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 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"

31 Days of Monsters: Day Five — Werewolf

In folklore, werewolves weren't always the tragic figures they are now. In the old days people, usually witches and warlocks, chose to become werewolves, by taking part in dark rituals involving animal skins and special ointments made from human fat and herbs.
Today however, most people know werewolves from the movies, where we get the standard mythology — full moon, silver bullets, etc.
To me, werewolves will always be cooler than vampires, which will become apparent when I cover them in an upcoming post.