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December 2013 Discussion Post: Making Monsters



Estimated reading time — < 1 minute

This month’s discussion post was suggested by YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE USERNAME!

Humans have been making monsters seemingly from the dawn of our species. Every culture has their own army of bump-in-the-night creepies, terrifying mythological beasts, and fearsome folk tales. Some are part of oral history and creation legends, others exist to relay morals or lessions, while some exist solely because people just love a good scare.

Obviously, here at Creepypasta, we tend to be primarily motivated by the latter. So let’s talk about the process of making monsters!

What do you think makes a good monster? Are there any particular traits that make one monster creep you out more than others? Why do you believe that some Creepypasta creatures, like Slenderman or The Rake, have become so popular?

Do you have any ideas for a new type of creepy beast? Feel free to leave ideas in the comments of this post; however, as always, do not post any WIPs or pastas in the comments. If you see someone with a concept that inspires you, please get their permission to use their idea – or, if they’re willing, exchange emails and collaborate off-site. Let’s get some fresh and new Creepypasta beings created here, guys!

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To aid in the discussion and possibly inspire some of you, here are some links:
Monster-related wiki pages compiled by kingapathy
Obakemono Project
Encyclopedia Mythallica
Types of Faeries
God Checker
Native American Monsters of Myth and Legend
Demonicpedia: The Online Demon Encyclopedia
Mythical Creatures List
Legendary Monsters of Africa
Alien Index

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Obviously, that’s just a small sampler – feel free to link other sites that you think would be relevant and interesting to this discussion!

Have fun, and don’t let the monsters get you…

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127 thoughts on “December 2013 Discussion Post: Making Monsters”

  1. I myself find it’s really hard to create something truly terrifying, it’s really hard to make something that applies to everyone’s (if not just a large number of) fears. I submitted a creepypasta with my own OC that was personally terrifying to me, but as for someone else, I have no sure clue.

  2. slenderman's proxy

    i think the most ideal type are supernatural beings,
    should have
    1) an upside down face
    2) 6 inch long nails
    3) papery skin
    4) long hands that are twice as long as their legs
    5) skinny
    6) no eyes
    7) crouching
    7) can jump really high (all you “running up the stairs so i can be safe people” u gonna have a bad time)
    —————-thats it———————–

  3. Also ask about using this one: An alien from the planet Uranus, it has silvery skin and can shape-shift, it constantly stalks people. It is kind of like a serial killer, but it kills people and makes it look like they disappeared. If you want to use this, reply saying so, and I’ll give you permission. But I want you to at least mention me in the credits.

  4. Here: The blood worms. Worms that live like parasites, and it spreads fast. They burrow into the brain, taking contal, and altering the body, Hitler made the worms by combination of D.N.A. if you want to use this, I’ll give you permission! But I want you to reply first then I’ll say yes or no. Just mention me in the credits, and this is all yours!

  5. To me, the scariest things aren’t always the monsters that are out to get us. For me the scariest monsters are the ones that lurk inside us. In other words, personifications of our worst nightmares and/ or our darkest secrets. I don’t know about anyone else, but if I saw my worst nightmare personified, I would definitely sleep with the light on. What would make this kind of monster so scary is that it would be different for everyone, so no one would see quite the same thing. There would also be billions of these things around because each person would have their own shadow sibling, as I call them. And they wouldn’t even be out to kill us. They would just follow us around day in and day out and watch us while we sleep.

    If this seems confusing, I’ll give an example: Say someone’s worst fear is a crazier, darker version of themselves (it’s random, I know, but it’s my worst fear and it’s the best way I can think to explain my idea). That person’s shadow sibling would be an exact copy of them, but with gray skin, crazier hair, different color eyes, and sharp teeth. Now that I think about it, everyone’s shadow sibling would be like that, with variations depending on that particular person’s fears. They would also pick up that person’s personality traits too. Sorry if this is still confusing, I don’t know how else to explain my idea. Also, sorry if this is long. I tend to talk a lot when I get excited about one of my ideas or when I talk about my ideas in general.

  6. I believe monster such as Slenderman,Ben,Smile would be a good example.Because to be a scary monster it doesn’t have to involved too much killing but rather making the thing that are peaceful became twisted,full of madness thats what make it scary.A thing that can cause huge hysteria and phobia thats lead people to madness.So in the end killing doesn’t truly make you scary but able to plant fear and slowly drive them to madness from fear is truly scary…

  7. and i love ur idea for a monster but it reminds me of an enderman from minecraft :/ mayber diferent appearance, there are to man like tht alredy, but the personality is perfect :D

  8. Okay, I have a couple ideas for monsters. One is a tall thin solid black humanoid, so black it looks more like empty space. Burning lavender or blue eyes, and no other facial features. I also want to diverge from the gaunt look and instead a thin lithe figure almost like a jungle cat. Impossibly fast, but not teleporting. I also don’t want it to seem malicious, more innocent, and kills the same reason a toddler might break his toys, out of sick curiosity. what do you guys think?

  9. I think masks and/or no face makes a monster scary because they hav hidden intentions. Creepy things usually hav something incommen with what it should be, but slightly off, like bigger eyes, abnormally large teeth, longs fingers, no eyes, eyes without pupils etc. a teddy bear with a full set of human teeth is also scary, because everyone knows that teddys dont hav teath. Theres a great video by vsause on this called what makes things creepy (im pretty sure) .

  10. I remember when i was little that my mother used to say “don’t do that or Humm-humm will come and get you!” when she was angry and i had done something bad. Nowadays i know what she meant was “annars kommer fan och hämtar hem dig!” Which is Swedish for “or the devil will come and get you!” and she just censored “fan” because it is a swear word in swedish.

    But when i was little, i was more afraid of Humm-humm than the devil himself. Why? Because i knew what the devil was. I knew what he looked like, i knew his motives (which seems to be to just being a collosal jerk) and so on. I knew the Devil wasn’t gonna walk into our house and take me away.

    But Humm-humm? I had no idea who or what he/she/it was. All i knew was that Humm-humm would come and take me away if i missbehaved. Needless to say, it scared me pretty good.

    Heh kind of a funny side note, Humm-humm still strikes fear into the heart of young people here in Sweden. You see, my mom is a teacher and at one point an young student (around 6-7) had been acting up all day until mom finally said the magic words: “You stop this right now or Humm-humm will come and get you!” and the student started to cry because he was so scared about this unknown evil entity that would take him away.

    So yeah, i am not sure where i was going with that last part. But i guess it goes to show. The less you know about an monster, the better. Because if all you know is that it is evil and it means you harm then all you got left is your darkest fears to fill in the gaps..

  11. What I think makes something scary is the feeling of helplessness that it creates. For me the moment something becomes tangible is the moment it becomes less scary, something you can take on if pushed to the point where it’s needed.
    Ofcourse looks matter as well, a creature or object must look the part. Though looking the part varies, something can look like a ghost and be scary because it’s a freaking ghost! But a cute object in a place where it doesn’t belong and ofcourse causing problems is scary as well.(Think raggedy Ann doll in The Conjuring, though that version was made a lot scarier than an actual raggedy Ann.) It depends on the setting wether something is out of place.

    So horror for me is helplessness, actually the woman holding an orange is a good example of having something that just doesn’t belong and you can’t do anything about it. The thought scares the shit out of me.

