October Monster Month: Ghouls

Welcome to the final post of 'October Monster Month'! Our final creature feature tonight has some surprising origins surrounding them, but you'll certainly recognize them by their name: the ghoul.

I can already hear some people calling out, 'wait, isn't that just a zombie?'. Sort of, they both are considered undead creatures, but I believe the ghoul is more comparable to a wendigo than a zombie. Zombies, by their nature, are mindless. Ghouls have a set desire to eat flesh and will do so in great amounts. Their origins date back to Arabic mythology, mostly the story 'One Thousand and One Nights'. They were evil spirits that wandered the desert, luring in unsuspecting travels to dens to devour them. The word 'ghoul' comes from the colloquial Arabic term for a greedy or gluttonous person. Rather fitting name for such a violent creature.

There has been plenty use of the ghoul in pop culture, sometimes as minions of higher creatures or sometimes actually sentient beings. It tends to flip flop from story to story.

For example, in the 'Castlevania' series, ghouls are simply minions of powerful creatures like vampires. They still retain the traits of eating flesh like crazy and are quite visibly disturbing, with sharpened claws and wide maws. Part of their history says that they are descended from humanity (which can be true in this series), but it is mostly a supplementary moment not really focused on. 

I wanted to bring this example up as one of the numerous creatures used more like minion cannon fodder than something more worthwhile. At the very least, I found a few examples that managed to go beyond this and into a few more...creative directions.

Here, we have the manga and anime 'Tokyo Ghoul'. It is an action/horror/ drama series involving creatures called 'ghouls' feeding on humans to survive. The main character, Ken Kaneki, almost gets eaten by one before the ghoul gets crushed under girders. Heavily injured, he ends up surviving thanks to organ transplants from the same ghoul. Ken ends up becoming a ghoul himself and needs to survive that life by eating other people, as normal food would only make him sick.

It is easy to pull out similarties and differences between the original ghoul of Arabic mythos to this one. Both still need to eat humans to survive, though 'Tokyo Ghouls' bring up how normal food wouldn't work out for them. Since they were humans before, they retain their old looks, but now sporting 'red on black' eyes when needing to hunt. They are also much stronger and faster than regular humans, They also possess a unique organ on their back, enabling them to manifest a special limb for fighting and hunting. These range from sprouting wings to attack from long range (Ukaku type), large tentacles for close quarters combat (Rinkaku), a blade that can fight or defend (Koukaku), a tail that is considered the most balanced of the usual four (Bikaku), and a rare type that can manifest armor, but only by consuming other ghouls as well (Kakuja). The manga and anime often revolve around the lives of ghouls and how they try to survive, including times of fighting other ghouls or a human organization called the Commission to Counter Ghouls (which use special equipment from deceased ghouls to fight other ghouls). 

If you are a fan of the darker stuff, and need something to replace the finished 'Hellsing' series, then 'Tokyo Ghoul' seems like a good change alternative for you.

Speaking of alternative, ghouls have appeared in the post-apocalyptic game 'Fallout' as both enemies and allies. 'Created' of sorts during the Great War of 2077, they were once humans who were subjected to intense radiation. Not only did they survive, but they managed to live long into the main storyline of the game series, starting in the year of the first 'Fallout' story of 2161. Their skin has mostly decayed, leaving them quite a horrid sight to behold. Still, the same radiation that mutated them can also heal them, as well as providing them with the extended lifespan (as the radiation made them sterile as well). 

Ghouls actually appear in two different ways. One is the 'feral ghoul', which has lost its humanity and behave more like animals than actual people. The other are 'civil ghoul', still retaining their intelligence and humanity that enables them to live like they did before. Still, there has been thoughts how civil ghouls could easily turn feral, but I haven't exactly found anything to back that thought up. Because of their nature, ghouls in general are frowned upon by other people.

It is a very interesting take on the ghoul, retaining a lot of its physical features yet trying to add a bit of humanity to them. At least, those that are capable of cognitive thought. 

In short, the idea of the 'ghoul' hasn't change as much, just their usage. Sometimes, they are the minions to larger evils of a story. Other times, they are actual people caught in unfortunate circumstances. Either way, their monstrous visage doesn't exactly help people sympathize with their plight (at least on first glance).

