gnomeregan.  All of the gnomes run to Ironforge, where they take the tram to Stormwind.  From there, they run through Elwynn Forest, across a river to Duskwood and Darkshire, then take the path to Stranglethorn Vale.  The run ends in Booty Bay.)

(For those who don't play WoW: The run takes about half an hour to complete.  Low level characters run through high level zones, where one hit from an enemy can kill them.  Higher level characters often take place in the run as well, protecting the low level gnomes from any dangers.  The run ends in a pirate city, where everyone gathers together to celebrate.)

The Gnome Run was a huge hit its first year, and raised a lot of money for breast cancer.  Year after year, the gaming community has continued to organize and implement the run inside World of Warcraft.  It has grown through the years, with more money being donated each time.

This year, World of Warcraft chose to officially recognize the holiday and include it as an official event in-game.  Here's a look at what it was like (complete with epic music):

This was the first year that I participated in the Gnome Run.  I logged on about four hours before the main run, and completed the course by myself.  (I had a wedding to attend, so I couldn't make the primary event.)  When I created a character, I found myself surrounded by pink-haired gnomes.  They were all waiting for the event to start.  Large groups were forming, everyone was talking, and there was a huge sense of community.  Higher level characters had created neon pink shirts and were giving them away for free, so that all those participating in the run could be really, really pink.

There were hundreds of gnomes there.  I'm sure there were more four hours later.  It's also worth noting that I was on just one realm, and that many others also had gathering of gnomes.  Tens of thousands of people participated in the event.

This is the Gnome Run which Flynn participated in.  It's also part of why I love World of Warcraft, and the gaming community, so much.

Thanks for reading!  I hope you enjoyed the inside look at Chosen of the Gods: Treebound.

The Helpful Hag

Heroes need help.  It's one of the great truths found in stories across all genres and media types.  No one can go through life alone, whether it's ordinary mundane life...or the sort of life that involves an epic quest with armies opposing you.  That help can come in many forms: a sidekick, like Batman and Robin; a raid group taking on a difficult boss in a video game; a group of friends supporting one another, like in Friends; an adorable animal companion.

Fairy tales are full of helpers such as these.  Sometimes it's a talking animal.  In other stories, it's the fairy godmother.  But another archetype appears time and time again: The Helpful Hag.

Rarely named in any stories, the Helpful Hag is most often a little old lady by the side of the road.  I've also referred to her as the Kind Crone, or the Wizened Wise Woman.  She fits into the category of the Donor, an individual who provides the protagonist with aid.  Joseph Campbell recognized the Crone when encountering the first stages of a hero's journey, when they meet with someone who provides them with help of some sort.

There are several fairy tales in which three sons all set out on the same quest.  They each, along the way, encounter an old crone begging on the side of the road.  This woman is described as wizened, ugly, a poor beggar with nothing to offer.  The first two brothers refuse to share their bread with her.  The youngest, considerably kinder than his kin, splits his meal with the hag.

This is where the hag shows her true nature.  Her begging is a test; for those who show her kindness, she provides aid.  Sometimes this is a magical item.  More frequently, her aid comes in the form of advice.

But for those who spurn her request for help...well, let's take a look at one of the more famous fairy tales to see how that turns out.

The opening scene of Disney's Beauty and the Beast shows how the prince spurned the offer of a rose from a wizened old woman.  Irked by his lack of manners, she revealed that it had been a test.  In fact, the old hag was actually a beautiful, powerful enchantress.  For his rudeness, the prince was transformed into a Beast.

So the Helpful Hag is not only a benefactor towards do-gooders in fairy tales - she is also a test, to see if a character is worthy of her help.

There are a lot of myths that could serve as the origin of the Helpful Hag character.  Let us look first at Greek mythology.  Demeter spent some time wandering the earth disguised as a mortal, while she was searching for her missing daughter.  During that time she became a nursemaid for a young boy.  Seeing that the boy and his family were good, she attempted to make the boy immortal.  Unfortunately, this involved holding him in a fire - something his parents didn't take too kindly to when they burst into the room.  Demeter is one example of a Helpful Hag.

Another can be found in the Fates - or the Norns, the Moirai, or any other name you care to call them by.  Appearing in Celtic, Norse, Greek, Roman, and many other mythologies, the Fates are three women.  One is the Maiden; one is the Mother; one is the Crone.