  12. There and are plenty of interesting and horrifying monsters that don’t exist yet; the trick to coming up with them is identifying what makes things scary.

    The human brain’s active functions, more than anything else, are dedicated to various forms of pattern recognition. This allows for things like problem-solving and critical thinking. The brain is pleased when something fits an expected pattern (like a character on TV saying their famous catchphrase), but has some interesting reactions to things not matching a pattern. This is the basis for almost all humor, as seen in the classic anti-joke: why did the chicken cross the road? If you had never heard the joke before, it would seem like a fairly typical setup, so you’re expecting there to be a funny reason for the chicken to cross. When you hear the answer, that it just wanted to reach the other side, that doesn’t fit the pattern you’re expecting, thus making it funny. The punchline to this joke has become so well-known that these days it’s usually subverted; the expected answer is that it wanted to get to the other side, so when someone comes up with a clever reason, that’s funny as well.

    The same is true for things that we find creepy. Subversions of ordinary things can be unsettling. Anyone who’s seen Steven Moffat’s take on Doctor Who will know what I mean by this, as such things are common in the series. Something as simple as a human without a mouth, or eyes of the wrong size, can become a creepy monster. Slender Man is a good example of this: he has a human shape, even wearing clothing, but has strangely elongated limbs and no face. While Slender Man doesn’t seem very scary these days, mostly thanks to over-exposure, he has all the makings of a scary monster. Good subversions of expectation would be something that seems human or otherwise familiar from afar, but somehow wrong up close. A classic Japanese monster or cryptid is the Jinmenken, a dog with the face of a man.

    A monster also needs motives and actions. While while death is a major part of horror fiction, nobody is going to be scared by a monster that JUST wants to kill you; almost every creature on the planet is willing to kill for its own benefit. Your monster can’t have the save motive as a scorpion, because it can be difficult to design something scarier than a scorpion. It’s a fast-moving tank with lobster claws and a poison needle on its tail. What you need to do is make your monster’s actions mysterious, but give enough hints to make the reader afraid of what its motivation might be.

    Take the xenomorphs from the Alien series of movies. They’re fairly analogous to, and slightly resemble, scorpions. They have vaguely human bodies covered in a black exoskeleton, elongated eyeless heads, and highly corrosive blood. They’re pretty good on the design front, but as motivation goes, they’re pretty boring; they just want to kill. They’re still scorpions. What makes them good monsters, however, is where they come from.

    The xenomorph life cycle starts with egg-like pods laid by a queen. When a creature gets close to one of these pods, they will open and release the creature inside. The creature resembles a scorpion more than any other creature that comes to mind, but they’re clearly very different. A subversion of the scorpion design. They have an internal bone structure and are fleshy on the outside, making them look like Thing from The Addams Family if he were thought up by H.P. Lovecraft. The creatures are commonly referred to as facehuggers, because once they hatch, they attach themselves to the nearest host and implant an embryo inside of it. This kind of violation is what makes them the most disturbing. The embryo then uses the host’s DNA as a basis for its own development, so that it will be well-suited for whatever environment the host calls home. When it has grown enough, it will kill its host by bursting through its chest or abdomen, a shrieking miniature form of the adult xenomorph, and continues to grow from there. Even though the adults’ only motivations and actions relate to killing, by the time you see them you’ve already found yourself creeped out by their other forms, and are ready for some bodies to start dropping. This exact scenario wouldn’t translate as well to creepypasta, which tend to have a much lower body count, but imagine if the adult xenomorph continued to be mysterious.

    The final thing I would like to mention is theming. Some of my personal favorite creepypastas don’t really have a monster that’s explained at all, but rely on psychology and strange phenomena. There’s one I don’t recall the title of in which the protagonist spends so much time isolated in a basement apartment that he becomes convinced that something terrible has happened to the world, that the people have been replaced by an unknown force for an unknown reason, and he’s the last one left. It seems like it could be possible, as outsiders only seem to have information that they should know after he’s given it to them, but at the same time, it’s entirely plausible that he’s just overtaken by uncertainty. There’s also the famous “Russian sleep experiment” pasta. Neither of these really feature monsters, and would have been disappointing if they threw one in at the last minute. The key to a good pasta is choosing a theme, and sticking to it.

  13. I think that stuffed animals make really good monsters. You just get the chills when you look at them, and even though as a child you grew up with them, it still seems that they have this dangerous personality to them and and like they can wake up.

    Also, another good monster is that it makes you feel like it could actually happen, or it’s real. I’m not talking like The Rake, I know that it could not possibly happen. But what really scares me it the possibility that it could happen.

    Hope I helped!

  14. When making a “monster” one doesn’t have to describe them as the gruesome, grotesque being who is disfigured in every imaginable way. When I write stories, sure I sometimes make the stereotypical monster, but not all the time. To me, what would make a great monster is someone/something that knows how to play off one’s fears and weaknesses. It should to be able to torment one’s life by the actions it does. (Not referring to the typical killing/kidnapping of friends or family members.) When I saw it should be able to torment their lives, I mean like everywhere they go, they can’t help but to be on the lookout for this being. That every night they dream of the being harassing them, but never killing them.

    As I said, to me, that is what makes a great monster. One that plays off your tiniest fears.

  15. i always thought that some really scary ones are the ones who either are psycotic in the things they do, or take simple things like teaching morals to a psycotic extreme that both fills you with fear, and disgust of what they do to show that moral. thats when you add those into something that you can learn at most a little about but yet is still so unknown and mysterious that you neither try to or can know anything more about them. aka, the fear of the unkown.

  16. I think what makes monsters creepy is subtlety. When something seems ALMOST human, but there’s something not quite right about it. And also, it has to be evil, of course. Like, “Oh hey look, it’s my dad.” Then you get a bit closer and think, “Oh, I don’t remember my dad’s eyes being quite that wide… also, did his smile ever look that long? He’s got a slight limp in his run too. Wait, was my dad ever that fast?” Then boom, creepy almost-dad kills you. For a monster, I dunno…

    How about an aquatic monster? Not enough of those. Like a monster that can show up in any body of water even if said body of water looks to small to house the monster. And it could be like, Thin and wiry, because apparently that’s scary to the masses, but it’ll be covered in black fish scales the shine like metal, and has giant feet that look like moss, yet are surprisingly strong, as well as mossy hands. Then of course it would need an emaciated torso where you can see it’s rib cage protruding ’cause it’s so skinny, and it would have veins that stick out and pulse unevenly, as if it had multiple hearts that would pump for each vein. It would need a creepy face, something along the lines of a Buddah (fat face with closed eyes and mouth, smiling happily)yet that’s just a decoy face and it’s real mouth is in it’s neck, so when it eats little kids or whatevs, it throws it’s head back, which mostly detaches as if it were nearly beheaded, and has rows of razor sharp teeth in the neck that can shoot out a good ten inches from it’s body, like those creepy goblin sharks. Oh, also, since it has a decoy head, the eyes would need to be located elsewhere, so how about it’s eyes are housed in it’s shoulders, which are transparent from the inside, like those 2-way mirrors, and they can pivot and rotate for 360 degrees of motion.

    Not sure what kinda powers it would have. Maybe, if it touches you with it’s mossy appendages then it’ll secret an unnoticeable liquid that you’ll absorb and slowly it can take over your bodily control. Or the liquid will slowly liquefy your bones, to make it easy for it to slurp you down. Or drink your insides. Or something cooler, I dunno. I’m no good at making up monster off the top of my head.

