31 Days of Monsters: Day Thirty-one — The Wicked Witch of the West

The Wicked Witch of the West from the film version of "The Wizard of Oz," was one of the first monsters that sent me scurrying for a safe place to hide behind my Dad's recliner. I wanted to include her for that reason, and because the woman that played her, Margaret Hamilton, used to live in Napa on Brown Street. Had I known that fact as a kid, I'm sure I would have never come out from behind the La-Z-Boy.
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Well, that wraps up 31 Days of Monsters. I hope all of you who tuned in regularly, enjoyed the effort. Send me any of your thoughts and comments about the project, or individual monsters.
When I started this, I wasn't sure I'd pull it off. In fact, on Day Two, I was sure I'd never make it to the end. I'm glad I proved myself wrong.
Thanks for visiting, and have a happy Halloween.

31 Days of Monsters: Day Thirty — Cthulhu

"The Thing cannot be described — there is no language for such abysms of shrieking and immemorial lunacy, such eldritch contradictions of all matter, force, and cosmic order. A mountain walked or stumbled. God! What wonder that across the earth a great architect went mad, and poor Wilcox raved with fever in that telepathic instant? The Thing of the idols, the green, sticky spawn of the stars, had awaked to claim his own. The stars were right again, and what an age-old cult had failed to do by design, a band of innocent sailors had done by accident. After vigintillions of years great Cthulhu was loose again, and ravening for delight."

"The Call of Cthulhu"
H.P. Lovecraft

A special treat — "The Call of Cthulhu" motion picture. Enjoy.

31 Days of Monsters: Day Twenty-nine — Zombie (Modern)

The modern zombie is a person who has returned from the dead to feast on the flesh of the living.
It's my belief that the modern zombie is a response to the over-romanticizing of the more tradition undead monster, the vampire.
In previous generations the vampire symbolized the fear of death, disease and the fear of being eaten by predators. In early vampire folklore, they were little more than corpses who rose from the grave nightly and fed on the blood of their family members.
In later fiction however, vampires were turned into seductive, romantic figures, more akin to Satan himself tempting victims with promises of sex, immortality, power and wealth.
Whether George Romero realized it when he created "Night of the Living Dead," I believe he was giving us back a monster that deep down, we may need as a fundamental part of our psyche. Something that lets us face our fears of mortality, and bash it in the head.

31 Days of Monsters: Day Twenty-three — A Morlock

In H.G. Wells' "The Time Machine," the protagonist travels to the far future and finds the world radically changed. He encounters two offshoots of the human race: The docile, childlike Eloi and the cannibalistic, subterranean Morlocks. The Time Traveler deduces that the Morlocks are the descendants of the working class, who were forced to toil underground by the ruling class. Over time, the ruling class became less and less able to fend for themselves, becoming more dependent on the workers. Eventually society collapsed altogether, and the workers, now adapted for life in darkness underground, began to farm their former rulers, the Eloi, as cattle.

31 Days of Monsters: Day Twenty-two — Bigfoot

I can remember watching Saturday afternoon matinee movies on TV. They always had the typical sci-fi and horror fare, but I really got a charge out of the movies TV Guide labeled "Speculation." My favorites, were the feature-length documentaries about legendary man-monster Bigfoot.
To kids of the '70s, Bigfoot was fascinating in a way other monsters weren't. It's one thing for kids to believe in monsters, but with Bigfoot, Adults believed too. They were all over the TV, and in magazines and newspapers telling their thrilling stories of frightening encounters with the mythical ape creature of the Pacific Northwest.
And adults never lie, right?

31 Days of Monsters: Day Fifteen — Martian

Ak ak ak-ak! Ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak a-a-a-ak ak ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak-ak ak-ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak! Ak ak-ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak a-a-a-a-aak ak ak ak ak ak ak-ak ak! Ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak-ak-ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak! Ak a-a-a-ak ak a-a-a-a-a-a-a-a-k! Ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak! Ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak ak! Ak!

31 Days of Monsters: Day Fourteen — Young Michael Myers

I remember watching the beginning of John Carpenter's original "Halloween" as a kid and wondering what would drive someone my age to become "The Shape."
Was he always a bad kid? Did his family feel uneasy around him even before that night? Or was it something else that set him off while he was out trick-or-treating?
My guess is someone gave him cheap candy, like Dum-Dums. Or maybe dental floss instead of candy. Or worse, pennies. I hate it when they give you pennies.

31 Days of Monsters: Day Ten — The Night of the Demon

The "Night of the Demon" is one of my favorite horror films. It's a great story of skepticism vs. superstition. A professional skeptic, played by Dana Andrews, travels to a conference in England where he is caught in the web of an Aleister Crowley-like magician. A piece of cursed parchment marks Andrews for death, but he remains skeptical to Carswell's power. Will he face the truth in time, and how will he save himself from ... THE DEMON!
This drawing is really a little misleading. The demon isn't really the villain in the film, it's Carswell. But the image of the demon has been a horror icon since the film came out, so I went with it instead of Carswell.
If you haven't seen the film, do yourself a favor and check it out. "Night of the Demon" was the original UK title. It was edited down to 83 minutes for U.S. release under the title "Curse of the Demon."
As a special treat, here's the trailer:

IMDB link for "Curse of the Demon"

31 Days of Monsters: Day Nine — The Mole People

I remember seeing "The Mole People" as a kid, and thinking the mole people didn't really look like moles, as much as they resembled the bumpy blackberries in our yard. The original film is black and white, so I have no idea what color the mole people costumes really were, but I think they would have been purple — you know, like the berries.
 And, as a special treat, here's the trailer for "The Mole People"

IMDB link to "The Mole People"

Give me your monsters

I have a long list of subjects for 31 Days of Monsters, but I want to make it more reader friendly. If you have a monster you'd like to see me drawn, send me an e-mail message or drop me a line on Facebook and offer your suggestions. If I like your ideas, I'll put it on my list.