It is an interesting fact that in recent decades, Vampires have become romanticized, quite why is a mystery. Likely it began with film where they were perceived to be sexy, when the truth is that they were never fully intended to be considered as such. In the greatest of Vampire tales, Dracula, the epynomous character is not presented in that light but rather as a monster.
What is also interesting is how Frankenstein’s Monster, that is to say ‘Adam’ has been pulled between being presented as a victim or a monster, and also between incredibly dumb or clever and well-spoken (like in the original story). The best depiction I would argue would be the Sean Bean Frankenstein Chronicles, though that’s very much more of a spin-off type of story than a direct adaptation.
That said, the thought of the classic Monsters is one that should be explored as it is Macabre Monday (seriously it’s a fun event check out the stories everyone is writing for this weekly event here;
). In my case, I’ve not a story to propose but rather some analysis to provide.So let’s get analysing; some of the classic Monsters are easy to pin down as far as which of the 7 Deadly Sins they can be associated with.
Vampires would obviously be ‘Lust’, as they can be seen very easily as a metaphor or allegory for rapists, as Dracula very obviously preys upon women, with female Vampires such as his brides preying upon the likes of Jonathan Harker, and also in the case of the ‘Vamped’ Lucy preying upon children.
They are a debauched set of creatures without redemption that are vulnerable to holy crosses, and need to be staked through the heart. They are also vulnerable to garlic, and have a tendency to like to present themselves as sophisticated and civilized but this is just a disguise.
A good example (perhaps the best) of a female Vampire come to think of it would be Akivasha from Hour of the Dragon, she preys upon Conan who comes to fear her and becomes horrified by her in a manner similar to Harker towards Dracula. It is a fascinating exchange, one which shows an unusually fearful side to the legendary Cimmerian.
But this should go to show how dangerous Vampires can be.
Next on the pecking order would have to be Adam Frankenstein, who recently has been dubbed interestingly a ‘Homunculus’ which is very apt. A ‘Homunculus’ is a man made creature, created through the use of sorcery, alchemy or what have you and who is not a natural creature. The best story with this sort of creature would have to be Full-Metal Alchemist Brotherhood (a superb anime though the ending has some flaws to it).
The Homunculus is a creature made in an act of pure egotism and folly, one could even throw in the term ‘zealotry’ to describe those who would put science or sorcery before morality and the laws of nature.
And yet, I do not think these creatures are entirely ones that should be associated with the flaw of ‘Pride’. A good argument can be made, and I will not disagree with those who press it forward, but I’d argue they are creatures of Jealousy rather than Pride.
The reason for this thinking lies in how Adam envies others, how he becomes jealous and wrathful towards his creator, begrudging him all happiness. Despite his sneering at humans, think about what it is that he wants most in the world; a mate. This suggests that deep down he wishes to be one of us. There is also come to think of it, Envy and the ‘Father’ Homunculus from FMAB, both of whom seem to hate humans and in the latter’s case hates God, but in reality they envy them and wish to be like them. In the case of Father and God, he is jealous of the Truth and wishes to become him, because he also fears him and doesn’t wish to be judged so he gives into his jealousy.
What is more is that ‘Father’ wishes everyone to call him ‘Father’ (usurping the title of God) and also creates children through artifical means (though he scorns humans for wanting family) so that one can see that he longs to be a human being deep down.
Next up is the Wolf-Man or Werewolf. In this case it is probably the easiest to categorize; Gluttony. The savage desire to fill one’s belly and to satisfy one’s most base instincts and desires.
The Man-Wolf in the first film he appears in is a tragic figure, with there being a kind of Oedipal type of conflict wherein the father figure and the lead are in conflict in some manner towards the 2nd and 3rd acts of the movie.
That said, in the follow-up movies the main conflict involves the hero seeking to purge himself of his curse and failing until at last he succeeds.
Unable to rest until his instincts are satisfied, we also see in the AWESOME 1997 House of Frankenstein mini-series movie (I will be doing articles on it, as it is one of my favourite horror stories EVER!), a different depiction. Gluttony in this case could also be extended to a character’s sexual appetites, as the female lead is bitten, becomes a Werewolf and comes to crave the lead detective on the case and she becomes ever more possessive of him and also craves him ever more even as she becomes ever more feral in some ways.
Overtaken by the curse, she does seek to devour and satisfy her own cravings, I think what makes this depiction so interesting is that it isn’t a man who is infected but a woman. This is so much more interesting to me, as we all know the Werewolf to represent the worst of man’s instincts, the sinking to his appetites. Yet to see a woman give into hers and rail against the curse in so desperate a manner, is fascinating. As this was never really done before then.