  17. Hey, derp how about for the next discussion post it be “Favorite horror literature or horror books outside of creepypasta.”

  18. I would have to say that what makes a monster creepy is the subtle things. Maybe a few disfigurations, oddly shaped body parts, et cetera. Or maybe nothing at all, just what the monster, or person, depending on whatever the story may be, has done or may do. If you make a monster like this; BLOOD OOZED FROM EVERYWHERE ON ITS BODY. ITS EYES WERE BLOOD RED AND ITS TEETH WERE RAZOR SHARP. IT ALSO HAD CLAWS THAT WERE SUPER SHARP AND BLAHBLAHBLAH, then I won’t be creeped out in the slightest. That’s just what you call ‘overdoing it.’ And, like a few people that already commented, the mystery about the monster would add the creepy effect as well. The unknown is always unsettling.

  19. creepypasta critic

    I have examined all of these links and have found 5 things in common with all of them. I am going to use slenderman inthis example because he is a perfect example of these traits:

    1. *Mystery* people may find a creature scary if little is known about it.If the human brain does not realize what they are seeing or feeling, that topic may be found scary.Slender is little known and because of that the human he is stalking becomes frightened.

    2. *Abnormal body parts* When a human sees something different instead of the norm, they will output feelings of fear, curiosity, or both. Slender has no face, abnormal height, and tentacles. This is obviosly not normal for a human to have, so the brain detects it as a threat.To me, I think this is the most important trait for the scary factor of a monster.

    3. *Uses fear,beauty,temptation,curiosity,or greed against victim* When a monster is horribly disfigured or stunningly beautiful, it may be using the victim’s emotions against them. As you know, the human brain uses emotion to tell you what to do. Like if you have fear, your brain is telling you that there is danger. If you are in love, you are telling yourself that the object of appeal is good for you and to approch it. For hungry,you are saying you need food. You can see now that if the monster is scary, it is disoriantating you so they can kill you easier. If the monster is stunning, it is trying to lure you closer so it also can kill you easier. Slenderman gives makes his victims parinoid so they are disoriented and can not fight back.

    4. *silent but deadly* The creature is silent, or may not interact with you at all but stay close by, but a human can tell that it is deadly and dangerous. Slender watches his victims for a long time and does nothing but still puts out the message that he should not be messed with.

    5. *scientificly impossible traits* The monster may have traits that are unexplained. As I discussed earlier, unknown things seem scary to the brain. For slenderman these things are telekinesis, stretching powers, and teleporting. Humans have no explination for how he does this so they fear him.

    I think these traits are most important if you want the monster to be feared or/and very popular. I hope my opinion helped anybody out there.

  20. I believe that to make a monster creepy, it should have a background. Where it had emotions and where it loved. Like with Jeff The Killer, the story of how he became a ruthless, phsycotic killer, it just chills you to he bone, because going crazy like that can happen. I’m sure it has. Also, it helps the story if you show how motivated they are to doing the terrible things they’re doing. Like in the “Beware Of Those Who Would Do You Harm Series”. Jeff was falling in love with Wendy and he just backed off because she was changing him. He worked so hard to just stay how he was. The lack of morals, and pure evil of what they do, is what makes a monster creepy. It IS better to be creepy than to be scary. Scary never stays, you jump and that’s it. Creepy keeps you up at night, creepy makes you paranoid and it makes your adrenaline pump, and that is what scary stories are all about. Right?

  21. I personally think that the best monster is the creature that takes something normal and turns it into something you can’t stand, like when Jeff the Killer took a 13 year old boy and turned him into a blood-thirsty psychopath or when Laughing Jack turned an imaginary friend into a real life evil. When someone takes something that you’re comfortable with and executes the story portraying this comfort doing something that it shouldn’t(and especially if this thing is real/common like a doll, clown, or store clerk) it makes it a lot deeper because not only does the reader feel fear, it feels betrayal from trusting something like that.

  22. Humans are the monsters Humans make. One of the scariest pastas I have ever read came from “creepy pasta penpal” which is a series of stories following the events of a person’s life in twined with a man that stalked him all of his life.
    Apart from that, it should be human nature at its worst. The reason you lock your door, check every room in your house, and in the closet before you go to bed is to make sure the true monster is not in your home. Another person.

    1. creepypasta critic

      I think your opinion is very true and would like to add on to it if you dont mind. As you explained the door-locking part, it demonstrated how humans have a “safety area”. This area would be our own homes. Once an object of danger (like a monster) is in your home, your “safety area” is violated and you feel in danger and in a panic. You want to protect this area as much as possible. But when you are going to sleep, you are vurnable to any harm in this world, so you lock your doors,close windows, etc.

  23. I feel like I have to talk about the worst monster I have have ever read about. Jeff the killer. First his motivation. He wants to kill people because… I don’t know. He just which makes his chacter less dimensional sense he has no motivation.

    Second, his appearance ugh, I guess it’s scary but, if you are like me a paranoid crazy guy, you have pocket sand.(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QLpUq__iQqw) So the fact he doesn’t have eyelids would mean he would have slowly died after pocket sand to the face.(He would have died before then.) He is also a fucking kid. A kid!

    I guess many could fight off a stupid kid Even if he had a knife that he never had any practice with. Not even counting the fact he uses a kitchen knife. A kitchen knife has no hilt which means he would have cut his hand up bad trying to use it as a weapon.

    Many know I hate this pasta and chacter with a burning hatred. He is just a bad monster.

  24. I have one, although it sounds terrible. How about a being that Looks very grotesque but knows nothing, But learns/copies from each individual( human / animal ). So it just stares at you until you make a move. So like if you move, it moves towards you with the same movement. The being has to be described as if it’s the worst thing they’ve ever saw. To sum it up It’s something that does nothing but stares at you unless you make a move and it copies it plus it looks horrifying so that it kills you with fear but you need to stay alive so you just stare. – IM not good at explaining, especially at this language (English is not my first) but yeah pls feedback – Also try t give me a name if anyone will even read this

  25. I think the scariest monsters are the ones that we aren’t able to comprehend. Slenderman and most of the Lovecraftian monsters are so terrifying because they’re beyond our comprehension and defy the laws of physics and reality. That’s not the only element that makes them and other creations scary, but that’s one of, if not the, most important elements, at least in my opinion.

