Alright guys--we’ve already traversed two parts of the rich tapestry that is modern
literature, scouring the countryside for some of the most terrifying monstrosities and villainous
entries that lurk within the shadows of both horror, fantasy and science fiction.
Now, in part one and part two, we addressed perhaps some of the more obvious entries of
the things that go bump in the night--but now, it’s probably high time that we knuckle
down and find out which horrifying entries are still left lurking beneath the bowels
of the realms of literary monsters.
Let's find out.
Hello horror fans, what’s going on--and once again welcome back to the scariest channel
on YouTube--Top 5 Scary Videos.
As per usual, I’ll be your horror host Jack Finch--as today, we curiously take a look
at the Top 5 Most Terrifying Monsters In Literature--Part 3.
Roll the clip.
For the curious amongst you, that clip was from 2002’s The Time Machine, starring Guy
Pearce--a modern cinematic retelling of the 1895 science fiction novella of the same name,
written by H.G. Wells.
In it, it depicts a world--far, far in the future--where humanity has evolved into two
very distinct species, the Morlocks and the Eloi.
And--yeah, whilst the Morlocks might be like--9 feet tall in the film--and wield frickin blow-dart-guns--in
the novel, they’re an unnerving depiction of humanity's obsession with putting things
in boxes.
Yeah, whilst a little dated--they definitely deserve an honorable mention on this list.
Anyway, let’s begin shall we?
Kicking off at Number 5 -- The Worms, from The Troop
If you’ve ever heard of Nick Cutter--author of 2014’s The Troop--you might be mistaken
to know that he’s actually another author named Craig Davidson--but nevertheless, under
the nomme de plume Nick Cutter, over the past few years, he’s churned out some incredibly
refreshing entries into the catalogue of modern horror literature.
His first foray into that frightful world, was with 2014’s The Troop--a genuinely disgusting
tale about a group of boy scouts out in a Canadian island that unwittingly find themselves
in the death-grips of a bout of disgusting biological warfare.
Now, whilst I’ll try and keep spoilers to a minimum--because, The Troop is definitely
worthy of a read and it’s a genuinely gripping novel--it's going to be a little difficult
when it comes to explaining the titular worms of this Number 5 Point.
I mean, if you’ve seen Part 2 of this list, you’ll know that anything slug or worm based
is pretty horrifying--but… dude.
The Worms from the Troop are frickin’ disgusting.
Written and directed by Nick Cutter, The Troop tells the tale of a Scoutmaster and doctor,
Tim Riggs--who takes his scout troop out to a remote Canadian Island for a wilderness
retreat, when unbeknownst to them--a strange, thin man comes knocking on the cabin door--and
he’s harboring a pretty disgusting secret.
He’s hungry--so hungry, that anything he eats does nothing to sate his ravenous hunger.
And why’s that?
Well, the Thin man is infested by a grotesque host of parasitic worms--that writhe inside
his stomach, seeking to infest their next victim.
I mean, if you guys have ever read the works of Chuck Palahniuk--Nick Cutter often gets
compared to him, and in terms of genuinely visceral literary descriptions of a vile,
ravenous biohazard worm infestation--it kind of doesn’t get grosser than this.
Also, the novel itself is just fantastically written--and the ending, is something else
entirely.
It begins like your average run of the mill viral pandemic horror--and just completely
goes somewhere else entirely.
It’s great.
Swinging in at Number 4--The Gloamglozer, from The Edge Chronicles
I never thought I’d see the day, but I’m actually enthralled at the fact that I’m
putting a monster from The Edge Chronicles on this list.
Seriously, for anyone that had the absolute pleasure of stumbling upon this series as
a kid--you’ll know just how unique Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell’s series were--and
since their first novel, Beyond the Deepwoods, released back in 1998--I’m not sure whether
there’s been a series quite like it.
That aside--in such a richly detailed world of bizarre creatures and species--the most
undeniably terrifying of them all, was The Gloamglozer.
