#monster hunt (2015)

[aikawa-kazuki]

I need more people on Tumblr to watch monster hunt (2015). It has mpreg, radish child and accidental polycule

[sonder811]

[cressida-jayoungr]

Whoops

Somebody at Amazon messed up bigtime with this image and film summary combination:

[rythyme]

Disney banned 'Dad Baby' in the US:

meanwhile, China's 2nd highest grossing kids' movie of all time has a full-on mpreg birth scene:

[michaun]

FAVORITE LINES IN FILM

The Half of It (2020)

Little Miss Sunshine (2006)

Monster (2023)

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Thelma and Louise (1991)

Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)

Atonement (2007)

Room (2015)

The Sixth Sense (1999)

Steel Magnolias (1989)

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

[sheegons]

OKAY SO WHO ASKED FOR A POST THAT DETAILS DAMIANS CONNECTIONS TO MAGIC?.. nobody? oh okay.

(be forewarned, this is long)

now after ignoring batman 666, let's see what we have.

ROBIN: SON OF BATMAN (2015)

now, in robin: son of batman #1 It's confirmed that after his death in batman incorporated, damian went to hell. Hell is usually connected with the more magical side of the dc universe, but that's not it.

The entirety of the comic delves into damians connections to more mystical things. mythical swords and magical ancient towers, weird extinct bat-dragons, magical cults that want to destroy the whole world, etc etc.

this is easily regarded as one of damians best comics and having peak damian characterisation, so obviously Damian being magically inclined can easily work well with his character.

Now, after a barrel load of compliments, let's get to the extremely negative side of things.

TEEN TITANS (2016)

Damian's cloned brother has magic and that sentence is about as much as i care for this book. Moving on.

BATMAN (2016)

Again, dog shit damian characterisation, but here we go. Damian here actually shows an ability to use a binding spell and has a wand, making some sort of deal with a random demon, but a far cry from damian apparently selling his soul in batman 666. Moving on finally out of rebirth because that was a bad time for Damian's character.

ROBIN (2021)

Now we go back to the good. Apparently from the maternal part of damians family, magic is more commonplace. ra's even having a whole spell book to his name. Robin 2021 kinda toys with the ghul family and the lazarus pits magical and devilish side which isn't new... but it's new to involve damian!

In the final parts of this story, Damian's heart specifically is used as a plot device, lord deathman even dubbing it as "the bloodstream of the demon" and ruh (ra's' mother) uses it as a power source to fuel demon summonings, which started the Lazarus rain event.

TEEN TITANS DARK (Unreleased)

Back in early 2023 (i think) dc teased a sort of "teen titans dark" with damian, black alice and monkey prince. The "dark" moniker referencing Justice league dark, a magic team made up of magic users that solve magical bullshit. It's a good book, recommended read, i just thought I'd add this to the pile.

Detective comics/Knight terrors

Now, including these two together because they're about the same topic: Dreams.

damian is confirmed to have some sort of control over dreams and sleep, defeating demons that show up in his sleep, yet never actually disappear when he wakes up. He also has an ability to stay awake after a massive worldwide phenomenon causes everyone, even the dream masters that taught damian, to sleep and experience night terrors.

Dreams are, again, connected to the magical side of the dc universe. Now I'm not going to pretend like i actually read sandman to you, i can't lie on ramadan, so let's all give me a pass here for my lack of understanding of all that.

Batman and robin (2023)

In this, damian mentions a bit of off screen monster hunting with Frankenstein and lays a trap that lights someone on fire. I used to think this was some sort of hex but this artwork is extremely unclear, but since Frankenstein is mentioned and from my knowledge dc's Frankenstein is magic let's pretend this is some sort.

As an extra note: this guy definitely died. There's no way about it, he got lit on fire with nobody helping him. He's gone. Damian just killed a man.

Extra Extra notes:

talia using magic!

now, i haven't included these examples in the "the ghuls have magic" segment because uh...

(batman: the doom that came to Gotham/dc bombshells)

yeah...

Not only are these interpretations of talia EXTREMELY orientalist but also just generally out of character and could've been done with any randomly introduced characters.

For the unknowing white american people in the crowd: arabs actually don't only dress in revealing "belly dancer" outfits and lanterns. i know, shocking, we actually wear normal clothes.

And just to add again, there's a lot of stories that include ra's having magic, but I'm not the biggest ra's head (lol) so i didn't read them all, i implore u to do your own research because I'm not doing it.

this about wraps it up. thank you to the magic damian believers may we all win someday.