  26. Well, personally I like ‘monsters’ with a back story. But the best way to catch the attention of readers are DETAILS. Exaggerated humanesqe features are a key to a successful monster. These features include…
    -Long limbs
    -A ‘different’ skin tone
    -A hunched back
    -Big, single-colored eyes
    -Size, tiny or tall
    -An ability (Teleportation, murder, etc..)
    Another good way to add to your monster would be the setting.
    In ‘Slenderman’ the monster (Slenderman) is tall, faceless, long-limbed, can teleport, and is in a CREEPY FOREST.
    Forests and ghost towns are an ideal place to set up your monster’s ambience.
    (tl;dr, lol)

  27. There was this one Greek Myth, A creature/species that loves to trick and torment humans/mortals. If only I can remember…Well I love the fact that Jeff The Killer snapped which can happen to us. That’s what I love in a monster. (Jeff isn’t a monster :3) It freaks people out knowing that we can just turn into that freaky monster or something. It should be able to morph and trick people with his looks or her beauty. That’s when they strike and kill that person. Obviously, they should be stealthy and creepy and/or hard to trick. Maybe they can have powers such as teleportation and telempathy (I spelled that wrong >.<) Sometimes demons and vampires have marks and tattoos on their face or body. It should have that as well. Also, some myths have some kind of addition like wings, claws, tail, another head 0_0. Maybe it should have another head and tail/wings. Something to scare the bajeezus out of mortals ^.^

    If it is a ugly monster we are talking about, I don't have alot. Maybe a troll or something like a Empusa. It shouldn't be pretty XD REALLY creepy and a killing machine with no soft spot for anything. NOOOOOO MERCY!!! XD Well that's all my ideas ;3

  28. Well Ok I’ve been wanting to say this for a while but the thing I feel that scares me is a monster with huge abnormal body movement via crawling on all fours specially human variety. Another I notice that I am afraid of is this’ ticking’ gesture like they live in another time dimension (ex: the grudge crawling down the stairs and in gothika the girl passing non chalantly in a hallway. ) with facial expression it varies but I get dumb struck when certain face structures are absent (guy with no eyes in pan’s labyrinth) or no nose. If nothing is missing in the face then it’s the sunken look on the eyes. Oh god specifically sunken lips (I’d you see a horses’ mouth while it’s enduring famine. You can see is teeth and mollers) that expression scares the hell outta me because that looks like a smile. (Jeff the killer) put that on little girls with pig tails and you have lost me

  29. The worst monsters are the monsters who are so entirely possible, because the seed that spawns them lives inside of every single mind of every single human on the planet. Just the fact that someone could think up something and use it for the purpose of scaring the sh*t out of someone else is frightening enough.

  30. The monster that is most terrifying is the one you never see. It’s the monster that you hear, that you can feel watching you, and leaves scratches on your walls while you sleep so you know it was there and it can reach you, but there is nothing you can do about it. For example, horror classic “The Thing”. Up until the very end, the viewer never sees more than a clawed hand, and as such the viewer is terrified. However, once the appearance of the monster is revealed the mystery is lost and fear is easily overcome. The more modern remake of “The Thing” also plays upon mystery. It’s monster is able to take the form of any other character, and as a result the villian could be anyone in any place at any time.
    When the visualization of the monster, sometimes even the deeds employed by the villian if it is physically assaulting other characters, is left entirely up to the interpretation of the reader/viewer then fear can take on a whole new level. Fear is subjective. What I might call truly nightmarish, you could find bland and amusing. As a result, the only way to guarantee a rattled audience is to use mystery to your advantage.

  31. For me sound of giggling girls is so creepy so i tought that this moster could be like little girl that appears in house arround 4am. In your sleep you can hear giggling and when you open your eyes windows are openend,so are doors. You stand up to close them and then she appears. Little girl (6year old) in black dress with hair over her face. Blood is driping off her. She screams and you notice it was “only a dream”. You wake up thinking it’s finaly over and notice her sitting in corner saying “i was waiting for you”.

  32. I see a ton of stories where the monster is infallibly powerful. I already know where those stories are going; the monster is going to win. Great monsters (or villains in general) are ones that can create a situation for the characters and the reader where hope exits. Hope for escape, survival, victory, etc. The character doesn’t need to live, but there has to be the chance there to keep that tension in the story alive. I love stories where it gives the reader hope, then takes it away, gives it back, takes it away again, then BAM, conclusion. A great example of this is the scene from The Shining where Danny tries getting away from the woman in the bathtub. It looks like he might get away from her when he gets to the door, but then finds it to be locked. Great monsters need to have a bit of human in them to create that sense of hope, just as great human characters need a bit of monster in them to make them extraordinary.

  33. The definition as stated by websters dictionary and half edited by me: A monster is a thing either made of parts of seperate beings or a thing that is “soulless”. Also I believe monster are only living in our minds. A being without life or entity that feeds and grows off our fear. That my friends, is a monster.

  34. The Transformatives
    Two humanoids painted black and white that generally live in crowded neighborhoods and can shapeshift into figures. They are known to kill whole groups of townspeople,without being detected.. and if they are.. death will be swift.

  35. What makes something monstrous? Or turns something (or someone) normal into a monster?

    For me, physical abnormalities are just an unfortunate act of nature/genetics. Something or someone who is deformed will arouse pity in me, rather than fear … Unless the mind has also been deformed or stripped away.

    To be truly frightening, a monster must mean to harm. Either because they don’t care (the animal instinct to hunt and feed, for example) or they actively want to hurt (Jack the Ripper).

    I find monsters that are intelligent and sadistic to be the most frightening. If there is also an element of the supernatural or occult, then they will terrify me. Then they are terribly hard to out think, and impossible to elude. They toy with you, like a cat with a mouse, to weaken you, to hurt you as much as possible, to make you afraid and keep you that way.

    Things glimpsed from the corner of the eye, the window open that was locked earlier, the sound in the basement that is clearly not normal.

    The loss of control over one’s life, one’s home, one’s fate is horrible. Terrifying. Where can you possibly hide? How can you possibly defend yourself – or even worse, defend those you love?

    Humans – even strong or deformed or psychotic – can be fought. They bleed, they die, if enough damage can be done to them. But something “other” … Oh, that’s where the chill of doom sets in, isn’t it?

  36. Well, monsters in my book doesn’t have to be scary all the time, it can be scary when it feels like it, but can also look as a calm and wise creature.
    But fear is a funny thing, once you know what a monster is capable of, you will feel fear toward that monster, because you know fully well what it can do, and with that fear you learn ways to prevent it from doing what it can do.
    I come from Indonesia and here, we also have legends and folklores that tells about our own unique horrors.
    A spirit in form of a girl with long hair and white gown with a gaping bleeding hole at the back, that could fly and have a distinct terrifying moan called “kuntil anak”
    A spirit with human form but with hairs growing all over it’s body, with a reddish black skin, that likes to seduce and tease females and kids called “genderuwa”
    And many many more, it is distinctly different from western monsters and spirits. What makes it scary is, that it is so popular and often seen that most people here can recount their own experience in encountering them, most have the same descriptions, some just totally different, and the details is criss-crossing with each other that the facts becomes so tainted that you just don’t know what’s right and what’s not.
    More over if every single person you meet on the streets believe that it exists, then it has no choice but to exist, as simple as that, and since all the stories is so various that you just don’t know what it is capable of, and thus it becomes a mystery.

  37. thehappyhandgrenade

    I believe, above all, is that the monster should be humanoid, along with some monstrous features. Think about it: If Slenderman didn’t have tentacles, and couldn’t stretch his limbs, he probably wouldn’t have been very scary at all. In contrast to this, I also believe that “beastly” type monsters (the rake, smile dog, etc, etc) work because of the primal fear of things that are bigger and stronger than us.

  38. The most terrifying creatures are the ones that aren’t really there, in my opinion. It’s creepy to think your mind can turn against itself so easily…

  39. I think that it should be something that picks away at a mans sanity. the monster just makes the man go into paranoia and soon goes mad losing his job wife kids family and friends everything then it confronts him and he will see the monster then hastily kill himself. but the monster will never be revealed leaving discussions open and the ability for the mind to wander.

