Call this case a bit of an odd one, but I was recently re-watching some episodes Jonny Quest... and "Monster in the Monastery" has actually managed to make me a bit jumpy. The monster in question here is the yeti (per,haps better known as "bigfoot"); which is presented as a large humanoid with piercing red eyes a thick coat of fur, and a horrible shriek. For most of the episode, the "yeti" are just disguises for human villains; it's the real one which shows up at the end just makes me feel uneasy. This is in contrast to some of the other episodes which scared me when I was younger, such as "The Robot Spy" and "The Invisible Monster"; they no longer bother me at all, but "Monster in the Monastery" retains its scare factor.
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Based on that, what exactly makes a monster scary?
There are a few qualities that I can guess at, but there could be more to it as well:
Is remotely plausible
Yeti and the sasquatch are cryptids, large primates who have yet to be proven to exist; but at the same time, they haven't been shown to be myth yet. While I'm not one to usually believe in such things, there is a surprising large amount of evidence (some of it quite plausible) and it can't be dismissed entirely; and the fact they might be real triggers a primal fear. "Monster in the Monastery" plays this card right at the end, to chilling effect. Obviously fictional creatures from fantasy like invisible monsters and dragons can be dismissed, while ones which remain plausible can still trigger primal fears.
If I met this thing, I wouldn't know how to deal with it
First off, I'm not a small guy nor a physically weak one; I'm more or less as large as a person can be and still have "normal" physical proportions. As such, I'm not easily intimidated by people; and while I don't have any sort of training which would help me if confrontation should turn physical, I know full well that I'm capable of hurting people with my bare hands if I have to (not that I ever want to). This is part of what makes various monsters scary, in that it's clear you can't take them in a fair fight. In the case of say... running into a yeti/sasquatch/bigfoot in a dark alley, my options more or less boil down to grabbing anything which can serve as an impromtu weapon or running away (and there's no real indication either would work).
The creature is somewhat intelligent, but can't be reasoned with
An animal, while physically stronger than you are, isn't sentient; it could be fooled or sufficiently distracted, allowing for you to escape while it shifts its focus away from you. A sentient and intelligent creature, such as the vaguely humanoid yeti/sasquatch/bigfoot, can act based on a decision rather than instinct; but at the same time, you're unable to talk to it and convince it otherwise. Quite simply, there's no way to put it off the warpath if it's coming at you; if it decides it wants you dead, there's nothing you can do except kill it yourself (which is established as not really viable). The yeti's feral shriek in "Monster in the Monastery", which frightening in it's own right, establishes this as well; it's a distinctly inhuman sound coming from a humanoid creature. This factor doesn't necessarily have to involve a creature which is on the line between feral and higher thought-processes; more intelligent creatures can work just as well, but for one reason or another they still can't be reasoned with (it simply doesn't care what you or anyone else thinks, and is established as such).
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The latter two clauses are probably the key details which define a monster, while the first clause is more or less stating that the "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" is at play. Effectively, a monster is something you can't fight nor reason with; anything which has you at it's mercy, and knows it. The net effect is something that's intimidating, making you feel both helpless & vulnerable.
While this could take many different forms, a monster consolidates that feeling into a single entity which radiates an aura of fear. By making it one creature, rather than an indiscriminate event/disaster or a group of entities, it is able to focus all that fear-inducing power at someone; this gives the outcome of its actions a dreadful certainty. The audience hopes that whatever the monster does, they hope that it does not come for them. If or when it does, the flight or fight instinct kicks in.... but at the same time, they dread that either course of action will be futile.
There is no escape from it, physically nor mentally.
The monster has them at its mercy, and knows it.
---
Based on that, what exactly makes a monster scary?
There are a few qualities that I can guess at, but there could be more to it as well:
Is remotely plausible
Yeti and the sasquatch are cryptids, large primates who have yet to be proven to exist; but at the same time, they haven't been shown to be myth yet. While I'm not one to usually believe in such things, there is a surprising large amount of evidence (some of it quite plausible) and it can't be dismissed entirely; and the fact they might be real triggers a primal fear. "Monster in the Monastery" plays this card right at the end, to chilling effect. Obviously fictional creatures from fantasy like invisible monsters and dragons can be dismissed, while ones which remain plausible can still trigger primal fears.
If I met this thing, I wouldn't know how to deal with it
First off, I'm not a small guy nor a physically weak one; I'm more or less as large as a person can be and still have "normal" physical proportions. As such, I'm not easily intimidated by people; and while I don't have any sort of training which would help me if confrontation should turn physical, I know full well that I'm capable of hurting people with my bare hands if I have to (not that I ever want to). This is part of what makes various monsters scary, in that it's clear you can't take them in a fair fight. In the case of say... running into a yeti/sasquatch/bigfoot in a dark alley, my options more or less boil down to grabbing anything which can serve as an impromtu weapon or running away (and there's no real indication either would work).
The creature is somewhat intelligent, but can't be reasoned with
An animal, while physically stronger than you are, isn't sentient; it could be fooled or sufficiently distracted, allowing for you to escape while it shifts its focus away from you. A sentient and intelligent creature, such as the vaguely humanoid yeti/sasquatch/bigfoot, can act based on a decision rather than instinct; but at the same time, you're unable to talk to it and convince it otherwise. Quite simply, there's no way to put it off the warpath if it's coming at you; if it decides it wants you dead, there's nothing you can do except kill it yourself (which is established as not really viable). The yeti's feral shriek in "Monster in the Monastery", which frightening in it's own right, establishes this as well; it's a distinctly inhuman sound coming from a humanoid creature. This factor doesn't necessarily have to involve a creature which is on the line between feral and higher thought-processes; more intelligent creatures can work just as well, but for one reason or another they still can't be reasoned with (it simply doesn't care what you or anyone else thinks, and is established as such).
---
The latter two clauses are probably the key details which define a monster, while the first clause is more or less stating that the "Willing Suspension of Disbelief" is at play. Effectively, a monster is something you can't fight nor reason with; anything which has you at it's mercy, and knows it. The net effect is something that's intimidating, making you feel both helpless & vulnerable.
While this could take many different forms, a monster consolidates that feeling into a single entity which radiates an aura of fear. By making it one creature, rather than an indiscriminate event/disaster or a group of entities, it is able to focus all that fear-inducing power at someone; this gives the outcome of its actions a dreadful certainty. The audience hopes that whatever the monster does, they hope that it does not come for them. If or when it does, the flight or fight instinct kicks in.... but at the same time, they dread that either course of action will be futile.
There is no escape from it, physically nor mentally.
The monster has them at its mercy, and knows it.