Anyway, that's it for October Monster Month. Hopefully, I can think of something else to base an entire month around. We'll just have to wait and see.

Until next time...

October Monster Month: Golem

Welcome to another week of October Monster Month. We're dipping into a being from religious folklore, one that was created to stop the persecution and torment of said people. This is...the Golem.

The story of the Golem dates back centuries ago, well before the rise of popularized constructs like Mary Shelley's 'Frankenstein'. A being of shaped clay, it only follows the will of those who feed it instructions through the mouth. Large and strong, they are unable to speak like people but were still a sight to behold. It is often created by Jewish rabbis to protect themselves from persecution, though the golem could easily turn destructive if not properly controlled.

The earliest known account of a golem dates back during the 16th century, with Rabbi Eliyahu Ba'al Shem of Chelm, Poland. No, it isn't a story per se, but an actual human being whom was called to have actually created a golem. According to writings, he wrote the Jewish word 'shem' on the forehead of the golem, thus being given the title of 'Ba'al Shem' as a response. Fearing the power of the golem would grow too large over time, the name was erased from its brow and it soon turned to dust. At least, not before scratching at the face of its creator. Its a story that has been hard to consider real or not, with word of mouth during that time and writing it only occurred sometime after the Rabbi's death. Still, it is another creature of horror that has managed to survive the test of time and be presented in modern tellings. Wonder how well that has worked out?

In the series 'Extreme Ghostbusters' (which followed from the previous 'Real Ghostbusters' series) has the Golem appear. Much like the original stories, it was created to protect the Jewish from persecution, but it continued to get larger and more aggressive overtime. Here, the Golem has be recreated to help protect a synagogue from antisemitism. It is tough enough to even take the punishment of the Ghostbusters' proton packs thanks to a rather malleable clay body. In the end, it took a large batch of molten iron to cover and break it down, which gave enough time for our heroes to remove the scroll which empowered the Golem itself, defeating it for good.

While certainly a more monstrous look for the Golem, it certainly followed close to the original folklore. There was even a note that the scroll that empowered the Golem came from Prague, much like in the original story. A very interesting creature to feature in an episode story dealing with racism and assholes (but I'm getting off track).

In the 'Gargoyles' animated show, we also have an appearance by the Golem as well. For those who are unfamiliar with the show, it involves living gargoyles that were forcibly turned to stone (since they do it normally in the sunlight) for a thousand years before being freed in 1994's New York (late 90s show, so please bear with me). As protectors, they end up making New York their new home. It is a very well-written and thought out show that you can hopefully find online to see. I recommend it.

In its second season, which involves what many fans have called the 'World Tour', a small group of gargoyles along with a human ally end up traveling the world. Destinations range from Egypt to Ireland as well as France and the Congo. As you no doubt guessed correctly, one of the places they visit is Prague, where the Golem itself still resides. Another human friend is there to use some magic to transfer his soul from his old, frail body into something stronger. After actually giving the Golem a test run (which involves a bit of fighting from the gargoyles themselves), the old friend decides that it isn't worth it. The Golem ends up becoming the new protector of Prague, so it as that going for it.

Despite the small recap of the episode, it was a real impressive portrayal of the Golem. From is rather simple design to history in Prague, as well as how it could get more aggressive overtime (especially when someone tries to insert their soul into it). Again, I recommend checking out the series itself, especially the first two seasons. Third season is mixed, especially since the creator of the series has written his own work on it in comics, which discontinued said season from the main series. A bit complicated explanation, sure, but necessary.

Yeah, I'm going to include a live action adaption, at least from a popular series. 'Supernatural' could easily fit in other posts, but I felt I needed to draw attention to this one (at least for a bit). For anyone unfamiliar, 'Supernatural' is a live action fantasy/horror/drama show around the adventures of the Winchester brothers, Dean and Sam. They've fought angels, demons, even the actual Horsemen of the Apocalypse. So yeah, a Golem isn't too far fetched to find here as well.