[hadesoftheladies]

FEMALE MOVIE/TV RECS (PART 6 / ACTION & THRILLER)

got inspired from a recommendation post so decided to make a list of movies and shows with female-centric stories/female protagonists. since i can't post all of the genres in one post, i'll split it into multiple posts and y'all can save or add to the list as you wish. (disclaimer: i have watched most of these, but i only know about the existence of others. not every movie/show on these lists will be my recommendation. my recommendations will be beneath the list with reasons. also some of these are way better than others in terms of storytelling/performance--which is why i'll list my faves separately):

Common Themes:

-Being betrayed by men you trusted

-Being hunted down by men (usually working for the government)

-Protecting/saving children

-Survivalism

-Family issues and strong family themes

-I'm Such A Loner (TM) Because I'm So Exceptional (TM)

-Guns or swords? Those are your two options.

-Fast and reckless driving and jumping off of things (and a 100% survival rate)

-Getting beat up by men, and then beating up men worse

LIST OF MOVIES

Hanna

Resident Evil

Haywire

Mad Max: Fury Road

Kill Bocksoon

Heart of Stone

Kill Bill

The Old Guard

Terminator

Black Summer

Blindspot

Lou

The Mother

Atomic Blonde

Gunpowder Milkshake

The 355

Zero Dark Thirty

Miss Bala

The Assignment

Anna

Kate

The Hunt

Bandidas

Proud Mary

Monster Hunter

Lady Snowblood

Tomb Raider

Ocean's 8

Red Sparrow

Those Who Wish Me Dead

ONES I HAVE WATCHED:

The Mother

The 355

Yeah this is a very short list. But I shall remedy it soon.

ONES NOT LISTED BUT WORTH MENTIONING:

Colombiana

High Heat

The Heat

Elektra

Ava

Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

Street Fighter: The Legend of Chun Li

Crouching Tigre, Hidden Dragon

V for Vendetta

Charlie's Angels

Argyle

The Assassin (2015)

Revenge (2018)

Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga

[asomaton]

In light of the news that Nimona got an Oscars nomination I feel I need to talk about the original Graphic Novel, which I love dearly. It started as a webcomic in 2012 and got published in 2015.

Now the GN got picked up by a Fox animation studio Blue Sky in 2015 but Fox was bought up by Disney who later tore down that studio. Perhaps the story of an estranged knight turned to villain because of image branding and dark ambitions of the empire didn’t sit well? At least the story with overt trans and queer-issues didn’t. I WAS surprised when I heard that Disney picked it up and for a time they did work on it. It was 3/4 part done when they shut it down in 2021.

Now that’s a lot of animation work. In comes Netflix (some good animations there) and Annapurna Studios (some good films, GREAT video games) and saves the day. I was happy but cautious. Didn’t like the trailer or the style, but hey it’s happening right?

Now don’t get me wrong. Nimona is not a bad film. It’s quite good and the way it handles gender and HBTQ issues is refreshing but the movie isn’t you know, amazing. (For everyone who thinks it is, good for you but hear me out).

The graphic novel is about two villains, not two misunderstood pure-hearted persons against the world. Blackheart (Boldheart in the movie 😐) is bitter and cold, Nimona is ferral and violent and people who get in their way DIE. They are hunted by the institute, a faceless dictatorship who do inhumane experiments. The King is never seen, a mere media puppet for the institute. It’s the best villain story I’ve read (and yes, I have read Worm)

The character Nimona is the unacceptable other. An anomaly that must be tamed or destroyed. While not as obvious as in the movie Nimona in the GN is of course a symbol for transgenderism. They transform their looks and form all through the book and at times sees themselves as a monster.

Am I sure of this? Well, the author Nate Diana Steveson went from nonbinary to transmasc/bigender and produced She-Ra so my guess is as good as yours.

Now, reading Nimona makes the movie look VERY tame. Was it the rewrite or the short stay at Disney that changed it? How did Stevenson react to it?

Either way, hurray for movie Nimona. Now, please go read the graphic novel Nimona by ND Stevenson.

[goodluckdetective]

The reason Tumblr is more hostile to Twitter folks than Reddit folks is because, in my observation, a lot of shitty people (think folks who fucked up so bad in such buckwild ways that there is at least a fanlore page on the subject) of Tumblr circa 2015-2018ish? A lot of them all migrated to Twitter after the porn ban.