  40. I have a monster called the hooded man who wears a hood and has slits for a mouth and wears a hood and trench coat.
    And what makes a monster creepy to me is almost being human but yet something about it isn’t human like no face or longer arms that reach to the ground and that’s probably why slendy and the rake are so popular
    Because they are almost human

  41. I feel what makes things like Slender and Jeff the Killer so popular is that they are so close to be being human. The fact that someone could actually turn into Jeff is terrifying because, even if it’s often only sub-consciously, it makes you realise that the potential lies in all of us to turn into monsters. As a side note, Vsauce on youtube has a very interesting video on why we find things creepy – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PEikGKDVsCc – I highly recommend watching it.

  42. A monster can only truly be a monster if u r inevitably drawn to it n bonds with it. It is terrifying but u have no choice and have to allow it to commit its atrocities. Im a property agent and i have tried to sell a house time n time again even though horrifying things happens to my buyers everytime.

  43. As mentioned the unknown feeds on our conscience that constantly needs that re-assurance to settle conflicting thoughts. The more we know simply makes us secure and safe. However, when thrown into alternately depicted scenes or distorted realities, we panick. The reason I am talking about scenery in a monster creepy pasta thread is because the monsters/creatures use these to their advantage when feeding on their victims fear and insecurity. In their specific realm they rule, and the human conscience is completely vulnerable to its whim. Say in the old instance where a guy walks into an old house, hears a noise and goes to investigate (this is where that insecurity plays in, makes him want to check EVERY corner for that re-assurance) and eventually falls victim to the creatures trap. In SH, (my personal favorite survival horror) nightmare worlds render the maps useless and makes me sort of scared sh*t-less..lol, considering I have to wade my way through all of the tendrils of blood and puss writhing on the floors and walls. While the enveloping darkness creates that sense of claustrophobia we all know. So scenes play a Major Role. As for creatures, the silent are creepy, but the most terrifying are the ones without the ability to communicate. Without eyes there is no gaze to meet, without a mouth there is no sound to utter, no face to judge before the inexplicable horror consumes or destroys you. Basically, anything without a face, or most things with a mask. Now not in the sense of stupidly unsettling Easter bunny masks, but demonic unnerving and twisted images that can only be contorted in one’s worst nightmare…

  44. I agree that the traits of a monster contribute much to the scare factor, but the real scare that shakes your soul and makes you question the real and unreal is the writers skill. Slenderman would not have become as famous as he did if his original story did not create this beast with so much plausibility. If you feel a creature standing behind you after reading a pasta, then the monster was a great creation….

    Not a piece of crap

  45. The things that really creep me out are creatures with malicious intent, and have no sense of emotion or concern with you or any other person.

    Monsters that manipulate you or others to get to you, like pretending to be a loved one or friend, just to lure you to your death, or psychotic killers who’s only goal is to slice you to pieces.

    Things like this really get me, because it seem as though their only reason behind what they’re doing is to add another victim to the body count. They have no emotional reason, nor any emotion to begin with, and are very clever, often outsmarting their victims at almost every turn.

    These qualities make them menacing, because it would be nearly impossible to track them or maybe even kill them. There is nothing scarier that something you can’t defend yourself from, and that is why I think these qualities will make your monsters the creepiest of them all.

  46. @draconius

    that would be a really good idea for a monster, you should, in all honesty, write aa creepypasta based around that monster.

  47. I believe that a good monster ,or general antagonist, is best when it remains an enigma. That gives the reader a chance to fill in the blanks or give there opinion on the monster or antagonist’s back story. Many characters, like the Joker, are so entertaining to read or watch because you don’t know where they came from or why they do what they do. Which brings me to my other argument. I thought the Jeff the Killer picture was terrifying and actually gave me chills. So when I heard they made a creepy pasta about him I got excited. I didn’t care for the story at all. It was unrealistic and went WAY over the top for my taste. Yet the problem for me was what the story started which absolutely ruined it for me. They took a great opportunity and butchered it. So basically what I am trying to say is the best monster are the unexplainable monsters.

  48. Any unknown shadowy creature that acts malevolent towards you is usually always perceived as creepy. Also, anything with human traits that isn’t human is creepy. Deformities are usually perceived as freakish because they’re abnormal. In regards to the popularity of Slenderman and Jeff, it may be because of how mysterious they are. As humans, we love mystery and solving it is just one thing we can’t resist. An idea for a creepy beast that I have is a shadow being. He’s kind of like an entity of darkness. He is the shadow of a hunchback man holding the shadow of a knife. The knife’s shadow drips blood. What he does is he destroys your shadow and soul and uses your body for his purposes.

  49. The thing that creeps me out is when people are upside down and do that crabwalk bs. Any thing that moves like that makes me look away and creeps me out. Also those things from Tool’s schism video that are walking on all fours and swinging their heads back and forth.

  50. What makes a monster a monster for me personally is leaving the make-up of the monster to the reader, of course, you should always provide vague details, but leave the majority of it to the reader’s imagination.

    Using this method of description leaves the readers own imagination turn on the reader. A person always has something they fear, even if they don’t know it. This method makes the reader imagine the monster based around the thing they fear, thus making the monster far creepier.

    -Herobrine

    Always watching…

  51. Aw man please bring the mobile theme back i cant scroll down for eterneties :((( is it just me or does it keep appearing and disappearing?

    1. The recent upgrade for the mobile plugin we use totally screwed things up – it’s completely broken at the moment, I’m waiting on the company who makes the plugin to reply to my ticket.

      Strangely, it’s working fine on Crappypasta.

  52. majorian:
    In my opinion, what makes a monster or creature creepy is the mystery. I explain: the less you know about a creature the more creepy it is.When the mind is unaware of something it tends to either make-up subconsciously the details or to surpass them and leave a certain feeling behind (as a flag to say “this is good”or “this is bad”). Because of the instict of survival, if the mind does the first thing which is to make up details for a creature it makes them dark, creepy and scary so that you wil be alarmed in case the thing that you are making up details for is a potentional danger. For the same reason, if the mind does the second thing, it will leave behind a feeling of danger and scare so that again you will be alarmed just in case the creature is dangerous. You can easily test this by imagining one of your favourite beast’s every day routine. It doesn’t have to be comical, any routine will do the trick. Suddenly it appears less creepy cause now you know. The same rule applies to dreams too. Nightmares are scary because you don’t know a thing about them apart from what you see. Even when they take place somewhere you are familiar with, the place is somehow distorted without you knowing why. Nightmares present an alternate reality without a logical explanation which makes the mind think it went crazy and it reboots back to primal instincts.

    That is why the Slender Man was so successful, because no one knows what it is or what it does to its victims when it catches them.
    Unfortunately, people have tried to rationalise it, and make it out to be a “hitman” kind of entity, that is why there are so many sh** speculations that destroyed the Mythos.

  53. I think the scariest monsters are the ones that are completely and utterly inescapable. Monsters that cannot be fought, cannot be destroyed, and cannot be escaped are the ones that make my imagination feel the most trapped by a story or circumstance. The helplessness and inability to do anything is so very sad, and against the way we(I?) think.
    You think running away might help(Slender) but it wont.
    You think spreading the word might help(Smiledog) but it wont.
    You think hiding might help (Psychosis) but nope.