The episode in particular is called 'Everybody Hates Hitler'. Yeah, you can probably pic out the pieces here: brothers encounter last descendant that wields the Golem, gets into an encounter with the Thule Society (Nazis that use occult magic), kind of by the numbers, honestly. Some good lines which I won't spoil here, but aside from that, the episode itself is just okay.

The Golem, played by 6ft 9in John DeSantis, is obviously more human looking while still retaining the general menace, strength and toughness that comes from being a clay creature. More vocal in this version, he tries to put the last descendant of his creator to embrace his Jewish background to help defend against the remnants of Thule occutists. Still retains that weakness of having a scroll with inscriptions in it, so not entirely full-proof. Still, it managed to work out in the end, right?

Overall, the Golem's appearance may have changed, but its history, as a protector of the Jewish religion and monstrous actions, have managed to stay in proper shape. Wonder how the Golem will work in the future? Maybe something more noble?

Until next time...

October Monster Month: Jiangshi

Welcome to another week of October Monster Month. This week's monster hails from China, created sometime during the reign of the Qing Dynasty: the Jiangshi.

Some of you who are familiar with this monster may call out "Wait, isn't this some kind of Chinese vampire? Isn't that breaking one of your rules?" Well, yes and no. Let me explain.

'Jiangshi' means 'stiff corpse' and is often compared to the west's ideas of vampires and zombies. Rather than eating brains or drinking blood, they instead suck in the soul, or 'chi' of a person for sustenance. They are so stiff that they are unable to bend their outstretched arms and legs, requiring them to hop from place to place, giving them the name 'hopping corpses' or 'hopping vampires'. They also tended to dress in traditional Qing dynasty attire, along with braided white hair and round-trimmed hat. Their skin would also be somewhat green-white color due to fungus and mould growing on the corpse. So really, it is but also isn't. Not exactly sure how to put that better.

Anyway, the tales of the Jiangshi reach back since the Qing dynasty (hence having attire comparable to that time period). Scholar Ji Xaolin brought mention to this in his book Yuewei Caotang Biji, making note of how they can manifest from someone recently deceased coming back to life or a long-dead corpse that doesn't decompose. How the body can move again can come about through different ways, like mystical arts to revive the dead, a spirit possessing the body or the body itself absorbing enough yang ki (or negative energy). A person can also become a jiangshi by an infection that turns them overtime.

Another story of the jiangshi comes from the folk practice 'Xiangxi ganshi' of 'transporting a corpse over a thousand li (or Chinese miles, which amounts to 1640 feet). Due to the extreme amount of distance to carry a body for burial, Taoist priests would be hired to revive the body so that it could 'hop' to their home instead of being carried. They could only be allowed to move at night and bells would be rung to notify others about the jiangshi, as it is believed to be bad luck should a  living person see it themselves.

There is certainly a lot more to the jiangshi that I thought there would be, but it is certainly informative. So, how exactly has the being been portrayed in pop culture? Let's see.

In Hong Kong cinema, the jiangshi movies were created during the 1980s and 1990s, merging with the Hong Kong kung fu movies and even Western vampires. The first movie to start this was 'Encounters of the Spooky Kind' in 1980. Directed by martial arts legend Sammo Hung, the film was also the start of the genre kung fu horror comedy. It managed to spawn a sequel in 1990 along with other films such as 'Vampires vs Vampire' and 'Mr Vampire'. Still, the jiangshi film popularity ended in the mid-1990s, with a brief resurgence in the 2000s and 2010s.

As noted from the picture, the overall design of the jiangshi was kept rather on par with the written sources, but their use in more comedy-horror films have left them as bit of a joke. In a way, it is more of an attitude towards the original writing of a 'hopping corpse' being frightening at all, if just incredibly silly.

Speaking of silly, we now turn out attention to the video game series 'Darkstalkers' by Capcom. The game had its own iteration of monsters fighting one another, from the popular succubus Morrigan to the undead Lord Raptor. Hsien-Ko would make her first appearance in the second game of the series, 'Night Warriors: Darkstalkers' Revenge'. She had a fraternal twin named Mei-Ling, with both training to be Senjutsushi or 'Hermit Sages'. However, their village was attacked by Darkstalkers before they could become masters. Their mother sacrificed herself to protect them, causing her own soul to be captured by darkness. Wanting to save their mother, the two sisters used a technique to become a Darkhunter, one who hunts the Darkstalkers. Hsien-Ko became a Jiangshi, while Mei-Ling became the talisman on her hat to keep her under control. Eventually, the two would succeed and free their mother, their reward being reborn in a new life away from Darkstalkers.

