It Came From Space!
This colossal cosmic entity, created by author H.P Lovecraft, can influence human minds through dreams, driving many of them into madness.
Cthulhu
This 1925 classic monster was silent in his original horror film adaptation of Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel of the same name, but was given a voice when Andrew Lloyd Webber brought him to the Broadway stage in 1986.
The Phantom of the Opera
This legendary multi-armed sea monster probably was imagined from sightings of giant squid and octopi off the coast of Norway.
In Egypt, it has the body of a lion and the head of a man; in Greece it had the head of a woman and wings.
Sphinx
In the card game, video games, animes, and mobile app, these fictional creatures live alongside humans in a diverse world, each with unique appearances, types (like fire, water, or grass), evolutions, and abilities.
Pokemon
This monster's original name is a combination of the Japanese words for "whale" and "gorilla". It was later changed for English-speaking American audiences to make it easier to pronounce.
Godzilla (or Gorjia)
This was actually Universal's first werewolf film in 1935, but it was not as commercially successful or influential as The Wolf Man in 1941.
Werewolf of London
This monstrous creature from Native American folklore, particularly among the Algonquin-speaking tribes, represents insatiable greed, selfishness, and cannibalism, often born from starvation and spiritual imbalance.
The Wendigo.
In Greek mythology, this mythical creature is also known as Asterion. It dwells at the center of King Minos's labyrinth, taking 14 noble citizens of Athens as sacrificial victims every nine years as retribution for the death of the king's son, Androgeos.
Minotaur
In this 2001 film by the same name, this green, swamp dwelling monster greatly values his privacy and property and makes a clandestine pact with a cruel lord to remove the tortured creatures he has exiled to the monster's land.
Shrek
This spider-crab-like creature is responsible for implanting the Xenomorph embryo in its victims in the movie Alien.
Facehugger
Boris Karloff became an overnight sensation for his sympathetic portrayal of the monster in Frankenstein in 1931. This led him to other well-known roles like the narrator in the 1966 How the Grinch Stole Christmas and the role of this classic creature in 1932. That's a wrap!
The Mummy.
In some tales, this northeastern American Cryptid is said to come from a woman named Leeds who had twelve children and, after discovering she was pregnant for the thirteenth time, cursed the child in frustration. The child immediately grew wings, a tail, and claws after birth and flew out to the Pine Barrens.
Jersey Devil
According to the Greek tragedy, in an act of punishment after Poseidon raped her, Athena cursed this priestess into a monstrous Gorgon. She was later beheaded by Perseus while she slept.
Medusa
This psionic aberration from the Underdark in Dungeons & Dragons is known for its tentacled face, ability to control others, and their need to consume brains for sustenance, often using a parasite tadpole to transform victims.
Mindflayer (or ilithid)
This telepathic alien species from Doctor Who, who may seem to unnerving or disturbing to humans at first, are actually a peaceful, sentient race who hold their hindbrain in their hands.
The Ood
H.G. Well's 1897 science fiction novella follows a scientist named Griffin who is unable to reverse an experiment gone awry, leading him to spiral into madness, paranoia, and violence. It also inspired this 1933 classic creature film of the same name.
The Invisible Man
This winged, humanoid cryptid was reportedly sighted in 1966 around Point Pleasant, West Virginia. The source of the legend is believed to have originated from sightings of out-of-migration sandhill cranes or herons and now has an annual festival devoted to it's legend.
Mothman
In Irish mythology, this creature is a female spirit or fairy whose mournful cry, or caoine, foretells an impending death in a family.
Banshee
"Ok first things first [she'll] eat your brains
Then [she'll] start rocking gold teeth and fangs
Cause that's what a muthafucking monster do." raps this featured artist on Kanye West's song, Monster.
Nicki Minaj
In the 1982 John Carpenter film of the same name, this monster, discovered by a group of American researchers in Antarctica, takes the form of the person it infects, causing extreme paranoia and distrust among the group as they try to identify and eliminate the creature among them.
The Thing
Milicent Patrick, one of Disney's first women animators, went mostly unknown during her life after she was fired by her boss, who was jealous of her success and attention, and her name removed as creator of this classic Universal creature.
Creature From the Black Lagoon
First described in Nepal in 1832, this monster was said to be a "wild man" that "moved erectly" and was covered in long, dark hair. It was adopted into Tibetan Buddhism, where it is considered a guardian.
Yeti
Makara often has the head of an elephant and the body of this apex predator reptile, perhaps what its name means in Sanskrit.
Crocodile
This video game series’ monsters, including Pyramid Head and the Nurses, embody psychological horror.
Silent Hill