But another example of a Helpful Hag is not actually a wizened old woman at all...but, instead, an old man.  He frequently traveled the earth under the name of High.  While there, he would offer his aid to great heroes on quests.  This man was the Norse god Odin.

Now, Norse mythology has been the basis of inspiration for a number of authors (myself included).  One such author created a character based heavily upon Odin in his mortal disguise - someone who could aid the protagonist, but never be the main character himself.

This is all a very roundabout way to confess that yes, I am comparing Gandalf to a Helpful Hag.

Can you guys think of any story examples of the Kind Crone?  Little old women offering aid abound in stories of all sorts.  One of my absolute favorite examples is from Diana Wynn Jones' Howl's Moving Castle.  Jones recognized the archetype of the Helpful Hag and turned it onto its head.  The main character spends most of the book convinced that she can't be the main character, because she's too old to go off and have adventures - so instead, she must be the helper to everyone else.  What a surprise for her when she discovers the truth!

I'll be back next week!

The Maiden Pure

In today's post, we're going to be talking about sex.  Or, rather, the lack of it.  Well...actually, a little bit of both.  One of the most common archetypes for a female in fairy tales, mythology, and quite a few stories in general is that of the virgin.  Another term for this is the maid/maiden, though this is seen as somewhat archaic in modern vernacular.

A lot of archetypes are pretty heavily gendered.  It's common to see a man be the Prince Charming, but a female Charming makes no appearance in fairy tales.  Likewise, females are frequently laid under sleeping curses, but you'd be hard pressed to find an old story with a man succumbing to such a spell.  The virgin is no exception to this gender rule - within stories, nine times out of ten the archetypical virgin is a female.  There are several reasons for this.  Firstly, a maiden's maidenhood was seen in many cultures as a symbol of purity and innocence.  That's why bridal gowns are white, why Christ was born to a Virgin, and why unicorns are supposed to be attracted to only virgins.

A girl's virginity was (and still is, in some cultures) fiercely guarded until her wedding night, where she was expected to give her innocence to her husband.  On the flip side, a male was expected to have some sort of sexual prowess before his wedding.  Some cultures did not consider a boy a man until he had lain with a woman.  Virginity was something to be praised in women, but in men?  Well, let's just say that the creators of The 40-Year-Old Virgin recognized this archetype and made their male-led film a comedy for a reason.

These stereotypes are alive and well in fairy tales and mythology alike.  Most females in the stories are innocent, delicate creatures.  When they are strong or gifted warriors, they are portrayed as unattainable (more on that in a little bit).  The men, on the other hand, usually tend to embody machismo - another word for hypermasculinity.  (Not every hero falls into the category of the uberman.  Some are less than martially skilled, and instead succeed in their quests thanks to compassion, generosity, wits, and intellect - but this is another archetype.  There's quite a few heroes who fall under this umbrella, but far more who are strong, manly, dragon-slaying types.)  So: All of this to explain why the archetype of today's post is about female characters.

What is the role of the virgin in most fairy tales and myths?  Well, that depends.  There's really three different categories that the maiden falls into.  she can be in need of saving, an innocent figure to be protected at all costs.  She can be unattainable, someone whose goodness and virtue makes her desirable in the eyes of all, but whose vows of chastity keep her from being had.  Lastly, she can be a sacrificial virgin, whose innocence is something to be taken by force.

Frequently, more than one of these categories is at play within a story.  A very commonly used narrative involves a virgin being offered as a sacrifice to some sort of monster.  The hero must rescue her (and this rescue usually winds up with her falling in love with him).  This combines both the virgin in need of saving and the sacrificial virgin archetypes.  This combination can be traced back to Greek mythology, where Andromeda was chained to a rock and offered as a sacrifice to a sea monster.  She was rescued by the hero Perseus, who she later went on to marry.

Another frequent narrative combination is the unattainable virgin whose maidenhood is sacrificed by force.  Before we talk about the prevalence of the rape of virgins in Greek mythology, it's worth examining three of the goddesses of that pantheon.  Athena, Hestia, and Artemis were known as the Virgin Goddesses.  Each had taken a vow of virginity, and (despite the efforts of several men and gods) held true to those vows.  As I mentioned before, Athena and Artemis were both portrayed as skilled warriors - and both were unattainable to men.  The followers of Artemis were likewise expected to be unattainable, and took vows of chastity.  The penalties for breaking these vows were steep: They usually cost the lives of these women.

