Why do we tell scary stories? Folk and fairy tales are a way to teach us warnings and lessons; don't be mean to that traveling old man, be wary of wolves in the woods, don’t take that deal that seems too good to be true. Are horror films/stories the same thing, or is there more to it? And more specifically does the monster we chose to chase our hero/heroine portray more about us as storytellers than we think? So today I want to address the topic I am MOST excited to talk about because it is something I don't think many people address. Drumroll please, da da da da dadadadadadada (ending symbol crash too please)Crssshhing Frankenstein! Or in general homunculi type stories with a scientific or alchemic or summoned creature that the creator has spent time and poured their heart and soul into. Not just some real quick "I found this book bound in human flesh, so let's go get some chickens blood and see what comes through!" kind of summon. So as per my usual break down, let's talk about the generic formula for these types of stories.
We start with either an incredibly non respectable looked over genius, or if they are respectable, it is a dual personality situation. As in they have this side of their life that no one knows about, where they delve into the dark arts, or lesser approved of sciences. Whatever it is, all their freetime goes into this “pet project” they are working on. Even to the point where their work/relationship life starts falling to the wayside. They are showing up to work late or exhausted, and they canceling on social engagements more and more to the point those around them either start forgetting about them, or are getting really concerned. Then one fateful night, they do it. All their life's work, wrapped up into one moment and, SUCCESS! They have created life! Now to teach it all you know, and study it, keep it from the world to protect it until it and the world are ready for it. Ok seriously, what does this sound like to you? Because to me all I hear is the tale every new parent goes through, so yeah, let's talk about babies. And our fears as potential or current parents.
So if you aren’t following me, let's break this down a bit in a narrative form. So we are going to call our parent/mad scientist/occultist/alchemist “Dr. West” and lets call our baby/Frankenstein/homunculi “Melvin”. So as I said before, in the stories our “Dr. West” can come from a variety of backgrounds either being unknown, well respected or scoffed at. Either way they start behaving differently, as they become more absorbed in their research they start losing those connections with the outside world. They are staying up late at night researching whatever their pet project may be. So when the rest of the world does see them, they are extremely tired and sometimes irritable because of being so exhausted. Also on top of the exhaustion their focus is 100% on that pet project so they have little time/patient/attention span for anything else. How does this relate to a new parent you may ask. Well if you are asking this you have never been nor known a new parent. Their entire world becomes consumed by this new baby, and everything else they cared about for a time falls back by the wayside. Then when the baby is born they spend so much of their time caring for and nurturing this new life, that when they do show up to work or for events they are extremely tired, and all they can think about is this baby.
Next lets discuss... oh wait, Dr. West wants to say something. "IT’S ALIVE! IT’S ALLLIIIIIIIVVVEE!" Lets talk about creation, in the stories this is usually a dark and stormy night, many times lightning is involved. In real life it's not always a dark and stormy night, it’s whenever that baby decided to pop out. But regardless of time, the franticness and electricity in the air are just as strong as their dramaticized story versions. Both the fantasized version and the real version involve a lot of screaming, hair pulling, frantic laughing and electric excitement.
Now that we have our large assembled and sewed together lumps of flesh kicking and breathing, our Dr. West’s large bundle of joy he named Melvin, what do we do with it? Dr. West, can’t just send him out into the world uneducated and unaware of the outside world. How will Melvin react? How will the outside world treat his very special little boy? So Dr. Melvin in these stories almost always decides to keep Melvin secret, keep him safe, for the time being at least. Until he can educate him in the ways of man, and prepare him for the rest of the world. Again, this is just like with a new baby, you can’t just say “Well kid, you’re two days old, I think that's enough time. Now go get a job you lazy moocher!” No, you teach them how to talk, walk, feed themselves and then whatever rules you feel are acceptable in the society you wish they would reflect. Because without your help you baby will not be ready for the outside world, and the world will not be ready for you special baby.
