Of Men and Monsters Finale

Welcome back, my little monster lovers, and let us begin the final edition of Of Men and Monsters.  

Image From: https://ihorror.com/dracula-or-dracula-a-love-tale-review/

From the 1920s all the way through the early 2000s, we have visited vampires galore, masked psychos, misunderstood creatures, loving monster families, and noble beasts who would do anything to protect those they love.  This last foray into monsters will look at the past decade and a half; however, do not be fooled. There’s almost too much content to choose from!

With technological advances and the rise of YouTube, TikTok, Twitter (now X, I guess), Facebook and countless other apps that have come and gone, the public is overly saturated with media. That means that we are also abundantly bombarded by special interests, and the desire for monsters and creatures of myth and fable is at an all-time high.  

With such a staggering online community, it’s easy to find content that will appeal to just about anyone. For some of us, we never knew it appealed to us until very recently, and what a fun find it has been. Either way, with millions of books in print, published by renowned companies and via the magic that is self-publishing, people are devouring fiction at supersonic speeds.

With the art boom that technology has given us, and the astounding amount of video game and movie fandoms that hold the masses in thrall, artists are flexing their creative muscles more and more. What they are bringing to life is nothing short of miraculous, and it is something some of us only dreamed of a few short years ago.

Image from: https://www.seriouslyforserious.com/home/2018/5/9/fanfiction-101

Fan fiction and fan art have given rise to more monster-loving than ever before, and not only is it a current obsession…

It’s all but mainstream.  Everyone has a ‘monster’ that they love, be it from a video game, book, film, comic, television show, or someone’s brainchild that made it online and is now rooted in their subconscious for hyperfixation. The taboo is no longer taboo; in fact, it’s rather odd to find someone who doesn’t have a monster of interest. Or as I shall now call them…

MILFs: Monsters I’d Like to Frantically Copulate with. Obviously I have to mind manners and not use the other word!  

Either way, the past sixteen years has been chock full of fascinating specimens that have titillated the senses (and other areas of the body), so let’s try to narrow this down to a select few in the decade of the 2010s.

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Image From: https://walkingdead.fandom.com/wiki/The_Walking_Dead_Television_Universe

Fantasy was alive and well in the 2010s, no longer for nerds or kids; it was a fully realized concept that even the cool people jumped on board with. We witnessed the rise of Marvel’s superheroes and antiheroes (Loki—am I right?) all across the decade through countless motion pictures. On the small screen, horror reigned with The Walking Dead and monsters born of human struggle and greed. Speaking of monsters made of human struggle and greed, even if some of us never watched it, Mads Mikkelsen’s allure as the brilliant Dr. Hannibal had many questioning their sanity due to the blatant sexual attraction he exuded with a single look. Remember, monsters come in many shapes and sizes, and even Mr. Hopkins’ older version of the cannibal with manners, was disturbingly desirable.  Mads just cranked that intrigue from a hundred to a billion.

Image From: https://www.menshealth.com/entertainment/a32967139/hannibal-season-4-news-rumors/

Image From: https://gamerant.com/american-horror-story-ahs-best-female-characters/

Another fan favorite that played with monster tropes across multiple seasons in multiple ways, was American Horror Story. With witches in the third season of Coven we got a little beastiality and magic, and then there was the ever charismatic ghost in Murder House, the Countess in Hotel, and a cast of “freaks” that were far more beloved than the ‘normal’ people in the season. AHS brought out all aspects of horror, whether supernatural or mortal monsters, and didn’t hold back, and with Kathy Bates, Jessica Lange, Angela Bassett, Frances Conroy, and Sarah Paulson pulling out all of the stops with their undeniable talent, viewers were given a beautiful vision of women portraying monsters, and they loved every minute of it (1).

