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Monster Class | Honors College

Most of us remember the childhood fright of a monster under the bed or in the closet. Students in ACU's English department had the opportunity to relive those fears during a special topics course this fall taught by Dr. Bill Carroll, assistant professor of English.

Our monsters aren't always scary, aren't always evil. Sometimes we make monsters to keep us safe.

From creatures in classic fiction to society's current fascination with vampires, the class examined the origins and modern manifestations of monsters. A special presentation hosted by the Honors College allowed several students, as well as Carroll and colleague Dr. Mikee Delony to share their experiences from the class.

Special topics courses like this are an innovative way for ACU students to study literature in areas of their special interests.  Past courses have dealt with subjects as varied as mythology, British mystery writers and Irish poets. All have one thing in common, however. They allow students to go in depth in a narrow, specific field. Many of the classes focus on relating literature to modern life.

Presentations from the fall "monsters" class ranged from rewriting the classic "Frankenstein" to an analysis of Oscar Wilde's works through the lens of Catholic theology. But all the presenters had one thing in common - each subject dealt with how society understands monsters.

Modern vampire as Byronic hero

Drs. Carroll and Delony talked about the recent surge in popularity of vampires, spurred by 20th-century popular culture of Dracula films, Anne Rice novels, the blockbuster "Twilight" series and numerous TV shows.

"There's an element of danger that is desirable," Carroll said. "Suddenly monsters become attractive to us."

A slide from Dr. Mikee Delony's presentation

Delony, assistant professor of English, notes the vampire has evolved into a Byronic hero - idealized but flawed, socially and sexually dominant, and a handsome and charismatic outsider who was always condemned to be the "other."

Vampires have existed since the beginning of recorded history. The concept of the bloodthirsty undead most likely came from victims of failed hangings, who would escape from their graves and go wandering about the countryside, Delony said.

Vampires' popularity is enhanced by the fact that the creatures can easily blend into almost any culture: they are like us, but are utterly different as well.

The modern vampire has evolved into yet another minority group in society, Delony said. TV shows such as "True Blood" and "Moonlight" - whose hero is a vampire private eye - reinforce this idea. 

Carroll pointed out the irony of an undead horror figure becoming a teenage pulp fiction hero. "It's interesting that our fear entertains," he said.

Creatures in classic literature

Other presentations focused on classic literature.

Honors student Katherine Sinclair discussed "The Portrait of Dorian Gray" using Catholic doctrine on sin and its consequences. Sinclair, a junior English major from Abilene, presented the monster as a creature that is supernatural, not quite human, or a human who's done terrible things. Her premise was that Dorian Gray commits all of the Seven Deadly Sins in Oscar Wilde's novel, thus damning himself and becoming monstrous. 

"All of us have struggled with one or more of these Deadly Sins," Sinclair said. "Does that make us monsters inside? Does it merely give us monstrous tendencies?" Because everyone struggles with sins, anyone is capable of becoming a monster, she concluded. 

Honors student JaneAnn Kenney, senior English major from Russellville, Ky., presented her ideas on rewriting Mary Shelley's classic horror novel "Frankenstein" into a children's book.  Her storyline includes a sandbox from which the main character creates a sand monster. Her intention is be "generally irreverent," while calling attention to the fact that monsters today aren't nearly as frightening as they used to be.

"I think it's interesting - we don't want to scare our children anymore," she said.

Carroll agrees that not all monsters are created out of fear. "Our monsters aren't always scary, aren't always evil," he said. "Sometimes we make monsters to keep us safe."

Other monsters are created to prevent a greater evil, he said. "Some of our monsters have an origin in prohibiting certain behaviors." 

 
The evolution of monsters

The word "monster" originates from the Latin term monstrum, which meant "omen." In its earliest form, "monster" meant a warning that danger was near. Traditional monsters' malevolence took one of two forms: evil or chaos. Monsters originating in Southern Europe were evil, associated with demons and the Devil. Northern European monsters were chaotic, associated with concepts found in Norse mythology.

Monsters continually evolve, Carroll said, and a society's monsters match its needs, thoughts and desires. Today's monsters, for instance, are more attractive and less malevolent or evil than their ancient counterparts. Carroll attributes this trend to the movement toward multi-culturalism, which makes society less willing to alienate those who are different or unusual.

"They're touchy-feely monsters," he explained.

"We identify what the monster is, but we do it from a cultural and personal perspective," he said. "Sometimes monsters are the metaphor that communicates most effectively to our psyche."