    There it is, slowly pushing its jaws around you until you are just too tired to fight it anymore. At first you have some semblance of hope that you may escape your current predicament. But after your first unsuccessful escape, you realize maybe the world isn’t a novel and maybe you are just supposed to end here. Eventually You stop, and the monster is still watching you. probably laughing at your pathetic attempts to leave.
    But you can’t win. You can’t go anywhere. The darkness is engulfing you, but so slowly that you barely notice you are gone before you give in to your basest instinct, to give up.
    And after it’s all over, after the monster has had it’s way with your soul, you get back into your car. You smile at your wife. and you pray that this was the last time you spend the weekend at your Mother-in-law’s house.

    p.s. But it isn’t.

  54. For me, monsters that are very humanlike are the creepiest. There is something incredibly creepy about a monster that seems realistic, especially because real monsters are inside of us.

  55. Children. Child monsters always scare me the most. I cant stand the innocence of them, wondering aloud why you don’t love them anymore, or persisting that you find them. Amnesia: A machine for pigs is a perfect example. Creepy little kids, will always get me.

  56. I’d like to see a story about Krampus, the devil of Christmas. Especially around this time. You know, the creepy devil you’ve never heard of? He takes children who are bad and takes them to his evil lair.

  57. I think that what makes a Creepypasta creepy is when it has a trait that makes you keep from doing something that is part of life, like Jeff the Killer. After I read that, I stayed awake at night staring at the window non-stop for the next week or so.

  58. Alfred Frederick Dinglebottom:
    TA283
    One of the greatest annoyances on these pages stems from people who label themselves as grammar Nazis then make loads of mistakes.

    If it makes you feel better, most of my grammar Nazi activity is internal. I don’t openly criticize the authors unless their mistakes actually make understanding the pasta difficult.
    Also, I didn’t make loads of mistakes. My Android doesn’t do well with some sites and this is one of them.

  59. I think the reason that The Rake is so popular and frightening is because he comes when you are the most vulnerable: when you are asleep. This brings back the feeling of doom associated with bedtime from childhood

  60. I think that what makes a monster scarey is the way they act and look. Like Jeff the killer slenderman and rake. They each act differently and look very creepy.

  61. The Old King Critic

    See I think the best way to make a monster is to take something innocent and corrupt it. Just like dolls creep the hell out of me especially a doll with a porcelain face even more so if its cracked (aka corrupted). Another factor is not making a monster shock scary, but eerily creepy and yes scary and creepy are two different things. Something that lingers around with you for a while after you read or watch something horror related is creepy. Scary is instant fear that fades just as fast. James Wan is extremely good at making scary movies, but not so much creepy. The last part to making the perfect monster is a good lore base. Slendy is in my mind a great monster the first time I was introduced to the character it was creepy, corrupted and had good lore base making it seem like its a possible being. So all in all if your looking for good monster ideas you can either study up on this site or of course you could always relive the nightmarish creatures from The Legend of Zelda series, damn wall masters. Last thought Supernatural horror is creepier than old fashioned monster horror.

  62. I really think the thing that sells a monster is when there isn’t too much description. It really leaves it up to the imagination to create the thing that haunts the deepest place of our mind, because after all, we are all scared of different things. Of course you can have descriptions, but the ones that keep it mysterious and descriptively minimal really plays fear in us individually.

    (Y)

    1. The Argumentator

      Yeah I agree. Also, it means it’ll scare more people as we’re all scared of different things (like you said). This means that leaving some details up to the reader’s imagination means they will make up something that scares THEM: if the author gives all the details it risks only being scary for a couple of people.

  63. I just love monsters with the creepiest faces. Faces that kind of burn into my mind like a fire. Jeff the killer’s face really got me scared when i first read his story, I couldn’t sleep with my window open for days! Just thinking about him gives me the chills. The face is always the answer!

  64. I hate some fangirls…. i mean…. creepy pasta is suppost to be somehting that make you not wanna sleep and shivver inside your skin… its not suppost to make your heart melt with joy or make you see love!!!!!! i mean if CP was suppost to be to scare the living CRAP out of you…. but if you wanna keep fangirling about cp then be happy with being stabbed to death….. :D just sayin!!!!!

    1. The same statement could easily be made for serial killers/documentaries about such and most horror antagonists, real or not.
      There are, however, always some number of women (and/or men, let’s be fair) that get all in a hot mess or melt into a pile of adoration for the above.
      Personally, I have a very powerful attraction to sociopaths. People missing some of the very elements we like to believe are essential to calling oneself human. I know it isn’t logical and I know they’re dangerous, but I can’t help myself.

  65. I think a good monster is based on the unknown. It doesn’t have to be physical at all. I think it needs to be unknown and it needs to be almost indistinguishable from its surroundings. I like monsters with vague names or no names at all, and especially like monsters in the abstract sense, like loneliness and isolation. Those can be some of the most frightening monsters around.

  66. I’m glad something like this was posted. Creepypastas with generally well built monsters and characters really excite me. I think one thing I haven’t seen used (or seen used the right way) is monsters/humans with masks. Namely the masks that are super simple, yet unnerving without fail. (like the ghoul guy in Sinister) Or the masks that have a strange and creepy history. (like masks made from other peoples faces.)

  67. I love monsters. Always have. Theyre so great because they can literally be anything. Yea there are certain archetypes but a monster can be anything from any where, therefore they are one of the most fun, creative, and diverse elements in all of storytelling, from the cheesiest b-movie monster, to the monsters and beasties from myths of ancient cultures. They are the universal antagonists to the human race. There are two kinds of monsters, both are intriguing. Tha first is the sympathetic monster, one who was created thru pain, misery, and anguish. Jason voorhees wasn’t born a mindless killer, but became one after the trauma of almost drowning and seeing his mother killed. The second type is the evil monster. A creature of pure corruptness who exists only to destroy and bring pain and misery. They have no justification, no reasoning on why they do the horrible things they do. An example of this would be michael myers. (They tried to give him some kinda cockamamie motivation towards the last few movies but it doesn’t stick). He doesn’t have a reason, he doesn’t even have a conscious. You cannot reason with or bribe or somehow appease him, he just wants to kill you. He doesn’t run he doesn’t hurry he doesn’t speak. He just keeps coming. Whatever the type of monster, though, it doesn’t really matter. When I was a kid I never rooted for the teenagers of elm street or camping in the woods, or the citizens of japan, or the villagers near the castle, or the people of london. And I still don’t. I rooted for Jason, Freddy, Michael, Godzilla, Dracula, the predator, frankensteins monster, and every scary clown i ever saw, and I always will.The monsters are the true stars of the horror genre, and they’re the reason ill keep coming back for more……even after I’m put in the grave mwah hah hah haaaaaaaaaaa

  68. What about a monster that lives in the woods/city, has big empty eye sockets, long and skinny legs and arms, is grey in color, is of course very mean, has some psychic powers,eats children (don’t no why but always make good and popular monster), and it’s name is… Creeping Joe.

  69. Alfred Frederick Dinglebottom

    I think the monster is the element that most budding authors get wrong. People tend to have different fears, trying to create a monster that will scare as many people as possible is difficult for this very reason. I think there is a very fine line between under describing and over describing the monster. I believe in leaving some aspects for the viewer/reader to make up for themselves. However leaving out too much can make your work appear lazy. Over describing the monster can often take away the scare factor. As I mentioned previously different people are scared of different things. I have a friend who is scared of midgets, my Mother is terrified of anything that has wings. So if I made a flying midget I could probably scare two people. If I were trying to appeal to a mass audience I’d probably still only be scaring a few people.

