Spring Break
Top Five: Movie monsters...and where they came from
Christian Leikam
Issue date: 10/28/09 Section: Arts & Entertainment
Zombies are cool. Like zombies, vampires are a big part of our pop culture in 2009. In fact famous monsters have always held their own place in pop culture, even before films portrayed them.
But just like Oprah or The Rolling Stones, our favorite monsters had humble beginnings. Here are the top five movie monsters, and their confusing origins.
Number Five: Mummies. The only thing on this list that undeniably exists is the mummy. However, horror movies about mummies are not about the mummy itself, they are about the curse it supposedly carries. There is a lot of speculation about where The Mummy's Curse first came from.
The idea of a mummy's curse first caught the attention of the world when King Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in 1922. Of the 26 people who were present at the opening of King Tut's tomb, six would die in the next decade. Whether six people dying in a ten year period is curse is up to you. Among those, Lord Carvarnon, the expedition sponsor, (who was battling a weak immune system) died six weeks later of blood poisoning, according to National Geographic. Newspapers sensationalized the story, claiming it was the curse.
The 1932 movie The Mummy was the first of many mummy movies to feature archaeologists dying horrible deaths because of a vengeful dead king. The Brendan Fraser movies were remakes of this film.
Number Four: Werewolves. Werewolves are typically normal people who turn into murderous monsters that resemble wolves during the full moon.
Myths of werewolves are thought to have originated from stories of extremely hungry wolves digging up graves in desperate attempts to find food. As gross as that is, Twilight fans can thank that disturbing concept for inspiring Jacob the Werewolf.
Number Three: Dracula. Dracula also has a notorious origin.
Vlad the Impaler, a Transylvanian nobleman from the 15th century, is said to be what inspired Bram Stoker to create the character of Dracula. Stories of Vlad aren't unlike those of Dracula. When enemies tried to attack Vlad, they were greeted by a forest of prisoners who had been impaled on stakes. Rumors of Vlad actually drinking the blood of his enemies also circulated at the time.
If Twilight had been truer to the classic idea of a vampire, it would probably have a different fan base.
Number Two: Frankenstein's Monster. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, a monster made of several dead bodies is brought to life using electricity. It has been speculated that Shelley was inspired to write her macabre classic by a disturbing demonstration put on by Italian physicist, Giovanni Aldini.
Aldini often experimented with the effects of electricity on dead subjects. For one demonstration, Aldini used the corpse of recently executed murderer, George Forster. In front of an audience, Aldini applied electricity to Forster's corpse. The corpse's eyes opened, its arm raised, and the body generally seemed to have come back to life. As The London Times wrote about the spectacle, "It appeared...as if the wretched man was on the eve of being restored to life."
Number One: Zombies. It's pretty well known that zombies originated from African and Caribbean belief systems, namely Voodoo. The original concept of a zombie greatly differs from the zombies that fill our culture. According to the book Monsters Who's Who, zombies are recently deceased humans who are brought back to serve a master with a powerful mind. So, no decaying flesh, no biting, and no "aim for the head." Just free labor with no arguments.
One example is that of Clairvius Narcisse, a Haitian man who claims to have been zombified in the early sixties. According to Narcisse's story, he was drugged, buried alive, and then dug up and kept in a drug-induced zombie state. When the "sorcerer" who had been drugging and using Narcisse died, Narcissse left the sugar plantation he'd been working on, not remembering the past couple years. Whether the story is true or just another myth is open to speculation.
But just like Oprah or The Rolling Stones, our favorite monsters had humble beginnings. Here are the top five movie monsters, and their confusing origins.
Number Five: Mummies. The only thing on this list that undeniably exists is the mummy. However, horror movies about mummies are not about the mummy itself, they are about the curse it supposedly carries. There is a lot of speculation about where The Mummy's Curse first came from.
The idea of a mummy's curse first caught the attention of the world when King Tutankhamun's tomb was discovered in 1922. Of the 26 people who were present at the opening of King Tut's tomb, six would die in the next decade. Whether six people dying in a ten year period is curse is up to you. Among those, Lord Carvarnon, the expedition sponsor, (who was battling a weak immune system) died six weeks later of blood poisoning, according to National Geographic. Newspapers sensationalized the story, claiming it was the curse.
The 1932 movie The Mummy was the first of many mummy movies to feature archaeologists dying horrible deaths because of a vengeful dead king. The Brendan Fraser movies were remakes of this film.
Number Four: Werewolves. Werewolves are typically normal people who turn into murderous monsters that resemble wolves during the full moon.
Myths of werewolves are thought to have originated from stories of extremely hungry wolves digging up graves in desperate attempts to find food. As gross as that is, Twilight fans can thank that disturbing concept for inspiring Jacob the Werewolf.
Number Three: Dracula. Dracula also has a notorious origin.
Vlad the Impaler, a Transylvanian nobleman from the 15th century, is said to be what inspired Bram Stoker to create the character of Dracula. Stories of Vlad aren't unlike those of Dracula. When enemies tried to attack Vlad, they were greeted by a forest of prisoners who had been impaled on stakes. Rumors of Vlad actually drinking the blood of his enemies also circulated at the time.
If Twilight had been truer to the classic idea of a vampire, it would probably have a different fan base.
Number Two: Frankenstein's Monster. In Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, a monster made of several dead bodies is brought to life using electricity. It has been speculated that Shelley was inspired to write her macabre classic by a disturbing demonstration put on by Italian physicist, Giovanni Aldini.
Aldini often experimented with the effects of electricity on dead subjects. For one demonstration, Aldini used the corpse of recently executed murderer, George Forster. In front of an audience, Aldini applied electricity to Forster's corpse. The corpse's eyes opened, its arm raised, and the body generally seemed to have come back to life. As The London Times wrote about the spectacle, "It appeared...as if the wretched man was on the eve of being restored to life."
Number One: Zombies. It's pretty well known that zombies originated from African and Caribbean belief systems, namely Voodoo. The original concept of a zombie greatly differs from the zombies that fill our culture. According to the book Monsters Who's Who, zombies are recently deceased humans who are brought back to serve a master with a powerful mind. So, no decaying flesh, no biting, and no "aim for the head." Just free labor with no arguments.
One example is that of Clairvius Narcisse, a Haitian man who claims to have been zombified in the early sixties. According to Narcisse's story, he was drugged, buried alive, and then dug up and kept in a drug-induced zombie state. When the "sorcerer" who had been drugging and using Narcisse died, Narcissse left the sugar plantation he'd been working on, not remembering the past couple years. Whether the story is true or just another myth is open to speculation.
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