Reddit mentions of Medusa's Gaze and Vampire's Bite: The Science of Monsters

I, too, love monsters. In fact, I'm preparing to write a dissertation on monstrosity in 19th century British/American Gothic literature. Here are a handful of books you may find interesting:


On Monsters: An Unnatural History of Our Worst Fears by Stephen T. Asma
-- If you want a comprehensive history of monsters, this is an excellent book to start with. Asma discusses everything from mythological beasts to cyborgs, and the discussion is very well written and easy to follow.

Skin Show: Gothic Horror and the Technology of Monsters by Judith Halberstam
-- In the opening chapter, Halberstam offers a very interesting reading of The Silence of the Lambs, which she identifies as a sort of re-telling of Frankenstein. Generally, though, Halberstam tends to focus on Gothic lit. (Shelley, Stoker, and Wilde are prominent in her discussion), but she also brings up horror film and newer horror phenomena.

Medusa's Gaze and Vampire's Bite: The Science of Monsters by Matt Kaplan
-- Conceptually, this book is very similar to Asma's but there's a key distinction. Whereas Asma is a philosophy professor, Kaplan is a science journalist, so his take on the subject is quite different. Kaplan tends to explore "why do monsters exist?" but Asma seems to prefer to ask "what do monsters mean?"

Those are the three texts that I would recommend most highly, and I'd definitely start with Asma if you're interested in a sociocultural history of monsters. I should warn you that Halberstam is more theoretical in nature, in terms of the discussion of literature, so it may not be what you're looking for. Either way, I have a ton of articles on my hard drive about monstrosity and horror in general...if there's any other area of horror/Gothic you're interested in, I'd be happy to recommend further reading. Enjoy!

There is a great book that includes this information, as well as the likely origins for most of the mythical creatures we as a species have dreamed up.

There may or may not be a television show in the works which will explore each monster in great detail.

For a great read based on this topic, check out Medusa's Gaze and Vampire's Bite: The Science of Monsters (https://www.amazon.com/dp/1451667981/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_N4rxybY2FWSRM).

While you can't look at these trends a year at a time, the concept has merit and historical support.