Were you a monster lover before Monster High?

[tuneful87]

Ever since I was a kid I've been enthralled by monsters - the creature from the black lagoon, vampires, werewolves, Godzilla. I have a very vivid memory of waking up from a nightmare at the age of four. What was terrorizing me? A werewolf. And I'm STILL scared when I watch MTV's Teen Wolf! (But I'm a big baby to begin with when it comes to horror/gore!)

I really love how Monster High has made monsters mainstream, all whilst incorporating fashion. While I do wish they would get a bit more 'monster-y' at times, I still applaud the creators and designers for revolutionizing the monster genre and girls' toys in general. If we lived 100 years ago or more, dolls like this would probably be banned and the dolls (and creators!) burned at the stake!

Probably my favorite monster of all time would have to be the werewolf. I've been trying to find some good werewolf books but no luck yet. Actually, I'm in search of any great monster material no matter who it's starring. Do you guys have any recommendations? Books, movies, graphic novels, etc.

I look forward to this discussion on monsters! Tell me about your feelings on monsters growing up, your feelings now, and your favorite monster stuff besides monster high!

[BlueChaos]

Yes indeed! I've been reading monster novels since I was 14-ish. Love the old Universal monster movies, and love the old TV shows like Dark Shadows, The Addams Family, and The Munsters too.

Have you tried Anne Rice's werewolf novel, The Wolf Gift? I haven't read it yet, but I've head good things. Anne's sister, Alice Borchardt, also wrote some werewolf books as well. The Silver Wolf, Night of the Wolf, and The Wolf King. I read these, and I enjoyed them immensely

[PandaBerryInSpace]

Nope, I wasn't into monsters at all. I liked vampires a little, but that was about it.

I'm still not into monsters, to be honest. I just like MH.

[bewilderness]

I've never been a monster fan at all, except for werewolves.  I'm into MH mainly for the fashion and how fun the dolls are to pose, photograph, and make things for.  They've definetely got an edge that other girls toys don't.  I think Mattel took a risk with these and it paid off big.  (Also, can you just imagine what MLP would be like if it was edgier?  Goth and punk ponies <3)

Good werewolf fiction does seem hard to find and I'm not into gore and horror at all, so that probably narrows the field for me.  I do like the Mercy Thompson books by Patricia Briggs.  They do have some violence in them, but they're really good books. 

[ShortyBoo]

I really wasn't. Though I do love movies (especially Japanese ones) about ghosts. Which is why I like Spectra so much. Though I'll admit that her voice makes me not like her so much in animated form. 

[Zombelina]

I have been for years  I've been a big vampire fan especially (Anne Rice got me hooked), since high school. And I love shows like True Blood, The Vampire Diaries, Supernatural, Blood Ties, Being Human, etc... And Resident Evil was, is and always will be the best video game AND movie series 

I don't like monster stuff that's super gross/gory-scary, though. Spooky-cute is my thing! I've been sorta bubblegoth since always, lol.

I actually used to spend time searching for "goth dolls" in hopes that a line would catch my fancy... but nothing did until MH

[tuneful87]

Have you tried Anne Rice's werewolf novel, The Wolf Gift? I haven't read it yet, but I've head good things. Anne's sister, Alice Borchardt, also wrote some werewolf books as well. The Silver Wolf, Night of the Wolf, and The Wolf King. I read these, and I enjoyed them immensely

Nope, never read them. I'll have to look into them. I'm dying for some good gay werewolf stories, but they all tend to verge towards erotica from what I've seen whilst browsing. Ha!

I really wasn't. Though I do love movies (especially Japanese ones) about ghosts. Which is why I like Spectra so much. Though I'll admit that her voice makes me not like her so much in animated form. 

Me too! She's so pretty, but that fake baby voice!

I've never been a monster fan at all, except for werewolves.  I'm into MH mainly for the fashion and how fun the dolls are to pose, photograph, and make things for.  They've definetely got an edge that other girls toys don't.  I think Mattel took a risk with these and it paid off big.  (Also, can you just imagine what MLP would be like if it was edgier?  Goth and punk ponies <3)

Good werewolf fiction does seem hard to find and I'm not into gore and horror at all, so that probably narrows the field for me.  I do like the Mercy Thompson books by Patricia Briggs.  They do have some violence in them, but they're really good books. 

