The classic monsters we see in film and television all come from somewhere. Some come from folklore, and others come from personal influences.
Dracula
Bram Stoker’s Dracula created the vampire genre in literature and film. Its popularity hasn’t gone away. To this day, we see vampires and Dracula himself in all types of media. However, the origins of this classic monster are murky.
Many believe Vlad Tepes is the main inspiration behind Dracula. Tepes, or Vlad the Impaler, was a 15th-century Romanian prince known for his cruelty and bloodshed. However, in a Times article, Darce Stoker and J.D Barker discuss the inspiration behind the name Dracula. The name Dracula, according to Bram Stoker’s notes, means devil in the Wallachian dialect. However, upon a Google search, I received results that say Dracula means son of a devil.
There are theories surrounding the inspirations for this classic monster. The History Channel states Stoker was inspired by Central European folktales. These folktales mention the nosferatu, a word for the undead. This is where the name for the classic monster Nosferatu came from after Stoker’s widow did not permit filmmakers to recreate Dracula on the silver screen.
Frankenstein
As the daughter of a political philosopher, William Godwin, and a philosopher and women’s rights advocate Mary Wollstonecraft, Mary Shelley had access to education that most wouldn’t have at her age. Shelley wrote Frankenstein as a part of a friendly competition between herself and other writers to create the best ghost story while they were holed up together one winter.
For this competition, she wrote a story about Dr. Frankenstein, a man who was repulsed by his monstrous creation. The story has inspired countless adaptations throughout the decades, and it is getting more. Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein starring Oscar Issac and Jacob Elordi will be released in 2025.
Phantom of the Opera
Phantom of the Opera was written by Gaston Leroux between 1909 and 1910. The play is partly inspired by events at the Palais Garnier during the nineteenth century. One of the recreated events tells of an incident of a chandelier falling and killing one person, but injuring many.
There are also nods to the actual architecture of the Palais Garnier as it refers to the real lake underneath the opera house. The lake is used to train firefighters to swim at night. In the play, it leads to the Phantom’s lair. The Phantom of the Opera is a tale inspired by reality but heavily dramatized with supernatural elements.
Werewolves
These classic monsters of today are nothing like the ones from 4 millennia ago.
The earliest mentions of werewolves come from The Epic of Gilgamesh, Greek mythology, and Nordic mythology. A shared concept in these tales is that humans are turned into wolves.
In Greek mythology, Zeus turned King Lycaon into a wolf. In The Epic of Gilgamesh, a potential lover of Gilgamesh turned a previous mate into a wolf. A man and his son were turned into wolves for 10 days after discovering a pair of wolf pelts in Norse mythology.
Nowadays, werewolves are known for their great physical prowess, fatal weakness to silver, and connection to the full moon. There are also many ways to turn into a werewolf. The easy way is for one to bite you. However, you can get cursed by a demon, drink a werewolf’s blood, wear magic werewolf skin, or cast a spell.
Invisible Man
The least celebrated of the classic monsters is the invisible man.
The Invisible Man is an 1897 science fiction novel by H. G. Wells. The story follows Jack Griffith, an invisible man who locks himself in an inn to conduct research. When the innkeepers discover he is invisible, he becomes public enemy No. 1.
The short story was inspired by W.S. Gilbert’s The Perils of Invisibility and Plato’s Republic. These tales warn about the dangers of invisibility for the public and the individual. While this classic monster is not as popular as other entries, homages to the invisible man are seen everywhere in media. Popular examples include Translucent from The Boys, Sue Storm from The Fantastic Four, and Randall from Monsters Inc.
