Look at you! You’re a butterfly! You’re a butterfly! She’s flying! Weee! (The sound of
a pen scratching.) LOGO. Yarrr, everybody! (Sings) Do what you want ‘cause a pirate lives free!
You are a pirate! (Normal Voice) It’s officially October - the month of hallow’s eve - which means
it’s time to get spooky up in this bitch! Or in Butter’s case, really cute! You’re
a little butterfly! You’re a little butterfly! We’re gonna get the holiday season started on the
right foot by talking all about monsters! Particularly, the monster tropes that I love
most! Today’s topic was requested by one of my patrons over on Patreon, M. H. Kelly!
They wanted to know all about my favorite and least favorite monster tropes, so today,
I’m breaking down the faves! Butters is my FAVORITE little monster! You’re a butterfly!
You’re a butterfly, Butters! Before we get started, a friendly reminder that this is
my release week for my dark fantasy novel The Savior’s Sister! This book may not have
any LITERAL monsters, but it does have a whole lot of monstrous characters. Seriously, the
cast is REALLY fucked up. If you haven’t picked up a copy yet, it’s available in
ebook, paperback, and hardback at ALL major retailers! Definitely get yourself a copy today - I have
the links listed below! While you’re at it, be sure to subscribe to my channel and
ring that bell! I post videos on Wednesdays with bonus content on Mondays! We talk about
tropes, we give writing advice, we give publishing advice, it’s awesome! Subscribe! And sometimes
I dress up like a fuckin’ pirate. It’s awesome! On to my 10 all time favorite monster
tropes in three, two, one, go! Number One (1): Cute, but deadly! We’ve got an adorable,
doe-eyed creature that will tear you to shreds, and use your tendons as floss. Isn’t that
precious? This trope is simple: I want to see a chinchilla destroy people, in all it’s
fluffy glory. I’m going to be forever ashamed of this, but let’s talk about the bunny
in Monty Python and the Holy Grail. I REALLY don’t like Monty Python. The reason that
bunny was so funny was because it was cute, small, and seemingly harmless. And then it
fucking murders people, and that’s hilarious! I support you, tiny demon bunny. The rest
of the movie wasn’t so funny, but that part was golden. Number Two (2): Scary, but sweet!
This is basically the polar opposite of the last point. The monster is huge, it’s hairy,
it’s horrifying! And all it wants is a hug. By the end of the book, you’re thinking,
“Why can’t I have a winged hell demon in my life?” I want to gaze into those 20 black
eyeballs! I want to see the glint of it’s hundreds of fangs when it smiles! Because gosh
darn it, that monster is a sweetheart! It wants to cuddle, it wants to be friends, it’s
more scared of you than you are of it! And that’s saying something, because GODDAMN
is it ugly! This is the kind of monster that teaches you not to judge a book by it’s
cover, or a beast by it’s cloven hooves. Number Three (3): The familiar. A familiar
is a demon that takes the form of an animal in order to obey the requests of a witch.
I’m a fan of familiars, but really, I’m a fan of any creature that acts as a servant
or guardian to a character. I really enjoy this trope because honestly, it’s just something
different! We’ve all seen plenty of characters like Igor or Fritz, and there are a million guardian
or mentor characters to go around. But a guardian monster! That’s special. Why? Because it’s
not a person, and people suck. Number Four (4): The pet monster. This is kind of like the
familiar, except this monster isn’t here to take orders or protect. They’re here
to play fetch and get belly rubs. If they do serve as protection, it’s more so in
the guard dog capacity - not the BODYGUARD capacity. This trope absolutely kills for
the same reason that the scary but sweet trope is the tits. It’s fun to see something typically
written as terrifying instead behave as loving and loyal. Stop fuckin’ werewolves and start
namin’ ‘em Spot! Okay, that might not work because werewolves are part human, but you
get my drift! Number Five (5): Mystery monster. There’s a monster wreaking havoc across
the land, and our main character is desperate to find it. Only to discover, they ARE the
monster! They have been the whole time! The horror! They somehow don’t remember any
of these monstrous killing sprees, and these massive lapses in their memory aren’t at
all suspicious or troubling to them... You know, for ‘reasons.’ I know this trope
is kind of stupid, I just don’t give a shit. It taps into the fear that there’s something
latent and evil within us. Something that we might not be able to suppress, despite