And now we come to Melvin's confrontation with the outside world. This is more where we reach into the parent’s fear territory. So what happens in our Dr. West’s story? Usually around this time there can be a variety of reasons. Sometimes Dr. West just feels Melvin is ready, sometimes someone breaks in/visits unexpectedly, and sometimes Melvin breaks out. This usually goes one of two ways, the Melvin is cool with everything, but the outside world doesn’t like Melvin usually just based on his appearance, all they see is a monster and monsters have to die. Or the outside world is accepting of Melvin, but Melvin is overstimulated or just evil or unsure what’s going on and goes on a killing spree. Cue the angry mob with torches and pitchforks scene. Both of these scenarios are pretty much every parents fear so lets address both. First the world attacks Melvin. He’s different and special, doesn’t every parent think that about their child. But what if society doesn’t accept them for their differences? They don’t know my baby like I do, they don’t know my baby is harmless, sweet and innocent under all those layers. What if the world chews my baby up and spits him/her out this desiccated lesser version of their true self, their true potential I know them to have? Or worse, what if they actually beat, abuse, or kill my baby? Then there’s the other potential. My baby is the aggressor, not the world. Whether it be because of mental illness or as a parent you just recognize something that scares you about your child, what if I let my baby out of my sight and they hurt or kill someone? I think therein lies the real fear of every parent that no one wants to talk about. What if, I teach my kid everything I can, do everything I can to keep my kid on the right path and still something happens. Whether it be nature or nurture, and my kid becomes something else. Not my baby any more, but a… a… monster? No one wants to believe their baby will become abusive or even a killer. But there is a chance, and worse yet, what if it’s my fault? And it's that fear in the back of people's mind, I feel, that has spawned the “frankenstein/homunculi” stories.
So yes, I feel like this fear has spawned these types of stories much as we spawn our own children or Dr. West spawned Melvin. But why? Why do we spin these tales? I feel there is a moral, or a lesson we are trying to teach, and it's in a part of these stories I left out on purpose. In ALL these stories, our Melvin WANTS to see the outside world, the Melvin WANTS to be a part of the world. And that NEVER happens successfully without exposure. You need to let your baby out in the world, if they are ever going to know how to exist in it. If you think the world is going to chew them up and spit them out, it won’t if you stop “helicopter momming” them and let them get hurt. Every scrape, bruise, hurt feeling is like armor. And the more armor they can get when they are younger, the better equipped they will be in the future to defend themselves from the world. And in the situation of “Is my child going to be a serial killer?”, well that’s a little different. But keeping that baby serial killer away from other people still isn’t the answer. Exposure is good for everyone, just in their case, maybe exposure to the outside world AND to a therapist. Either way, you keep your child away from the outside world to protect them, the only lesson you are really teaching them is how to be alone. And that’s what I feel like these stories are trying to say, yes the world can be mean, but it can also be wonderful. And yes there are some people who are not going to accept your special baby, but there are some that will, and those are the ones you are really keeping your special baby away from. Frankenstien found the little girl who gave him the flower, Edward scissorhands found Winona ryder, and Melvin?.... Well Melvin wakes up in a frenzy and immediately kills Dr. Halsey and then is killed by our Dr. West. But I’m pretty sure if you work at Miskatonic University, that's a known occupational hazard he was aware of.
So in conclusion, your fears are normal, every parent has them. But keeping your children away from the world will only hurt them more. There are so many wonderful people in this world that you are keeping them away from as well as the bad ones. And if you child is a “Melvin” or a “Carrie” keeping them locked away only ends in disaster as well, and the only thing you are teaching them is how to be alone. And no one deserves to be alone.
SIDEBAR: Shout out to one of those wonderful people I'm talking about. Check this awesome guy out! Had that mom not let her child into the world, both she and her baby boy would have never have never met this wonderful human being.
Also I have a soft spot for heartwarming stories of amazing children with autism because of my awesome nephew "The Amazing Gabe"
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