Goth and punk ponies would be pretty sweet. I don't mind some violence or gore for that matter. As long as it's in book form. Visually, I can't take it.

[cuddlebuggy]

Yes! I was a fan of the swamp thing, Hulk etc... The first monster that scared me was Calibas from "Clash of the Titans" when I was all of 7. Read Anne Rice in the 8th grade, loved vampires, well Claudia anyway.  Teen age zombie vampire, or something of that sort.
I'm grown now and married to a zombie flick lover.

[Foxy_Ninja]

I love Dark Shadows, both the original Soap character of Barnabas and Johnny Depp's version. I also like Are You Afraid Of The Dark and Goosebumps as well as Audrey Rose and the Exorcist. I've seen Silence Of The Lambs, Freddy VS Jason, The Grudge/Ju-On, Ringu/The Ring, Sweeney Todd, Hellraiser, Amityvill Horror, Underworld, The Shining, Jeepers Creepers, Silent Hill, Poltergeist (as well as the show), Dracula, Donnie Darko/S Darko, The Crow, The Craft, Van Helsing, Headspace, The Omen, Attack Of the Killer Tomatoes, The Brain That Wouldn't Die, Little Shop Of Horrors.

[pukunui]

I've only ever really enjoyed monsters in a fantasy/sci-fi context. I play Dungeons & Dragons and have read and reread Terry Pratchett's Discworld novels countless times and I'm a big Star Wars and Star Trek fan, so I think the MH line appeals to the nerd in me more than anything else. I've got a huge collection of D&D and Star Wars RPG miniatures, and my MH dolls are kind of like giant, poseable versions of them.

[ShortyBoo]

I just remembered that I watched a couple of anime series that are kind of MH-ish. One is Vampire Knight, which I liked so much I ended up getting the manga as well. And the other is Rosario + Vampire. That one I think is the most like MH since it's about a boy who accidentally gets sent to this school that happens to be a school for monsters & demons.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vampire_Knight
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rosario_%2B_Vampire

[keylimepony]

I've always loved mythology and monsters. Werewolves and shapeshifters have been some of my top favorites. I also really like witches (Charmed, anyone?). Speaking of werewolves, I was just thinking that I need to watch the Ginger Snaps trilogy this Halloween since I didn't have time to watch it last year. Man I wish I had custom talents because a Ginger MH doll would be scary awesome!

[Kalavista]

TOTES!! I'm a horror writer, after all!! hehe...
So when I saw this line, I knew that my lifelong doll hatred would crumble... and now I love dolls in general. Yay for MH!!!

eta I've always been SUCH a vampaphile... when I met my husband he looked so much like Lestat... and he was huge into vampires, too, so that helped to seal the deal. LOL

[justkitter]

At first I was going to say "No, not really," but then I remembered watching a VHS of Beetlgeuse over and over and over again as a kid.  For awhile, I walked around wearing a black straw hat with a flowly black skirt draped over it.  Said I was "in mourning"   I don't even think I knew what that meant, I was so young!

My husband loves horror, gore, the worst of the worst, so we watch alot of that.  I'd prefer to watch almost anything else.

The reason I got hooked on MH was the way they developed all the characters with bios, and diaries.  Tons of personality.  That was different for me.  I liked that everyone had a "color," loved the art, and the boxes were goregous!  I miss the skullettes so badly:(  I don't think the monsters were the selling points for me.  It was just about everything else!

[tuneful87]

Thanks for sharing your stories, everyone. It's so fun reading through them!

TOTES!! I'm a horror writer, after all!! hehe...
So when I saw this line, I knew that my lifelong doll hatred would crumble... and now I love dolls in general. Yay for MH!!!

eta I've always been SUCH a vampaphile... when I met my husband he looked so much like Lestat... and he was huge into vampires, too, so that helped to seal the deal. LOL

I didn't realize you wrote horror. I thought it was more fantasy/sci-fi. Ooh, love to hear more about your horror stories!