Monster. A monster is a type of fictional creature found in horror, fantasy, science fiction, folklore, mythology and religion. They are very often depicted in art as dangerous and aggressive, with a strange or grotesque appearance that causes terror and fear, often in humans. Monsters usually resemble bizarre, deformed, otherworldly and/or mutated animals or entirely unique creatures of varying sizes, but may also take a human form, such as mutants, ghosts, spirits, zombies, or cannibals, among other things. They may or may not have supernatural powers, but are usually capable of killing or causing some form of destruction, threatening the social or moral order of the human world in the process. Animal monsters are outside the moral order, but sometimes have their origin in some human violation of the moral law. Human monsters are those who by birth were never fully human or who through some supernatural or unnatural act lost their humanity, and so who can no longer, or who never could, follow the moral law of human society. Monsters may also be depicted as misunderstood and friendly creatures who frighten individuals away without wanting to, or may be so large, strong and clumsy that they cause unintentional damage or death. Some monsters in fiction are depicted as mischievous and boisterous but not necessarily threatening, while others may be docile but prone to becoming angry or hungry, thus needing to be tamed and taught to resist savage urges, or killed if they cannot be handled or controlled successfully. Monsters pre-date written history, and the academic study of the particular cultural notions expressed in a society's ideas of monsters is known as monstrophy. Monsters have appeared in literature and in feature-length films. Well-known monsters in fiction include Count Dracula, Frankenstein's monster, werewolves, vampires, demons, mummies, and zombies. An Allegory of Immortality, c. Monster derives from the Latin monstrum, itself derived ultimately from the verb moneo, and denotes anything strange or singular, contrary to the usual course of nature, by which the gods give notice of evil, a strange, unnatural, hideous person, animal, or thing, or any monstrous or unusual thing, circumstance, or adventure. In the words of Tina Marie Boyer, assistant professor of medieval German literature at Wake Forest University, monsters do not emerge out of a cultural void; they have a literary and cultural heritage.
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