Image From: https://collider.com/priest-paul-bettany-karl-urban-dark-fantasy-vampire-epic-streaming-tubi-march-2026/

Vampires were on a roll with the conclusion of Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Saga, a very creepy and sexy Karl Urban in Priest, though Mr. Bettany as the protagonist was equally appealing and perhaps a monster in his own right?  Of course, we revisited our old friend and lover, Dracula.  Dracula is good in any decade, and with Luke Evans helming our dashing count, it was downright impossible to not fall for him all over again (which I discussed in a previous post, so I won’t go on and on…). In 2017, Netflix brought about a television show centered on the Belmonts and their fight against monsters of the night, yet we all know that Papa Drac stole the show. His endless love for his wife was unmatched…

*Spoiler*

Image From: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JexVC8vYABM

And he torched a whole town for his love, along with the clergy who celebrated her death.  What’s not to love?!  Endless devotion?  Check. God complex and the power to back it up?  Check check. Gratuitous violence in the name of love?! Yes, Papa Drac in Castlevania was the perfect monster and lover.

Yet, in all of the 2010s there were few ‘monsters’ with as much nuance and appeal as the next one that I will introduce.  Some of you may already know him, and for those of you who do not, I strongly encourage you to go watch the television show that took misunderstood and tragic antiheroes to a whole new level.

Image From: https://superior-realities.com/2015/03/17/retro-review-once-upon-a-time-season-one-episodes-1-6/

The year was 2011 and the series ran until 2018, spanning nearly the entire decade. The show was Once Upon a Time, and the character?

Gold.

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The insanely talented Robert Carlyle brought the mysterious, underhanded, and gloriously sexy Mr. Gold to life on ABC’s hit series that retold Disney fairy tales with shocking twists and turns. Some were there for Snow White and her Prince, others the Evil Queen, and even more stayed for Hook, but to deny Mr. Gold’s charismatic presence would be a gross injustice.

Right from the start, his quiet demeanor and rather unassuming presence captured my interest. Here was this man, someone who probably couldn’t be trusted and was clearly emotionally broken in that special way only a villain can possess. That brokenness was his humanity, and it probably saved him, especially when he stepped into the shoes of the Dark One or Rumplestiltskin. There was no denying Gold’s soft but powerful standing as a major player in the series, and it would have been so easy to hate him, but loving him was better (2).

Image From: https://www.reddit.com/r/OnceUponATime/comments/1i29nwm/rumple_and_belle_couldve_been_a_great_love_story/

Especially when he became the Beast for his Beauty. Of all the characters to get a love story, I’m not sure many of us had anticipated Gold to be given one, and for all of his mistakes and misdeeds, a good chunk of us screamed and shouted for Belle to forgive him even if she shouldn’t have. Gold was a monster, man, beast, lover, protector, villain, and broken soul who went too far, too often, and somehow it was impossible not to love him.

All in all, he was the perfect monster who needed to be saved—  especially from himself.    

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Bringing this labor of love series to a close, is both a relief and daunting in the sense that the new ‘20s have blown open the doors on what we once considered naughty and hush hush. Nearly a century after meeting our monster Frankenstein for the first time, Guillermo del Toro reinvented his story from a scared creature into one that is the center of his own love story with a beautiful maiden.

Image From: https://www.latinolife.co.uk/articles/guillermo-del-toros-frankenstein-2025

Orlok returned to the silver screen, yet the innocence which the world viewed on his first outing no longer remained.

Image From: https://www.wagner-heavymetal.com/blog/nosferatu-a-symphony-of-horror-reincarnated

In his latest version, Bill Skarsgard gave viewers a Count who knows exactly who and what he wants.  There’s no question of his monstrosity, or the rampant desire he has to stake claim to Ellen. His obsession is intrusive, far from innocent or docile; in fact, it’s disturbing and in some ways, terrifying.

And yet, audiences cannot turn away. His rich tone that rumbles in his chest ensnares one’s attention, and the decrepit existence of his character instills fascination in the depths of dark fantasies come to life. In this day and age, people are yearning for the inhuman, for a creature or beast who will become entirely devoted to one master or mistress and use every ounce of power at their disposal to please them.  It’s the “he or she is a monster for everyone except me because they love me,” trope, which is a personal favorite…

Image From: https://www.denofgeek.com/tv/stranger-things-season-4-who-is-vecna/

To forget the hold Stranger Things had on the entire world, would be another travesty. While the show began in the late 2010s and acquired a massive following, the introduction of Vecna changed the name of the game. Not only was the audience given a tangible villain, they were given a monstrous one made of nightmares and darkness, and yet, the phenomenon of attraction presented itself once more.

