Why Do We Believe in Monsters?

Monsters have always been a part of pop culture. Ranging from the cute, cuddly ones to the downright scary and vicious ones, monsters have been a part of literature, TV shows and movies for as long as we can remember.

The thought of these fantastic creatures sound absurd some of the time. 10-foot-tall giants? Blood-sucking fiends? Elusive sea beasts? Any one in their right mind would dismiss these thoughts as pure fiction. And yet, belief in Big Foot, vampires and the Loch Ness monster still exist today.

If we don’t have an inkling of belief in these monsters, then they would have already been forgotten by now. And yet, here they are, still at the back of the people’s minds. Why do we believe in them?

• Prevalence in media. It’s pretty hard to forget about some things when you see them all the time. And with the recent popularity of vampires and werewolves, among others, it looks like this trend won’t be going away any time soon. Media embeds thoughts of these monsters in you, making sure that they exist – even just in your mind.
• Presence of evidence. People believe that these monsters exist because there has been evidence on them. Pictures, videos, real-life experiences – these do the opposite of dispelling the myths of these monsters. And, of course, the media always gets their hands on these evidences to show to the world.
• Unexplainable events. Sometimes, it is easier to just pin the blame for unexplainable events on monsters. Dead goats? The chupacabra did it. Dead cows? Werewolves did it. Sudden waves in a still lake? It’s the Loch Ness monster.

Monsters will always exist – and people will always believe in them – as long as they are in our heads, whether they are real or not.

“Primal Creatures” by Eric Wilder features a specific type of monster – the rougarou, a kind of werewolf that is popular in Cajun folklore, said to be living in the swamps of Louisiana. People believe in it for the exact reasons stated above, and this book gruesomely brings the legend to life.

“Primal Creatures” is currently available in Kindle format at Amazon.com.