“Spooky season” is in full swing, costume decisions are looming and scary stories are front and centre.

But what do our perceptions of monsters — and the very concept of monstrosity — say about us?

It’s a question Brock University Humanities professors Cristina Santos and Sarah Stang say have roots in mythology, superstition and storytelling across the ages.

“We are so familiar with the look of classic monsters, like Frankenstein’s monster or Dracula for example, we can easily overlook key questions about these tropes,” says Stang, Assistant Professor of Game Studies.

Both Stang and Santos explore monstrosity and ‘otherness’ through a feminist approach in their research, digging deep into how people’s ideas about monstrosity shape their experiences in the world and most importantly, how they treat others.

Santos, Associate Professor of Hispanic and Latin American Studies, says that “monsters often reflect our own fears and anxieties but are kept in the realm of imagination, providing us with a mental safeguard.”

Stang says creators are now experimenting with reframing how people think about monsters and positioning them differently, even as ‘romantic’ or ‘cool.’

She points to Universal Studios’ Dark Universe, a new land at Universal Epic Universe opening in 2025 where visitors are welcomed to “discover a world of legendary monsters.”

“You will be able to meet Frankenstein’s monster, Dracula, the Bride of Frankenstein, Creature from the Black Lagoon — these monsters are still popular in collective cultural imagination, so much so, a theme park is being built around them,” Stang says.

These classic monsters are popular Halloween costumes, but Santos and Stang suggest another avenue of thinking might consider how the characters represent race, gender and disability.

“In labelling monsters, demonizing witches, telling stories of ghosts and spectres, we can take a critical look at who has the power to create these myths,” Santos says.

Stang, whose research specializes in video games and interactive media, says video games draw on similar themes of power.

“Often you are a hero slaying monsters in interactive media, and players are forced to enact that violence, even if they identify more with the monster,” she says.

Stang and Santos agree that the thrill of watching a scary movie, dressing up like monsters, loving Halloween and playing the hero in video games are all things to be enjoyed as entertainment but also invite people to cultivate their critical media literacy.

“We get pleasure out of horror and being scared; it’s exciting, and it’s natural, helping us work through things psychologically and acting as catharsis,” Stang says. “But is there a way we can shift narratives and hear more about the monsters and their experiences?”

Santos suggests this way of thinking has meaningful implications for understanding the human psyche.

“Not all monsters look like ‘monsters,’” she says. “Sometimes monstrosity lies behind the mask of (in)humanity in the way we treat people who look physically differently from us.”

Stang says perhaps monsters represent a push-back on societal norms as beings that live outside of conventional ways of looking and behaving imposed by mainstream society.

“This thinking allows for more fluidity of identity, ultimately leading down a path of inclusion and celebration of diversity,” Santos adds.