How? A being of infinite, dark power? Maybe a bit misunderstood? A little psycho?  Come on! This has been a thing for years (Sephiroth anyone?)  Except this time, our monster didn’t fit into a “pretty” mold. In some ways, that mold still exists, but over the past thirty years, society has twisted that mold into countless new shapes with hopeful expectations that the beast stepping out of it will represent the ‘perfect’ partner that seems harder and harder to come by in real life.

To round out the past century of cinema, my monster love story began with vampires and therefore I shall end it with vampires. Naturally, the latest Dracula has just dropped, but there is another vampire tale that deserves to step into the proverbial light.

Sinners.

Image From: https://sinnersmovie.fandom.com/wiki/Sinners/Characters

Everything about this monster mash was pure artistic glory. There was nothing sparkly, or innocent about these vampires as the audience was brought back into the fight of good vs. evil. This was a fight for the human soul, or losing the battle and falling into eternal damnation. From the start, Smoke and Stack are fighting their pasts, reconciling the futures that they cannot have, and just when there is a semblance of hope, our vampire rips it all away.

Image From: https://www.tag24.com/entertainment/movie/sinners-makeup-artist-reveals-the-inspiration-behind-the-movies-vampires-3475353

The deep south rolls with music and thunder as blood is shed and lives are lost. The fight endures until daybreak and both sides have to grieve their fallen. Mortals are reminded of how fragile they are, while vampires relish blood and glory in the midst of death. Whatever humanity existed in those who were turned, is barely present in their rebirth, and I believe that’s what made Sinners so fantastic (besides the cast! They all deserved Academy Awards).

Image From: https://simplysimone.substack.com/p/why-smoke-and-annie-have-revived

These were brutal, vicious, beasts bent on survival, gluttony, and blood. Did they love?  Sure. Did they experience the pain of loss? Yes. But it would never resemble that mortal longing for the warmth of a lover’s embrace or the agony of death. What made the humans human, ceased to exist when they turned, and this glorious shift turned them into perfect monsters.

Hopefully we will see more directors dabble with these themes over the rest of this decade and for many more to come.

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I hope you have all enjoyed this Monster Loving series, and if I forgot any goodies, don’t hesitate to drop them in the comments! If there is more monster content you would like, I am happy to take requests!  Please like and follow to keep up to date with M&M content.

Thank you for reading and, as always, my darling readers, stay curious.

Question everything…

And remember to keep loving your monsters.  They need it!

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1. “American Horror Story.” Wikipedia: The Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Horror_Story. Accessed 28 Mar. 2026.
2. “Rumplestiltskin.” Once Upon a Time Wiki, Fandom, onceuponatime.fandom.com/wiki/Rumplestiltskin. Accessed 28 Mar. 2026.

All other information was gathered from the following films or television shows:

Castlevania. Created by Warren Ellis, performances by Richard Armitage, James Callis, and Alejandra Reynoso, Netflix, 2017–2021.

Nosferatu. Directed by Robert Eggers, performances by Bill Skarsgård, Lily‑Rose Depp, Nicholas Hoult, and Willem Dafoe, Focus Features, 2024.

Frankenstein. Directed by Guillermo del Toro, Netflix, 2025.

Sinners. Directed by Ryan Coogler, performances by Michael B. Jordan, Proximity Media, 2025. 

Stranger Things. Created by Matt and Ross Duffer, performances by Winona Ryder, David Harbour, and Millie Bobby Brown, Netflix, 2016–present.

American Horror Story. Created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, performances by Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters, and Jessica Lange, FX, 2011–present.

Once Upon a Time. Created by Edward Kitsis and Adam Horowitz, performances by Ginnifer Goodwin, Jennifer Morrison, and Lana Parrilla, ABC, 2011–2018.