The hostility has nothing to do with where folks are coming from and more a fear of old monsters returning to the hunting grounds when we thought we’d finally rebuilt.

[leasthaunted]

Episode 109: Let's Get Kraken

In the most recent episode, Cody and Garth dive into the deep waters to talk about Kraken! And in Garth's corner, he covers the art of figureheads (the sculptures of the front of ships)!

Enjoy the images discussed in the episode below (trigger warning: the last two images are of dead animals, there's no blood or obvious signs of distress but y'all deserve a warning nonetheless)! And please come join the episode discussion on the Least Haunted Discord!

Sorry for the late post, I was hunting for a lake monster!

The book Cody read for the episode: Monsters of the Sea by Richard Ellis.

The Swine Whale (left) and possibly Kraken (right) Carta Marina map of Scandinavia (1539).

Illustration by Denys de Montfort. Historie naturelle des Mollusques (1802).

In 1861 the French ship Alecton recovered part of a Giant Squid, Achiteuthus. This event would inspire Jules Verne when writing 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea.

A Scandinavian grapnel anchor, aka Krake, made from the top of a spruce tree.

"The Kraken" in 1981's Clash of The Titans, although a feat of stop motion animation by Ray Harryhausen, NOT A KRAKEN.

The Mollusk album by Ween. The inspiration for SpongeBob SquarePants according to show creator, Stephen Hillenburg.

They Might Be Giants album Apollo 18 limited edition Zoetrope vinyl! Only 240 were ever made, Cody has #195 and Garth has #196.

GARTH'S CORNER, GARTH'S CORNER, GARTH'S FIGUREHEAD CORNER!

Here are some of the figureheads mentioned in Garth’s Corner. Special props to the YouTube Channel Baltic Empire for “Carved works and Figureheads: A History of Ship Decorations.” Garth also credits Chris Riley for his article “The History of Ship Figureheads.”

Here’s a carving of an elk’s head found in Säkkijärvi, Finland. It was made between 1750 and 1,500 BCE and is thought to have been attached to the front of a boat.

Some examples of Greek Ships with eyes.

The Oseberg Ship, a lavish ship that was buried in Norway some time in the 800s CE.

A model of the 80-gun Naseby (1655) showing Oliver Cromwell on a horse.

A mezzotint etching by Robert Sayer “Hercules as Ship's Figurehead” (1788).

A modern ship, Neptune, a replica of a 17th century Spanish galleon, originally built for the film "Pirates" (1986).

And finally, here’s an awkward mermaid Garth saw online. Not sure where he found it but here she is.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Trigger Warning Below ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Dead Sperm Whale with squid scars on its skin.

Dying Architeuthis found in Toyama Bay, Japan 2015.

[nayru-s-clay-tablet]

Comic Retrospective: Ghost Stories

What is it about?

Continuing the theme of painfully simple names, Ghost Stories is about our main characters... telling ghost stories. And things get spookier as the night progresses...

Unlike the other two comics so far that mostly messed with previously established info/dynamics, this one focused on new questions:

What kind of ghost stories would they tell?

How do they feel about the ghosts & monsters in those stories?

Do they believe in them?

It overlaps a bit with some ideas found later in the comic, like the death of a child. And Link being haunted by something.

The topic of ghost stories is an easy way to learn things about characters -- do they believe in ghosts or souls? Are they 100% earnest about the stories, or do they refuse to even listen to them? Characters can respond in such a big variety of ways when promoted to tell a ghost story... and it can reveal a lot about them.

(Also I feel it'd be a pretty fun roleplay scenario.)

Where did the idea come from?

I originally had this idea in 2015 -- I distinctly remember sitting outside on a June afternoon and drafting the script. And laughing at my own jokes like a crazy person.

I wanted to have some kind of summer spooky story, as a sort of homage to how ghost stories are often told in the summer in Japan.

Reading some horror manga helped formulate the ghost stories they would be telling. Link's are short and sweet, while Ganondorf's is as verbose as a penny dreadful.

Ghost Stories was going to be included in the main comic, originally. But... it's 30 pages, meaning it'd take up an entire chapter, so it had to be a separate bonus comic.

Favorite things about it?

If Triforce of Power was colored instead of grayscale, it would basically look like this comic.

So it was kind of a "what if" exercise. It's wild to think about how ToP would be as a color comic like this.

Also, writing and illustrating the ghost stories was very different and a lot of fun.

