What Makes a Monster truly scary?

[aegix drakan_v1legacy]

To make a monster really scary, there has to be something "wrong" with it. Something unsettling. Be it a strange walk, the tendency to slowly turn to face you before practically teleporting into your face, or a grotesque shape.

Other factors could be intelligence. IE, you can TELL the monster is messing with you. For example, you catch a glimpse of it around a corner, the when you come around, it's not there. then you turn back and the hallway you just came down has claw marks everywhere, and now you don't know where the thing is...But you know it's smart enough to be laughing at your nervousness right now.

Or, even more simply, you don't know where it is, but you KNOW that if it catches you, it will kill you in one single hit. Or summon millions of allies to smother you.

These are all things that make monsters scary.

 

[Rallus]

It's a matter of personal preference in my opinion. Three of the scariest monsters I've seen are all part of Doctor Who.

They are as follows:

1. The Empty Child (The Empty Child/The doctor dances). A child that spreads a plague that causes gasmasks to appear on people's faces and mind controls them to do what he wants. It's hard to explain why it's scary but the way they all go "Mummy. Are you my mummy?" sends shivers up my spine.

2. The Flood (The Waters of Mars). I can barely look at these things. The way they look human but almost dead with the glazed over eyes and the cracks around their mouths, it's freaky. Also the idea that if you touch the water they produce, you will become one of them.

3. The Weeping Angels (Blink). These guys are just creepy because of how dangerous they are and how fast they are. The idea is that you have to look at them to stop them killing you, even blinking will allow them to move and kill you.

-

All of these monsters have something in common: They look human or atleast resemble something familiar to us. The Empty Child is a young boy in a gas mask, the flood is basically just us with serious dehydration issues, and the weeping angels are just statues that look human until they move.

 

[Squidbulb]

Not shoving it in your face or making it easy to kill. If you have to hide from it it'll be much scarier than if you just shoot it.

 

[GameChanger]

No eyes. Or blind. And still able to 'see' you.

 

[letfireraindown]

Well, this is kinda off the mark, but I was playing DC Universe in part of one of Raven's quests when my buddy got creeped out by something. I can't say it was much, more environment than anything. Still it looked like a large fleshy pile of garbage with glowy bits and two, that I saw, randomly placed eyes that I would have missed if not for their rapid movement getting my attention. I thought it looked cool, my buddy expressed some urks in his throat.