our greatest efforts. That’s SCARY, and if monsters are involved, I probably want
to be scared. Number Six (6): The monster evolution. I’m not talking about shifters,
or werewolves under the full moon. I’m talking about a complete evolution from human to
something EXTREMELY terrifying, and there is NO going back. That shit is twisted, and I want more
of it! A perfect example of this is the 1986 version of The Fly with Jeff Goldblum. You
get to see this man waste away into a grotesque creature, and there is nothing he can do about
it. The monster evolution is particularly disturbing because it makes you wonder, “How
would I react if it was happening to me? If I had absolutely NO control over who or what I was
becoming...” That’s the kind of shit that’ll mess with your mind. And my brain is
already fucked up, so I’m completely open to further mind muddling. Number Seven (7):
Hit us with the new shit! There are millions of books about the same exact monsters retold over,
and over, and over again. You know what’s fun? When a writer does something COMPLETELY
DIFFERENT. I’m going to talk about The Fly again, except this time we’re looking at
the novelette by George Langelaan. I have NO idea if I’m saying that right... This
story was published in 1957, and it’s about a man who accidentally mixes his DNA with
that of a fly...and then a cat. We end up with this weird, humanoid, hybrid cat-fly,
and it’s GLORIOUS! This is some fucked up shit, and I like it! Everyone and their mom
writes about faeries and zombies, and they write them in the EXACT SAME WAY. Show me
something different! Ancient Greece came up with a woman with SNAKE HAIR. If they could
concoct that a bazillion years ago, what’s your excuse? On a related note, Number Eight
(8): Greek mythology. This isn’t exactly a trope, but it’s my list so, I can do whatever
the hell I want! Greek mythology has some of the best monsters, and I’m gonna tell
you why. They basically just mashed a ton of animals together and were like, “BAM!
Ya got a monster!” It’s like Pokémon, except without the virgins. You want a dog
with three heads? The Greeks gotcha covered. You want a lion with a goat head on it’s
back and a snake tail? The Greeks are on it! And it’s REALLY hard to find monsters that
weird these days. Everyone’s just regurgitating what already exists, or tossing glitter on
vampires. Greek mythology threw the whole kitchen sink at their monsters, and I salute
them for it! Number Nine (9): The apex predator. This monster is PARTICULARLY horrifying because
it contradicts everything we know about humanity. As human beings, we believe we’re at the
top of the food chain. Not anymore, bitch! The apex predator is here to rock our socks,
and it’s not gonna be pretty. Monsters like the Predator are iconic for a very simple
reason: the Predator is a PREDATOR. We don’t stand a chance! I mean technically we did
win in the original, but there have been SO many sequels. Who’s the REAL winner at this
point? And on a similar note, Number Ten (10): Monsters that are ACTUALLY monsters. Once
upon a time, werewolves and vampires were for killing, NOT for fucking. Can we see more
of that? PLEASE. For the love of God. Now, there ARE exceptions to the rule. After all,
I’ve listed a bunch already. I love monster pets, familiars, sweet monsters that you want
to rock like a baby. You know, if it wasn’t for all the poisonous spikes. But at the end
of the day, I still have so much love in my corrupted black heart for murderous monsters.
When I go into monster fiction, I’m expecting death, NOT dick. Just give me a creative,
thought-out monster that actually poses as a threat to human life. I don’t think that’s
too much to ask. So that’s all I’ve got for you today! A HUGE thank you to M. H. Kelly
for requesting today’s topic! If you’d like the chance to have a video dedicated
to you, or if you want access to TONS of other awards, check me out on Patreon! We’ve
got an exclusive writing group, you get early access to videos, there’s a monthly livestream,
there’s signed merch, it’s awesome! I’ve got it linked below! Get on it! And if you haven’t
yet, be sure to pick up a copy of my number one, best-selling dark fantasy novel The Savior’s
Sister! It came out this week! It’s awesome! It’s available in ebook, paperback, and
hardback at ALL major retailers! I have the links listed below. Buy it! Do it! Yeah! Don’t
forget to subscribe to my channel! I post new videos on Wednesdays, and if you want
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Bye! (Flippant Male Voice) Hey! Everyone! I’m Flynn! I fucking love myself, so if
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press that button, ding the bell, and we’ll have a great fucking time!