Would I make it again?

Yes! Not doing it would feel as weird as skipping a chapter of the main comic.

But is this story canon?

Yes... and no. The story was originally going to be 100% canon -- this is part of why it's available on Gumroad in addition to Patreon. Also, one of the ghost story monsters is even included in the main comic:

However... the biggest problem is the timeline. This story would actually be taking place basically right now, while they've just started the hunt for the Triforce of Power. ...But they're kind of at odds with each other, too, so this just wouldn't really happen.

So... it's very close to being canon.

As a final note, this might be the best Link I've ever drawn:

Or at the very least the most relatable one.

[lazbotronence]

The Last Fahl

Yonderland, 2015 - Series 2, Episode 7

"Alas they were delicious, and alas we ate them all."

"You all know me. You know how I earn a livin'. I'm a hunter. Hunt stuff. Hunt things. I'll get this monster for ye. And it'll be cheap. Cause I just reduced my prices. 74.99. For that you get the head. The middle. But I keep the bum. For reasons of my own."

[skeletaldarling]

the relationship between vampirism & queerness

Vampires are inherently queer characters. Their queerness is represented in countless texts including Bram Stoker’s novel, Dracula (1897), Sheridan Le Fanu’s novella, Carmilla (1872), the film Interview with the Vampire (1994), and Rainbow Rowell’s novel Carry On (2015). Vampires’ queerness is enforced by a multitude of factors; notably the sexual nature of a vampire itself, the relationship vampires have with ‘normal’ society, and the inherent evilness behind vampires. 

The queerness of vampires is enforced by the sexuality behind the concept of a vampire itself. Unlike other monsters, vampires are not apparently beastly or undead. Their evil nature is hidden beneath a suave, charismatic personality. The ‘charming vampire’ character was first popularised by John William Polidori in his 1819 short story, The Vampyre. This story was a source of inspiration for Carmilla and Dracula, who further cemented ‘charisma’ into the fundamentals of the vampire archetype. A part of vampires’ hunting method is seduction, which often leads to a blurry line between ‘prey’ and ‘romantic interest’. One of the most iconic traits of a vampire is the bite to the neck. Popularised by Bram Stoker, vampires typically drain their victims of blood from the neck. While it’s a convenient spot because of the carotid artery, a plentiful source of blood, it’s often argued that the sexual nature of biting one’s neck played a large part in the popularisation of it.

The sexulisation of vampires opens up an opportunity for authors to explore queerness in a non-explicit setting. The relationship between a vampire and their victim can mirror that of a romantic/sexual couple. Often vampire characters are more fluid with their sexuality and they influence their human prey with their vampiric, sexual, queer nature. In Interview with the Vampire, Louis de Pointe du Lac’s story starts with his partner, Lestat de Lioncourt turning him into a vampire. The scene in which Lestat bites him includes him pinning Louis to the ground and biting his neck before whispering in his ear. “You can be young always, my friend, as we are now.” Lestat’s use of ‘we’ as opposed to ‘you can stay young’ shows his interest in staying with Louis. Louis’ character development stems from a queer male vampire changing his life. Count Dracula’s prisoner was Jonathon Harker, with whom he was extremely infatuated. Upon finding other female vampires attempting to bite Jonathon’s neck, Dracula was outraged. "How dare you touch him, any of you? How dare you cast eyes on him when I had forbidden it? Back, I tell you all! This man belongs to me!” Dracula was possessive of Jonathon, which alludes to an attraction beyond chaste fascination. In Carmilla, the titular character came into human Laura’s life and engaged her in a romantic relationship. Carmilla says “‘I have been in love with no one, and never shall,’ she whispered, ‘unless it should be with you.’” to Laura, who consistently described Carmilla as attractive, “She was so beautiful and so indescribably engaging.” While it’s up to the reader if Carmilla’s feelings were simply an act used to lure Laura in or true love, their relationship was intimate and unmistakingly queer. In Carry On, Tyrannus Basilton ‘Baz’ Grimm Pitch never bites Simon Snow, but they are involved. Baz says “You were the centre of my universe. Everything else spun around you.” While Baz did not attempt to make Simon a vampire, he was knowingly queer before Simon; Simon was unaware of his own queerness before Baz. This is another example of a queer vampire influencing their human partners. The queer themes in these texts are fueled by the sensual nature of the vampire characters. 