As you can see, Capcom has taken a lot of liberties with their character designs in the 'Darkstalkers' series compared to their source material. While Hsien-Ko does have the overall resemblance of Qing dynasty attire, it has also been 'jazzed' up a bit with revealing cleavage and oversized sleeves. In combat, the sleeves would contain several kinds of weapons for Hsien-Ko to use, ranging from claws, swords, spiked balls, knives, shurikens, and a shield and mallet to release sonic attacks. Despite her status as one of the undead, Hsien-Ko is still quite lively and energetic.

Again, keeping a bit close to the source material, but still with quite a bit of liberties taken with the creature becoming more goofier (in a sense).

Now heading from east to west, we have the animated series 'Jackie Chan Adventures'. While each of its seasons focused on a major McGuffin(s) that need to be retrieved and such, there have been many filler episodes simply to fill up space. One involves the Jiangshi awakening and stealing the chi of most of the main cast, which gets into a weird bit when one of the cast tries to save others by using chi of other people and it gets kind of screwy there (at least for my tastes). Anyway, much like a filler episode, it wraps up with the Jiangshi being defeated and everyone returning to normal.

It is a very interesting take on the lore, but I'm not sure how good or how bad it is. The Jiangshi doesn't really resemble the usual look, relying on a mix of eastern and western influences ,some of which is brought up in the episode itself. It still hunts for chi, absorbing it through its eyes and growing stronger with each draining. So much so that, after feasting on the chi of three people, it can resist sunlight and even speak clearly, where it was more animalistic before. It was capable of creating minions after absorbing out their chi, much like in the original writing.

Again, I'm not really sure what to think about this portrayal. It certainly has a lot of the Jiangshi behaviors, like absorbing chi of people, aversion of light, capable of being stopped by talismans. However, the overall look of the creature is a bit jarring, cause it seems like they wanted to go with the western style of vampire but threw in a some eastern flair despite the setting being more European. Yeah, you can see how this is screwing with me a bit.

Overall, I'm kind of mixed about this. I don't really know what else to say about it other than...it existed.

Final conclusion? For a creature referred to mostly as a 'chinese vampire', the respect for the creature and its history has dropped a bit in recent memory. Its more of an easy joke monster to bring up and use, nothing really too threatening is made about it and the accuracy of it in modern storytelling can be rather splintered. A shame, really.

Okay, need to move onto another creature. This one kind of depressed me in the end.

Until next time...

October Monster Month: The Wendigo

Welcome to the first October-themed post on monsters. Up to bat first is the Native American monster known as the Wendigo.

The tale of the Wendigo comes from Native American tribes residing in northern United States and Canada. While these tribes had slight differences with their descriptions, it was clear that the Wendigo was an evil, cannibalistic being of the supernatural. Always hungry but never full. They've become symbols for the cold winters and starvation one may face in the far north.

The appearance of a Wendigo changes a bit from telling to telling, tribe to tribe. Basil Johnston, scholar of the Owijbe tribe in Ontario, Canada, had this description of the being:

The Wendigo was gaunt to the point of emaciation, its desiccated skin pulled tautly over its bones. With its bones pushing out against its skin, its complexion the ash gray of death, and its eyes pushed back deep into their sockets, the Wendigo looked like a gaunt skeleton recently disinterred from the grave. What lips it had were tattered and bloody [....] Unclean and suffering from suppurations of the flesh, the Wendigo gave off a strange and eerie odor of decay and decomposition, of death and corruption.

A commonality amongst the stories regarding Wendigo tells of how humans can become one. Sometimes, it is be the evil spirit of a Wendigo to compel them to eat flesh. Others, it is just the cannibalistic act is enough for one to turn into the monster, usually a means to stave off starvation during a long winter. Many have told the tale of the Wendigo as a deterrent from performing cannibalism, calling it 'taboo' in their traditions.

