Yet another study from the monster hunter Ryan Sargent. It’s an old one again, but i tried something slightly different this time. I attempted to write it in a way that someone who was genuinely trying to categorize monsters/supernatural phenomena would. Lets see how this goes…
“I often find myself contemplating the motives that drive supernaturals. Do they act under the same influences and needs as us humans? Do they strive for riches, family or beliefs? Perhaps for more devious reasons? Indeed, many of the creatures I’ve encountered have seemed very… human. Sometimes they also appear human but at other times the creatures are very inhuman and yet act for very human reasons. I once encountered a beast that looked like what would happen if you turned a persons torso inside out, added two arms and grafted an iron plate on the front of the”head”. Very inhuman you would say but it transpired that the beast was acting for purely financial means, it turned people into ghoulish drug dealers to pander some weird, unholy drug it had created. A demonic businessman you could say. Granted, it did butcher several working class citizens but it turned out that this was because they were trying to compete with its drug business. Its probably still out there in the streets to be honest.
However horrific it may sound, we humans are prone to committing the exact same acts for financial gains. It does make me wonder if these supernaturals are so different from us. However these thoughts are quickly washed away, they must be different right? I really don’t know. I find myself contemplating it a lot and i can’t say there’s ever been a truly definitive case showing that a monster is similar to a man. The monster i mentioned above may of had somewhat inhuman reasons for seeking money. Whats to say it wanted it for the same reasons as us?
I’ve tried to be scientific about this and attempted to group the possible motives that may drive the supernaturals . I’ve come up with three groups. These are, of course, only my theories and observations. The groups are: human-like, natural and unfathomable.
Human-like
Firstly, some creatures are absolutely indistinguishable from ordinary human beings. Some may have very vaguely non-human abnormalities; one may have extra large canine teeth, another may have inexplicable hair or eye colours, yet another may have strange blotches on their skin that glow in the dark and yet another may speak in such a manner that you may not be certain they they have ever spoken human language at all. However all of these could be explained away, they aren’t that strange. Genetic defects, diseases and cosmetics are common excuses.
These creatures can pass for human (usually) and move about our society without fear of discovery. Often their motives are similar to us as well, hence why they might choose to mimic us. They may be after money, a monster might be the enigmatic and estrange CEO of a corporation that sells pharmaceuticals. Another motive may be love, its entirely possible that a creature may be looking for a human mate or bride and how better to find one than to woo them as a human (even if it may only be a human skin). Yet another possible motive could be they are enchanted somehow by some of our beliefs. A creature may become obsessed with one of our religions, say Christianity. Maybe it wouldn’t be able to think about anything else.
I am sure there may be many other possible motives but i think my point is made. Perhaps you can think of some examples? You see, the main point of this group is that they behave like us. They are creatures that mimic our behavior for whatever reason. It is important to note though that some creatures inherently look and act like us, for example a vampire. In this case, their motives are human-like because they were once human. Their motives are entirely like us humans, their reasons also like ours, they do things for the same reasons we would. To become rich, to become famous etc.
Natural
Also could be called “Beast-like” i suppose. The second group is one filled by creatures that act like nature intended, so to speak. They behave not like us but like animals. Their motives are more primal: they seek prey and food, they wish for territory and they strive to survive, simple as that. These sorts of creatures act on instinct it seems and could be regarded as animals as opposed to monsters. They prowl our cities for prey, they carve out dens in the sewers and they stay away from the public eye. It is odd to label this as a motive, after all it is instinct that drives them regardless of the fact they are supernaturals. Are these beings truly monsters or simply animals that have hidden from us thus far? However i feel it is reasonable to group these types of creature as well.
The Unfathomables
The final group, the unfathomable, is just that. This incorporates those creatures that don’t seem to act for any conceivable reason. Perhaps the creature is so alien and detached and thus thinks in ways we could not possibly. Perhaps the creature is so insane that it is not strictly a motive that defines its actions but instead it just does things. These creatures are simply unknowable and as such their motives are also unknowable. To quickly summarize the three groups I shall mark them very simply here in note form.
Human-like- Act like us for largely the same reasons we might.
Natural- Act on instinct, much like regular animals.
Unfathomable- Acts for reasons we cannot deduce, sometimes seemingly random.
That summarizes my theories on the motives of the supernatural. Though i must say that it may not be so easy to categorize the motives of the supernatural like this. Looking back it’d make more sense to judge each creatures motives on a case by case basis. There are too many factors involved to group them so easily. After all, one ghosts search for a lost love would be very different to another ghosts search for a lost love.
I guess the supernaturals are a lot like us after all, we’re all different individuals. We can’t be categorized that easily. Its a strange comparison really. If the bulk of society knew of the supernatural, they’d most certainly think of them as different. But when you think about it, in a lot of cases, we’re not. Indeed one of the groups i mentioned are just like us ( a little at least). I must say, this is a strange revelation…”
WorldofHarley 