One way vampires are shown as an allegory for being queer, is the relationship vampires have with regular society. A vampire fitting in with human communities is difficult, due to the inability to be in sunlight or eat normal food. Queer folk historically struggle to fit into heteronormative spaces seeing as, like vampirism, it’s been widely viewed as a negative trait. That sense of displacement or otherness felt by queer people is mirrored by vampires. Count Dracula’s odd behaviour was quickly picked up on by Jonathon. Upon finding Jonathon using a shaving mirror, Dracula was enraged. “This is the wretched thing that has done the mischief. It is a foul bauble of man's vanity. Away with it!" And opening the window with one wrench of his terrible hand, he flung out the glass.” Similarly, Simon always suspected Baz was a vampire, and spent his highschool career trying to prove it. “Are you saying you don’t think Baz is a vampire?” “I know he’s a vampire. But it’s still unconfirmed.” Baz being odd because he was a vampire is not unlike his being different because he was queer. Baz was always self aware he was unlike everyone else. Baz and Simon in a crowded room: “They’ll know that we’re gay.” “There go my job prospects. What will my family say? Baz, you’re actually, literally the only thing I have to lose. So as long as doing gay stuff in public doesn’t make you hate me, I don’t really care.” Regular, heteronormative, human society makes both the vampire community and queer people feel like outsiders; creating a sense of guilt for being different. Baz and Louis have both chosen to drink rat blood to avoid drinking humans. Their inner turmoil over being a blood-sucking demon reflects the common queer mindset of feeling guilty over being different. The sense of ‘otherness’ unites queer folk and vampires. 

From their conception in common folklore, vampires have been written as evil, soulless beings. Vampires are undead demons that drink blood and transform innocent humans into more blood-drinking demons. The queerness behind vampire characters is linked to their being inherently evil. Vampires turning humans into vampires is a metaphor for gay people ‘corrupting’ others with their homosexuality. After the death of his wife and child, Louis was attacked by Lestat and turned into a vampire. Lestat gave him a whole new life and they adopted a daughter, Claudia. Louis went from a ‘straight’ human man who played his part in regular society, to a queer vampire. Vampires have a massive influence over their victims and partners. Their influence, in terms of both vampirism and homosexuality, leaves lasting effects on their prey. In the aftermath of Carmilla and Dracula, Laura and Jonathon are said to have struggled with recovery. From Carmilla, “The following Spring my father took me a tour through Italy. We remained away for more than a year. It was long before the terror of recent events subsided.” Vampires’ impact on their human partners is not necessarily for the better. For Laura, it was detrimental to herself, whereas in other stories, such as Carry On, Simon Snow was better off with his vampire boyfriend. Baz helped him find a version of himself he was unfamiliar with and they started their new life together. “He's not a villain. He's just a boy. I'm kissing a boy. I'm kissing Baz.” 

Vampirism is an allegory for being queer. The queerness with which vampire characters are written is shown through the sexulisation of vampires, the sense of ‘otherness’ felt by both parties, and the inherent evil nature behind vampires. The evidence and recurring themes across Dracula, Carmilla, Interview with the Vampire and Carry On show the ways in which queerness shows itself in vampire texts. Writers using vampires as an outlet for queer allegories implies an urge on the author’s part to explore a more fluid perspective on sexuality. I think a lot of the appeal of vampire texts and characters lies in the desire to fantasise about a different way of being — it’s a safe, abstract way of exploring one’s own sexuality through stories. Vampires represent homosexuality in a subtle, indirect way that connects with the queer community and create a way to show queer stories without being blatantly queer.

[gojirawave]

Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, episode 3.

I've really been enjoying the show so far. The first two episodes were great. However, this one was definitely the weakest so far, which isn't a bad thing it's still a great episode I just liked episodes 1&2 more. Still enjoyed it a bunch and am excited to see where the show goes in the next seven episodes. I'd give it a 7 or 7.5 out of 10, so yeah it's not a bad piece of television by any means, and my rating will probably change upon rewatch

I'm a little disappointed we didn't get a follow-up on what happened with the Ion Dragon from the end of episode 2, but who knows, maybe we'll revisit it and the mutos babies from the end of episode 1. It would be a shame if the two things from the e d of episode 1&2 just don't get revisited, and we move on

Anyways onto the episode itself, the stuff happening in the 50s is definitely the strongest gest aspect of the show as of episode 3 imo. It's not that the 2015 story or cast is bad.

The 50s story feels like fun monster hunting, and that appeals to me. Like, I'd watch a whole X-Files monster hunting show with these three just running around during the 50's. They got good chemistry.