    My main issue with creating a monster though is that, no matter how hard I try I just cannot do it. It appears as though I have this mechanism in my brain that just stops me from being capable. Those who have seen the comments I leave on crappypasta probably know this already. I just cannot refrain from doing something silly. I once created a monster that was so terrifyingly fat that it couldn’t walk.

  70. In my opinion, to make a good monster, you need three characteristics. The first one is size. Depending on the message you are trying to get through, size really does matter. If you are trying to make people believe that the monster is rarely seen but is terrifying, a small size is necessary, to give the idea that it can hide anywhere. If you are trying to give the idea that the monster is only in one place, and you can never escape it, a larger size is needed to give the observation that it can trap or eat anything that meets it.

    The second component is the back story. If you look at famous monsters and urban legends, you will notice that at least one of the versions has a back story. This is used to give the feeling of understanding of the monster, which the writer or story teller will eradicate in the story, making sure that the audience pays attention.

    The third and final characteristics is wording. The fear-factor the monster gives depends on how the story is told. For example, take the two following sentences: “the red eyes stared at me for what seemed forever..” “The glowing, stop light red eyes gazed at me with a gaze that could strike fear in anyone’s heart..” the second one is creepier, right? That’s because with more detail on the subject of the sentence (the monster’s eyes), readers get a mental picture fixed into their minds, increasing the fear-factor.

    Don’t agree with my characteristics? Email me with your comments!

    William Burns

    1. Actually, I don’t agree with your third paragraph. The second sentence you wrote is not creepier to me, I find it more awkward. I read “stop light” and I stop imagining a monster as I see a car instead. I read the rest and, wait, what exactly could strike fear in anyone’s heart? I mean, I am not afraid of many things that scare others, and vice versa.
      But I do agree that wording is important, as well as a backstory, or at least a motivation (a monster that exists and acts in some way just because is a poor concept). Size is very relative, I’d say it’s consistence what’s needed.

      1. While yes, you are correct that most people like scares that effect them instead of others, the reason I used obscure details in the second sentence is because it makes the reader pay more attention to the sentence, which it obviously did to you.

        Thanks for the feedback:

        William

        1. I agree that wording matters, but your second phrasing actually shows how not to word a good monster.

          You cannot tell your readers that something “strikes fear” and expect them to be afraid. Fear must come from how you write it, not from an explicit command.

    2. I don’t find stop lights terribly frightening either, but I was more turned off by the “gazed at me with a gaze”. Being repetitive is a great way to hurt your monster. Overusing a word, especially in close proximity kills your fear factor fairly quickly.

      1. Sorry to grammar Nazi it up, butalso mmisspelling words is sometimes a killer. One of the new pastas said a corpsewas “in taters” (rather than tatters) andI hadto recover from a seriouslaughing fit to continue reading.

        1. Alfred Frederick Dinglebottom

          TA283
          One of the greatest annoyances on these pages stems from people who label themselves as grammar Nazis then make loads of mistakes.

  71. The think one of my favorite monster trait is “stalking”. The stalker monsters always seem the scariest monster. The monster from Bedtime, is my favorite monster. Not because it’s features are terrifying, but because it torments the kid. It doesn’t want to kill him, no it wants to ruin his life in every way. It will even wait years just to come back and destroy his life.

    This is similar to real world stalking. Not completely though. I would recommend to read about stalking because it is a truly terrifying thing. And in Bedtime and several other stories Michele Whitehouse shows that he understands that.

    I think the reason for the massive popularity for the rake is that it mixes the stalking element with the scary appearance. The rake’s story has good imagery and shows that several people put a ton of work into the story. I think I would like the rake even if there wasn’t the stalking element but, the fact that it does, makes me love the guy even more.

    I think I have ranted long enough.

  72. OneDreamOneNightmare

    I think a good monster would be one were it does something special that is unexplainable… Maybe one that someone would want to try to make a history about or a background story. A good monster would have something about it that makes people remember it, such as how slenderman has no face and how Jeff the Killer has a huge smile. As for a special thing, most monsters are able to kill people with there ‘special ability’ and people remember that, Jeff the Killer says “go to sleep” before he kills people and the rake can open his mouth wide enough to eat a person in one bite.
    A good monster Would be unexplainable and unpredictable. A good way to create a monster is to start off with a story and create the monster as you go. Make it fit in with the situation or go along with the way society or the world is today… (Maybe a monster that is strangly like Siri or one that can symbolize the end of the world.)
    If I were to create a monster then it would be a short thing, like a small child, and it would look like a child, except for the eyes and mouth. The eyes would be pitch black and lower than normal, and the mouth would be stuck in a smiling position… A position that would hurt if someone were to smile like that. As for a special ability, it would be able to turn its eyes into mouths and it would come close to your face and it’s “eye mouths” would bite your eyes… Then it would kill you… While you were blind.
    Maybe not quite like that, but something along those lines.

  73. I don’t know about you guys, but I’m tired of humanoid monsters with eyeless sockets. Initially the whole “no eye” thing was very scary, but I feel as though it has turned cliche and is now an almost typical part of any creepypasta monster, especially humanoid and childlike ones.

  74. Pyramid Head is one of my all time favorites, because he’s internally generated. Even if there are things you’ve never admitted thinking or feeling or doing, he serves to punish you for all of it. He’s created and motivated and fed by your own guilt and disgust and anger toward yourself.
    You can never reason with him or escape him or throw yourself on his mercy, because he’s from a part of your own consciousness that doesn’t hear excuses, or justifications, or know compassion.
    The ultimate antagonist and judge is from within.

  75. Great topic! Should prove educational and inspiring (and, probably, argumentative).

    I’ve always been intrigued by the psychological aspects of horror so, for me, making a good monster/antagonist is the equivalent of creating a philosophy. Whether that philosophy is built into the makeup of the monster itself (i.e. Mary Shelly’s ‘Frankenstein’), or through the story and interaction of the antagonist with the other characters is up to the author. Just as long as that philosophy, that tenet of belief causes the reader to think, and feel, and even begin to doubt their own beliefs and sanity.

    That’s where the true horror lies (and lies): in the emotive and psychological link between the reader (reality) and the monster (fiction). The stronger the link, the stronger the terror.

  76. I think what makes a monster scary is how unfamiliar it is and how little we know about it (similar to what Majorian already said). I think fear of the unfamiliar and unknown comes into play when making a monster “scary”. Something like The Rake isn’t part of our daily lives – or indeed any part of our lives at all outside of the internet. Making a monster as bizarre as possible gives our “this is not normal” sensors a shock, as our “this is not normal” sensor is at a basic part of our brain, along with our “fight or flight” reflex. When you get a creature that has a particular aspect that could be frightening (eg no eyes, spikes, etc) our brains break it down, rapidly telling itself it should be wary of this new thing.

    Some aspects of a monster are more fear-inspiring than others though. A multi-legged, transporting, black-as-death, quick-as-all-hell, killing machine with 22 rows of razor blades for teeth that you find somewhere at midnight will be scarier than someone with horns and four eyes that you meet in the park at midday.

    When a monster is described with vague detail, playing on the human fear of the unknown, describing it as little as possible, it also drives home our fear instincts.