In our modern age, when stories such as these became more available, it wasn't long before the Wendigo would make an appearance.

For example, the Wendigo appeared in Marvel comics in 1973, first appearing in a comic starring the Incredible Hulk.

While the creature looks more white-furred and muscle bound than the source material, it still had a lot of the original aspects of the old story. The 'Curse of the Wendigo' was brought down by the Inua, the Northern Gods, to deter people from cannibalism. The creature has appeared many times since, fighting the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Canadian superteam known as Alpha Flight. Sometimes, this Wendigo is more animal than human, simply shouting the word 'Wendigo'. Occasionally, you'll find a few that retain their intelligence and can even speak like a regular person as well, usually because they made the change through magic.

An interesting take on a creature in the super hero stories. How about more into the horror?

In 'The Secret World', the Wendigos are present on Solomon Island, a fictional island in north-eastern United States. While the place also suffers from a fog bringing the undead and creatures known as Draug (think undead viking monsters) at the time, the Wendigo have been around long before.

Much like the folk stories, they were people corrupted by dark spirits to eat human flesh and turn into monsters. Some hunt alone, while others group into packs led by an alpha. No surprise that they also must consume flesh to sate their neverending hunger.

The tribe on the island, the Wabanaki (actually a confederacy of tribes in real life) have had a history hunting Wendigos. When the players arrive on the island, they also get the opportunities to fight and kill them as well. They encounter more loners in the beginning parts, mostly in Kingsmouth Town and the Savage Coast. When they reach the Blue Mountain area, that is when they'll encounter more of the packs.

So, we still got a heavy connection to the original material with a few shades of new takes on the creature. What about another, more recent game that has their take on the Wendigo?

(This heads into a bit of spoiler territory for those who haven't played the game. You've been warned.)

Released for PS4 near the end of August 2015, 'Until Dawn' is an interactive horror game where you can decide the course of how a story goes for the characters involved. They all could live or die thanks to your choices.

Anyway, as you can no doubt tell, the Wendigos make an appearance in the game, though not immediately. As the main characters are simply a group of friends getting together after a year of tragedy (short version, one guy lost his twin sisters on the same mountain they're going to again), we don't exactly learn the full story up front. We learn along with them, such as the very real appearance of the Wendigos.

Much like the previous entries, these Wendigos were born through evil souls of the mountain, causing those who become inhabited by them to develop a taste for human flesh. They transform into tall but wiry bodies, capable of incredible strength and moving fast in short bursts. Their claws can cut through flesh and bone like butter, with teeth capable of biting through flesh in one chomp. Their eyes, however, can only sense movement and not full on figures, making them quite dangerous in the dark.

Surprisingly enough, this take on the Wendigo is slightly more accurate compared to the previous entries. A note on the Wendigo's description in the Native American tales is of an emancipated figure, a sign of however much they try to eat, they will never feel full. They are also more feral hunters, often willing to fight each other over prey so that they can eat it instead.

Overall, looking at a few samples in today's use of old folklore and mythology, the Wendigo is one that has been treated fairly accurately. No real major deviation from the original source, the main message of the monster is well shown (cannibalism bad) and the overall designs are enough to be considered threatening.

 Looking forward to seeing more appearances by the Wendigo. Certainly seems like a perfect alternative monster.

Tune in next week for another article for our Monster Month.

Until next time...

Announcement: October Monster Month

Since we'll be entering the month of October the next day, I figured a bit of Halloween and horror-related posts would be a lot more fitting. There is quite a lot of subjects to talk about, though I'd rather close in on a couple of aspects that I enjoy about the season and genre: monsters.

Its amazing with all the different cultures in the world have stories passed down talking about dark creatures hiding out in the world ready to devour any unsuspecting souls. I want to cover a few of them over the next couple of weeks, going back to where they first appeared to the different interpretations they've manifested as across the mediums of entertainment.

I want to avoid the obvious talking about vampires, werewolves, zombies, and the like for at least this month. I may talk about different takes of them, but on the core they'll mostly be pushed aside. There is certainly a lot more to grab from the stories than just the obvious.

Come back this Friday for my first post for the theme: The Wendigo.