Unfortunately, followers of Artemis were punished for losing their maidenhood even if they were raped.  There are far too many stories of girls being stalked and taken by hunters, only for the girls to be shapeshifted into a bear, or struck down  by the gods in some other way.  There's also a fair number of stories about virgin nymphs being chased by the gods (usually Zeus, though several others were guilty of the same) or satyrs, and choosing to turn themselves into a tree for all eternity rather than lose their virginity.

(Yeah, Greek mythology can be pretty screwed up.)

(Hestia's Roman counterpart, Vespa, required her priestesses to remain virgins throughout their service to her; this was the reason behind their names, the Vestal Virgins.  If a priestess lost her virginity, she was punished by being buried alive.  It was believed that Rome itself could fall if the fire of Rome, tended to by the priestesses, went out - and that the flame could go out if a priestess forsook her vows.)

Fairy tales play upon these themes.  Use of them can be made to imply that a female is a virgin without ever saying as much.  For instance, Rapunzel being kept locked in her tower, jealously guarded and kept away from all men by a witch.  Disney's Jasmine is another example, kept locked inside her palace by the Sultan, naive and innocent to the ways of the world.  This narrative trick sets the girl up as someone to be protected, rescued, or otherwise cherished, and gets the audience rooting for them.  It also makes any man trying to force the poor innocent thing to marry him (*cough*Jafar*cough*) automatically seem villainous.

History and legends have also made use of these themes - in particular, that of vampires.  Modern stories usually overlook the virgin part, but many older vampire tales had the good ol' Count sucking on the neck of a maiden.  The vampires in The Dresden Files find that maidens make the sweetest meals.  Part of this obsession with virginity in one's meals stems from the tale of Elizabeth Bathory, a woman frequently associated with vampire stories due to her preference for bathing in the blood of virgins.  Since doing this involves the murder of something considered innocent and pure, those who bathe in virgin blood are portrayed as some of the most evil around, on par with Cruella de Vil (I'm looking at you, Evelyn Poole).  This is the same reason that Voldemort was considered so evil for killing unicorns to take their blood.

The use of the virgin archetype within modern media has drastically decreased as social standards and expectations have changed.  Modern concepts of romance, increases in female rights, and the free love period all served to make it more acceptable for women to be as sexually free as men.  With these changes came a drastic decrease in the portrayal of the majority of female protagonists being maidens.  That being said, it's still a lot more common to have a female character be a virgin than a male.  This is true in movies, tv shows, and books alike.  However, exceptions do exist.  Take Jon Snow from Game of Thrones.  One of my favorite Dresden Files characters is a macho man, boasting about his experiences with the ladies...at least, until a vampire outs him as a virgin!  Boy, talk about awkward.

However, this also means that this archetype can now be used as a trope much more frequently - by which I mean that it can be played for comedy.  I mentioned The 40-Year-Old Virgin previously, in which the virgin narrative was played for laughs.  A film released in the same year, Her Minor Thing, flipped the trope on its head by having a female and her attempt at losing her virginity be the main plot point.  It can also be used for a plot twist - Buffy and Angel consummating their relationship, and the loss of her virginity leading to the resurgence of Angel's dark side, is a great example of this.

But perhaps my favorite version of the virgin narrative being played as a trope occurred in a movie I watched last night (which, I'll admit, is the reason I'm doing this post today).  Spoiler warning!  In Cast a Deadly Spell, a girl's virginity is fiercely guarded by her father, despite the best efforts of her libido.  It is eventually revealed that it hasn't been fatherly affection guiding his actions; instead, he wants to use her as a virgin sacrifice to usher in the Old Gods and allow all manner of Lovecraftian horrors to devour the world.

The girl is bound, gagged, and offered up to summon the Old Gods.  Luckily for the world, the girl had surrendered her virginity hours earlier to an attractive police officer.  Displeased by the father's attempt to pass the sacrifice off as a maiden, the Old Gods devour him instead and retreat, leaving the world safe.  Talk about flipping the narrative on its head!

What examples can you guys think of in modern stories?