  77. What makes a monster is the motivation, in this case, motivations that are unknown. Slender is clearly a prime example, a humanoid form like creature who stalks children or even adults. His motive: we don’t know, and that’s what can be considered horrifying. For reasons unknown to attack and stalk random people is something that we fear because it could randomly start following you and possibly kill you in the end. The fact that he is following you is a reason to be terrified, especially since you can’t reveal the truth about the creature due to either A: People wouldn’t believe you and think you are crazy and try locking you up. Or B: Can’t collect any proof on audio or video via heavy distortion when he’s close by. You especially can’t outrun the creature since it can pop around every corner after you clearly saw it 14 meters behind you. Also, it’s human figure. Rake takes this one because Slender usually takes on the appearence of environments around the victim. Rake is human but fall short of looking purely human. Hunched like an animal and eyes that is said to pierce you soul even if you close you eyes isn’t human, but due to no real origin, you cannot deny it from it being a man or woman. The mystery around the creature makes it clearly stand out. The final thing is persistance. Obviously the scariest thing about any creepypasta is that it’s stubborn fixation on causing harm upon you, physical or nueralogical, and perhaps both. Stalking and creeping make most of the pastas, the unnerving feeling of being watched and following make everything about the creature forboding. The tension rising each night, leading you to wanting to end it any way you could. These are my reasons on what makes a monster a monster.

  78. For me personally, a monster does not require extremely gorey or graphic features to be genuinely scary. What really unnerves me is nonchalant monsters, monsters that don’t need to move quickly to kill or hurt you because they are in no way worried about you escaping or destroying them. They KNOW they can kill/hurt you and they like to take their time doing so. That’s not to say that ferocious monsters aren’t scary, because they certainly ca be. But when a monster has to run after you its because they have to in order to catch you, but when a monster walks it shows that they aren’t worried about you getting away. Because even if you do, they know they will get you eventually. It kind of relays a hopeless feeling into whoever the monster is chasing. Thats why I think Slenderman was so scary; because he knew he could get you no matter what happened and he knew he could take his time in doing so. He also made sure that you knew that there was absolutely no escape from him and that there was nothing you could do to stop him. This may just be me, but I also find subtly scary appearances more scary than a blatantly horrifying and grotesque monster. When you can clearly see that something is wrong or off with something while at the same time not being sure if it means to harm you until its to late, that’s where true “creepiness” comes from. Well, for me at least. But again, this is all just my opinion. :)

    1. Kind of ties into the whole bit about Human Beings being “pursuit hunters”. I don’t really have sources, but along with our increased mental capacities we also have an insane amount of endurance. So something simply outlasting our best efforts and making our greatest strength null is absolutely terrifying. If we have to revert to animal means of protecting ourselves (tooth and claw), it makes us feel weak. After all, when it comes to being beasts, we kinda aren’t equipped to do so.

  79. A good monster or creature doesn’t come from the mind. You just happen upon them. Such is with most people. What scares you might not really bother me much.

    But personally I really hate anything soulless, anything generally silent or unknown, and my own personal insanity.

  80. A monster is something that doesn’t have a heart or soul, something that can’t love, but that doesn’t mean it couldn’t love before. A monster is something unknown and un-explainable. Its a big mistake that you can’t fix. Oh and usually you don’t have to make up monsters, there are plenty of them… you just don’t know of.

    I

  81. Don't ask me that

    I think what makes a monster truely a monster, is the fact that it has these scientifically impossible powers.Like Slenderman, he has tentacles.Nobody can have those except octopus’.

    As for the Rake, he has long, crazy sharp claws that would take a very long time for anybody to grow.The key ingredient to make a monster is fear.You need to take what you fear, and make it into something that is 100% oringinal.

    You should make a monster with no eyes that has a gross, inhumane look.Or let its organs hang out of its stomach to show it’s already dead or somethin’.Make whatever you feel could be the one to give people goosebumps and chills up their spine. :)

    Have fun creating!(P.S-this was a great idea, YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE USERNAME!)

  82. In my opinion, what makes a monster or creature creepy is the mystery. I explain: the less you know about a creature the more creepy it is.When the mind is unaware of something it tends to either make-up subconsciously the details or to surpass them and leave a certain feeling behind (as a flag to say “this is good”or “this is bad”). Because of the instict of survival, if the mind does the first thing which is to make up details for a creature it makes them dark, creepy and scary so that you wil be alarmed in case the thing that you are making up details for is a potentional danger. For the same reason, if the mind does the second thing, it will leave behind a feeling of danger and scare so that again you will be alarmed just in case the creature is dangerous. You can easily test this by imagining one of your favourite beast’s every day routine. It doesn’t have to be comical, any routine will do the trick. Suddenly it appears less creepy cause now you know. The same rule applies to dreams too. Nightmares are scary because you don’t know a thing about them apart from what you see. Even when they take place somewhere you are familiar with, the place is somehow distorted without you knowing why. Nightmares present an alternate reality without a logical explanation which makes the mind think it went crazy and it reboots back to primal instincts.

    1. The Old King Critic

      This is a good point Howard Philips Lovecraft once said “The oldest and greatest fear of man is the fear of the unknown.”

    2. I agree with most of what you say, but not with the dream thing. At least when I’m dreaming, when I’m getting chased through a dark forest by a large grotesque mockery of a wolf, its not really the unknown that’s scaring me. What’s scaring me is the fact that I’m being chased through a forest by a freaking werewolf!

      1. interesting point but you see even in that case the unkwown is what scares you.
        You say that you are scared because you are being chased by a werewolf. And why is that? Why are you scared?You think he is going to kill you or your instincts makes you think so. Eithere way, you are not afraid of it, you are afraid of death which is another big mystery, the perfect candidate for unknwown horror.
        Well it all comes down to this, we all fear death and in the end that is what we fear in monsters, the possibility of it killing or harming us. But again someone has said (i think it’s freud) that the fear of death is what makes us alive and without it we would idle and do nothing.

        1. Good, H.P. Lovecraft. The podcast Welcome To Night Vale deals with the unknown as well but make the big supernatural event into, Meh. But, I definitely agree with the dream theory. Whenever I have a nightmare of falling, im not scared of the Fall, Im scared of where I’m falling. Or the worse dream/nightmare yet, when you “wake up” in a world so close to your own other than the absence of everyone. And that always terrifies me. Check out this link for more on the subject

          http://www.webmd.com/sleep-disorders/guide/nightmares-in-adults

    3. I feel that the mystery is important, however i feel the major aspect of any good, short, scary story monster is that the reader needs to know that they should be scared, whilst also not knowing why this is.

      In film, the director can use suspense and different camera tricks to show the viewer that something is scary very effectively, the same cannot be done in writing however as merely ‘telling’ the reader that it is frightening is almost anti-climatic.

      As for what makes a good monster, the creator should try to not stray to far from the norm. A good monster should be unnerving and unsettling as opposed to straight scary, and should be realistic enough that the reader leaves the story thinking “holy shit, what if…”

      1. Honestly your right when I read stories that usually get people terrified I don’t cry or become paranoid if it doesn’t fit with my personal life

  83. I’ve always been fascinated with folk law, mythology and old legends, particularly the beasts and monsters they tend to contain. Those links were really interesting, thanks!

    1. I agree, I also find the super quiet ones unsettling. I think it’s because we’re in an extremely vocal world, even insects make noises to communicate with each other, so it’s maddening to come face to face with something that doesn’t feel the need to.

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