Now, the extent of this might be a little difficult to explain without context--but
I’ll try anyway.
For those of you that don’t know, The Edge Chronicles is a series that spans several
generations, that details a fantasy world known as The Edge--a literal gigantic cliff
edge, bordered by an impossibly deep forest, where a whole host of species survive and
thrive.
One of the most barren and bleak areas, is a place known as the Edgelands--a desolate
and dangerous place that just so happens to be the stomping grounds of The Gloamglozer,
an ancient demon that had lingered long upon the Edge, and who ultimately orchestrated
the demise of countless of its victims.
In many ways, The Gloamglozer is kind of similar to the Babadook, in that he’s a manifestation
of something--perhaps a convergence of emotion, and for a children’s novel--the extent of
the Gloamglozer’s perfectly crystallized fear was pretty damn staggering.
The thing was nightmare fuel.
The Gloamglozer was a shapeshifter--that could resemble any living creature, but its true
form was a hideous creature with a warty, sneering face--framed by two sinister horns--and
cloaked in a pitch black, formless robe.
It couldn’t harm anyone through physical means--but instead had perfected it’s power
of lies and persuasion to just ---- lead people to their deaths.
Make them step off the edge--and then poof, gone.
That was it’s fuel--that was its purpose to exist.
Maybe it was Chris Riddell’s incredible and richly detailed illustrations--but yeah,
in a book of adventure and hope--The Gloamglozer quickly put an end to all of that.
Next up at Number 3--The Triffids, The Day of the Triffids
It’s probably been high time since John Wyndham made his way to this list, but for
the resolute amongst you--you knew it was only a matter of time, didn’t you?
Now, for fans of Top 5 Scary Videos--you’ll know that we recently covered the awesomely
underrated 2008 film, The Ruins--based upon the novel of the same name by Scott Smith--which
just so happens to feature and absolutely terrifying species of ancient-sentient plants
that have a habit of burrowing into human flesh.
Well, before that--John Wyndham beat science fiction to the post--and he gave us The Triffids--and
for those of you that are so inclined, you may not look at a plant in the same way again.
Nature, is scary--and so it should be.
The incomprehensible power of an ecosystem should be something that we never look at
without an ounce of respect or fear--because we pale in comparison to it.
Well, Wyndham took that theme--and he literally put it on two legs.
Well, three legs, actually--and gave it the sentient will to bring an end to all mankind.
Also, not like we should casually just glean over it--but John Wyndham’s 1951 novel is
actually fantastic--and it stands out as one of the most refreshing, yet utterly terrifying
depictions of the end of the world.
Written by John Wyndham and released back in 1951--The Day of the Triffids tells the
tale of a man named Bill, an expert on a bizarre and new type of lifeform, the Triffids--a
species of animal-like plants that feed on rotting meat and can move freely after uprooting
themselves.
They posses a deadly poisonous sting--which, features for some pretty hair-raising moments--and
also seem to have the ability to communicate with each other.
Worryingly so--they do, and although at the beginning of the novel, civilization treats
the Triffids like a type of farm-animal, literally farming them for their precious oil--unluckily
for pretty much every human on the planet, an unknown meteor shower just so happens to
blind near enough every human on earth--and suddenly, these Triffid farms quickly become
the downfall of all of mankind.
I won’t say any more--because The Day of the Triffids is a must read for any fan of
science fiction and horror--and the ending to this novel in particular says much more
about the horrors of mankind than it does about anything else.
Coming in at Number 2--Rawhead Rex, from Rawhead Rex
Alright guys, I know that we said in our previous part 2 of this list that we’ll be featuring
no Lovecraft, King or Barker--given the fact that we already have many specific Top 5 lists
for the former, and are planning a list for the latter--we can just give a little bit
of a snippet in this Part 3--and talk about one of Barker’s most genuinely terrifying
literary creations--Rawhead Rex.