The highlight of the episode, however, is Godzilla himself, specifically the recreation and expansion of the Bikini Atoll opening credits of Godzilla 2014. It is really rewarding as someone who first saw Godzilla 2014 when I was 13.

Poor fella looked so confused and then got flashed banged. Keiko is definitely my favorite character so far, mostly cause I'm biased towards any characters who show a bit of empathy and curiosity towards kaijus and want to learn more about them and/or protect them because thst would probably be me. I'm honestly sad she presumably died thinking Godzilla was dead.

(I'm holding out hope she somehow miraculously survived the end of episode 1, and it's gonna be a twist.)

Anyways, as far as the 2015 stuff, it was good. I gotta admit I only really vibe with Cate Randa and Lee Shaw, both Kentaro and May aren't really that interesting to me yet. Hopefully, that changes in the 7 remaining episodes. However, I enjoyed everything with the Frost Vark, and I am excited to see how the four of them get out of this situation with no obvious immediate means of escape. Plus, it's just a cool ass design, I'm always happy to see good, original designs from Legendary for the Monsterverse, and this really works for me.

Like, look at it!!! It's a giant mole thing!!!

[bestiarium]

Oude Rode Ogen [Flemish/Belgian folktales]

When it comes to Belgian folktales, ‘Oude Rode Ogen’ is in a bit of a weird position. The story is common on online blogs about folklore or mythology, usually hailed as one of the most well-known Belgian monsters. But if you actually try to find Belgian sources or ask Belgian experts, you’ll find that the story is virtually unknown there, only being mentioned by a handful of authors. Therefore, I suspect that this was a very niche tale that only recently gained traction via the internet.

The name ‘Oude Rode Ogen’ literally translates to ‘Old Red Eyes’ which is fitting because the monster is a giant black dog with brightly burning red eyes. He can transform into a very tall man, about 2m10 (6’ 11”). According to art historian Hilde van Gelder, tales of this creature were told in Mechelen (Flanders) in the late 17th century. In these folktales, Oude Rode Ogen is a swamp-dwelling monster that takes children who venture too close to the marshlands. It hunts at night and sometimes attacks adults as well. Oude Rode Ogen is a bogeyman, meaning this story was told to dissuade children from playing near potentially dangerous places (and from staying up late, for the monster was said to eat kids who are awake at night). Vincent Menten, author of ‘The Beast of Flanders’, additionally claimed that the creature had the power to take away the ability to hear, see and talk of anyone who looks directly at it, leaving its victims mute, blind and deaf.

This creature was also known in Wallonia (the southern part of the country) where it was called “Le Tchén al Tchinne” which is a regional dialect for “Le Chien à la Chaîne” which translates to “the dog on a chain”. Hence, the monster supposedly dragged a heavy metal chain behind it.

The story claims that after several children had inexplicably gone missing in the region, locals began to suspect that these disappearances were connected. Rumors began to arise that the kids were taken by a werewolf. Eventually, a tall man was caught in an attempt to kidnap a young girl. He was naked and tried to run away when his attempt was foiled, but got shot. Instead of dying, however, the man transformed into a large black dog, which quickly fled the scene. With no other option, the people of Mechelen combed the city for suspicious individuals and found a poor homeless man. Though his connection to the city’s unnatural enemy could not be proven, he was found guilty and executed. To make sure the monster wouldn’t come back, the body was skinned entirely and the skin was buried underneath the local cathedral.

But the vengeful spirit of the creature continued to roam the area at night, in the form of a large black dog with glowing red eyes. Oude Rode Ogen is searching for his skin, so he can put it on and be reborn again.

This monster is thought to be related to (or to be the same creature entirely) as the Nekker, a Flemish aquatic bogeyman that attacked people who ventured too close to wells and rivers. Its name is derived from an old Germanic verb meaning ‘to wash’, referring to the aquatic nature of the monsters. Though the name ‘Oude Rode Ogen’ is very rarely mentioned in offline sources, myths and folktales of Nekkers are well documented.

Sources: De Lavigne, G., 2015, Les Chiens Célèbres, Réels et Fictifs, dans l’art, la culture et l’histoire, Lulu, 572 pp. Van Gelder, H., 2015, Contour 7, Fooling Utopia, Leuven University. (image source: Emryswolf on Deviantart. This image depicts a generic evil black dog, as they are common characters in world mythology)