My Top Five Literary Monsters

We’ve talked about ghosts. And while ghost stories are my first horror love I can get behind a good monster story as well. Let’s talk about my top five literary monsters

Vampires

It’s no secret that I love vampires. I’ve written many posts dedicated to them. I would be lying if I said that Twilight had nothing to do with it. Anyhow, my taste has evolved to be less love story more horror. I loved Dracula and most Dracula adjacent stories. I’ve also loved some modern vampire horror and some not so much. Looking at you The Southern Book Club’s Guide to Slaying Vampires. But it’s safe to say vampires are my favorite literary monsters to read about.

Frankenstein’s Monster

This is a new and surprising edition to the list. I’ve read Frankenstein twice before and didn’t love it. However, I re-read it this year and had a totally different experience. I finally understand the cult following. I’ve also read a couple of retellings that I liked. I’ll tell you more about them later.

Uzumaki

Can a shape be a monster? I don’t know the answer to that question, but I do know I can’t see a spiral without being creeped out now. Seriously, that is it. The spiral is the monster. I’m not sure how he made an entire horror manga out of that, but it worked. It’s a story that sticks with you.

Mistwraiths/Kandra

My next two monsters are from fantasy novels, not horror, but they are monsters, nonetheless. The mistwraiths in Mistborn are terrifying. The concept of picking up bones and wearing them is creepy to me. Now I did come to love a couple of kandra but they’re still creepy.

Fades

Lastly, we have Fades from The Wheel of Time. Any shadowspun in The Wheel of Times is freaky but there’s something about Fades. Their description is super creepy and the fact that they can lead other horrible creatures makes them a formidable opponent.

Those are my top five literary monsters. I’d love to hear yours in the comments.