Now, if you’ve seen the 1986 cinematic version of his short story, you’ll understand why
Rex kind of gets a bit of a bum deal when compared to other horrifying monstrosities--but
if you take a look at the prose--and look past the fact that essentially, this monster
is a giant 9 foot phallus with teeth and a ravenous maw--it is actually terrifying.
Barker’s intention with this creature was to encapsulate the primitive nature of mankind
and give it a form--and given the fact that we actually see the terrifying actions of
this creature through it’s own eyes--it says a hell of a lot about the human species.
As the titular monster of the 1984 short story of the same name, appearing in Clive Barker’s
Books of Blood--Rawhead Rex is an ancient, malevolent, carnivorous and bloodthirsty beast
that terrorises the small English town of Zeal for time forgotten.
It is alluded to that Rawhead Rex--it’s true name unknown--but often referred to as
The King or Bloody Bones--was an ancient pagan demigod known for devouring children by the
bucketload and violating and impregnating women--with it’s only fear being that of
pregnant women--the literal antithesis to it’s primal function.
I know, Rawhead Rex sounds pretty tongue in cheek from the off--and perhaps that's why
the 1986 movie pretty much missed the mark entirely, but forget about that--because Barker’s
actual prose is pretty damn terrifying--and it’s almost like watching Jaws through the
eyes of the great white shark.
Yeah, stay tuned--and we’ll have a comprehensive Barker list for you--but for now, Rawhead
Rex will have to do.
And finally, coming in at our Number 1 spot--The Chandrian, The Kingkiller Chronicles
Okay.
Alright, I recognise that this particular series may be quickly becoming a Patrick Rothfuss
fan-fare--and whatever, I’m cool with that--down to the fact that so many of you have been
receptive of the recommendation--because come on guys, if you’re not reading The Name
of the Wind and then The Wise Man’s Fear--and then waiting for book three like the rest
of us, I’m not sure what you’re doing with your life, okay?!
Alright--now that’s out of the way, we have to talk about the literal definition of the
fear of the unknown.
A concept of horror that has a habit of being frighteningly effective.
Now--this might be a personal thing--but I’m sure that many of you are on the same page
as me, and I’m not entirely sure if there’s ever been a vessel of horror that has been
alluded to so minutely--with such lack of information--that has been so impactful and
nightmare inducing--as the potential terror of the Chandrian.
Again, I’ll try and do this without spoilers--because seriously, read the Kingkiller Chronicles--but
I’ve never believed that a group of potential demons could truly be as evil as the Chandrian.
And I say that with the prior knowledge that we know next to nothing about them.
And you know, I might be entirely wrong--because the true extent of them is yet to be revealed--and
if so, I’ll eat my words.
For all we know, they might turn out to be the good guys--but… well, put it this way.
You see, Patrick Rothfuss, the author of the Kingkiller Chronicles--seems to have an impeccable
skill at demonstrating our basic human nature, even in a world of fantasy.
The series itself is the art of Storytelling--weaving myths and legends through an oral tradition--or
music--or art--but then, in that same fantasy setting--we get a small sample of reality.
Because here, monsters *do* exist--as is so horrifying demonstrated at the opening of
the series.
Again, this really is difficult to do without spoilers--but put it this way.
According to legend, the Chandrian are the most evil entities in the Four Corners of
Civilization.
They have fallen into myth and legend, by their own design.
There are seven of them.
Cyphus.
Stercus.
Ferule.
Usnea, Dalcenti.
Alenta, and Alaxel.
But they also have many other names--varying from culture to culture--where the stories
differ depending on who you ask.
And, that’s all we know.
Well, not entirely--but you should find out for yourself.
Trust me.
Well, there we have it horror fans, our list for the Top 5 Most Terrifying Monsters In
Literature--Part 3.
What did you guys think?
Do you agree?
Disagree?
Have any more to add to this list?
Let us know your thoughts down in the comment section below, as well as any choice picks
of your own.
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