I won’t lie, I think that male Werewolves have been so overdone that I’m kind of tired of them, but a female one is interesting. We do need our parallels and I think it could be an interesting opportunity to explore the female psyche and what not. Women can be no less interesting and awesome in literature as men (I mean check out female characters such as Eowyn, Mina Harker, Otsu, Cornflower (from Redwall), Aoi no Ue, Venus, Brynhildr who all prove this point).
That said, the Werewolf can still be done interestingly with male characters, don’t get me wrong, I mean if you got a character modelled after Khadgar from Warcraft to be bitten or one like Theoden from LOTR might be interesting. Khadgar is the Magician archetype while Theoden is the King archetype, for such characters to be bitten and wrestle with the curse rather than the usual Warrior or Lover archetypes doing so, could be different also.
Next we come to the Lich/Mummy, I know some might say they are different but they are the same. They are both sorcerous undead creatures, who are typically seen as skeletal figures or falsely healthy men seeking to fulfill their ambitions and satisfy their greed.
Excellent depictions of this particular Monster can be found in the Mummy from 1999 and 2001’s Mummy Return with the badass Imhotep. A tragic figure who loved someone he shouldnt’ have, he would desire his bride so ardently that he would flout reason and tradition to get her back.
Then there is Xaltotun from Hour of the Dragon, who desired his ancient Empire of Acheron so badly that he’d essentially damn the whole of the mortal realm for it. Brought back from the dead and put in a strange ‘Mummy’ body, Xaltotun would begin to change and alter the local geography to have it fit his image of the world, and even began to super-impose upon the local area the capital city of Acheron, laws of nature and the course of history bedamned (I say this as he wishes to literally reverse the course of history to restore his people and Empire, which is horrifying to say the least).
The Lich I’d say is perhaps a creature of Greed. I say perhaps, as they seem entirely otherworldly, almost Lovecraftian in how alien they are. However, they seem to crave something be it a woman or an Empire and will stop at nothing to have it, and do not seem able to see that their obsession, their greed has quite literally twisted and perverted them beyond recognition.
Next up is the Death Knight, now I know this is more DnD but the Death Knight as embodied by characters such as Arthas Menethil in Warcraft 3 & the Frozen Throne and Soth from Dragonlance, are horrifying creatures to behold.
The whole idea of the Death Knight is that he was a knight sworn to honour and his local area, devoted to it in life but that he bartered his soul for the chance to continue serving it. The trouble is that he got cheated out of the best parts of the deal, and has become perverted in undeath and begun to destroy his homeland, ruining everything he loves and seeking to destroy the very nation or brotherhood he once belonged to.
There is a saying in some parts of the fantasy fandom ‘never make a deal with a Death Knight’, and the reason for this is because; Death Knights cannot break their word or bond. They never will. BUT they can employ ‘points of views’, ‘technicalities’ and will also manipulate you into breaking it, so that they can just do what they want.
And what is it that they want? Typically, they want to vent their fury, want to grow in power or otherwise expand their domain believing that their kingdom can be reborn as an undead thing. In many ways they are the most powerful, the most dangerous Monster imaginable, and are prone to the greatest acts of savagery imaginable.
One does not skirmish or clash with a Death Knight without suffering some sort of loss. They are however creatures of pure Wrath, ones full of fury and hatred, which can be seen in also Tolkien’s Legendarium in the shape of the Witch-King of Angmar, who was unleashed on the north, ruined it and then later was to war against Gondor, and was to lose his head to Eowyn. In the case of the Witch-King and the other ‘Wraiths’ they would bite off more than they can chew, were incredibly proud and were often prone to excessive violence.
So far we have Vampires (Lust), Liches/Mummies (Greed), Homunculi (Envy), Werewolves (Gluttony) and now Death Knights (Wrath). This leaves us only Sloth and Pride left, and I’m pretty unsure of what monsters to stick into those slots.
I do hope to my fellow writers, this essay has given some ideas for some horror tales and hopefully it’ll help to inspire you. I do hope you do not mind the analysis I may revisit it. Next essay like this may fill those two slots up, or I may edit this article to include them later (probably that), and then I’ll do an essay down the road about the nature of each Monster’s defeat, and how they are often beaten in fiction.
I quite liked The Frankenstein Chronicles. I wish it had gotten more than just two seasons. I also thought Penny Dreadful did a good job with the Frankenstein monster.
Seeing the classic monsters as the seven deadly sins is a clever way of looking at it. That’s a cool horror story idea there in itself. Great essay!