MONSTERS by charliebrown

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l t Monsters

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Monsters Alisa Pongchang

5 9 4 37 211 8 6 AUD$ 19.95

alisa pongchang

ISBN 1-04078-522-11

the retelling of Monsters’ tales

his is a small collection of some of the most famous montrous characters of our time.

As a child I was obsessed with one particular legend, the LochNess monster. It all started from the back of Disney comic books where I first discovered such mysterious creature. It was absolutely mesmerizing and I began to let my imagination run wild. Every trip from then on that included water; I had my eyes glued to the seascape hoping to catch a glimpse of the monster.

“All child except one grow up” – J.M. Barry

monsters the retelling of Monstersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; tales

Monsters

edited & illustrated by alisa pongchang

abracadabra publishing

Copyright ÂŠ 2007 by Alisa Pongchang First Edition ÂŠ 2007 This edition published by Abracadabra Publishing Inc. GPO Box 2476V Melbourne VIC 3001 Australia All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems without the written permission of the publisher. Text taken from various electronic resources. Book design, edited text, and illustrations by Alisa Pongchang. isbn: 1-04078-522-11 bdfhgeca

baba yaga big bad wolf dracula frankenstein giant ghost lochness monster mummy werewolf

table of Monsters

09 15 23 29 33 41 45 49 57

l this book is dedicated to my parents for allowing me to find my own way

monster:

noun imaginary large and frightening creature; mishapen animal or plant; inhumanly cruel or wicked person; huge animal or thing.

Baba Yaga

by Micha F. Lindemans

In a number of East European myths, a Baba Yaga (there are more than one) is a cannibalistic witch who lives in a hut on the edge of the forest. The hut stands on chicken legs and will only lower itself after Baba Yaga said a certain rhyme. A picket fence surrounds the hut and she places the skulls of her victims on it. For transportation Baba Yaga uses a giant mortar which she drives at high speed across the forest floor by steering the pestle with her right hand and sweeping away all traces of her passage with a broom in her left hand. A host of spirits often follows her. In old Hungarian folklore, Baba (â&#x20AC;&#x153;old womanâ&#x20AC;?) was originally a good fairy but was later degraded to a witch. A Baba Yaga is a hard bargainer, and will threaten to eat those who do not fulfil their part of an agreement.

Baba Yaga

Baba Yaga (A Russian Tale)

omewhere, I cannot tell you exactly where, but certainly in vast Russia, there lived a peasant with his wife and they had twins - a son and daughter. One day the wife died and the husband mourned over her very sincerely for a long time.

One year passed, and two years, and even longer. But there is no order in a house without a woman, and a day came when the man thought, “If I marry again possibly it would turn out all right.” And so he did, and had children by his second wife. The stepmother was envious of the stepson and daughter and began to use them hardly. She scolded them without any reason, sent them away from home as often as she wished, and gave them scarcely enough to eat. Finally she wanted to get rid of them altogether. Do you know what it means to allow a wicked thought to enter one’s heart? The wicked thought grows all the time like a poisonous plant and slowly kills the good thoughts. A wicked feeling was growing in the stepmother’s heart, and she determined to send the children to the witch, thinking sure enough that they would never return.

“Dear children,” she said to the orphans, “go to my grandmother who lives in the forest in a hut on hen’s feet. You will do everything she wants you to, and she will give you sweet things to eat and you will be happy.” The obedient children arrived at the forest and, oh, wonder! There stood a hut, and what a curious one! It stood on tiny hen’s feet, and at the top was a rooster’s head. With their shrill, childish voices they called out loud: “Izboushka, Izboushka! Turn your back to the forest and your front to us!” The hut did as they commanded. The two orphans looked inside and saw the witch resting there, her head near the threshold, one foot in one corner, the other foot in another corner, and her knees quite close to the ridge pole. “Fou, Fou, Fou!” exclaimed the witch; “I feel the Russian spirit.” The children were afraid, and stood close, very close together, but in spite of their fear they said very politely: “Ho, grandmother, our stepmother sent us to thee to serve thee.” “All right; I am not opposed to keeping you, children. If you satisfy all my wishes I shall reward you; if not, I shall eat you up.”

Without any delay the witch ordered the girl to spin the thread, and the boy, her brother, to carry water in a sieve to fill a big tub. The poor orphan girl wept at her spinning-wheel and wiped away her bitter tears. At once all around her appeared small mice squeaking and saying: “Sweet girl, do not cry. Give us cookies and we will help you.” The little girl willingly did so. “Now,”gratefully squeaked the mice, “go and find the black cat. He is very hungry; give him a slice of ham and he will help you guys.” The girl speedily went in search of the cat and saw her brother in great distress about the tub, so many times he had filled the sieve, yet the tub was still dry. The little birds passed, flying near by, and chirped to the children: “Kind-hearted little children, give us some crumbs and we will advise you.” The orphans gave the birds some crumbs and the grateful birds chirped again: “Some clay and water, children dear!” Then away they flew through the air.

The children understood the hint, spat in the sieve, plastered it up with clay and rilled the tub in a very short time. Then they both returned to the hut and on the threshold met the black cat. They generously gave him some of the good ham, petted him and asked: “Dear Kitty-cat, black and pretty, tell us what to do in order to get away from your mistress, the witch?” “Well,” very seriously answered the cat, “I will give you a towel and a comb and then you must run away. When you hear the witch running after you, drop the towel behind your back and a large river will appear in place of the towel. If you hear her once more, throw down the comb and in place of the comb there will appear a dark wood. This wood will protect you from the wicked witch, my mistress.” Baba Yaga came home just then. “Is it not wonderful?” she thought; “everything is exactly right.” “Well,” she said to the children, “today you were brave and smart; let us see tomorrow. Your work will be more difficult and I hope I shall eat you up.” The poor orphans went to bed, not to a warm bed prepared by loving hands, but on the straw in a cold corner. Nearly scared to death from fear, they lay there, afraid to talk, afraid even to breathe. The next morning the witch ordered all the linen to be woven and a large supply of firewood to be brought from the forest. The children took the towel and comb and ran away as fast as their feet could possibly carry them. The dogs were after them, but they threw them the cookies that were left; the gates did not open themselves, but the children smoothed them with oil; the birch tree near the path almost scratched their eyes out, but the gentle girl fastened a pretty ribbon to it.

So they went farther and farther and ran out of the dark forest into the wide, sunny fields.

The cat sat down by the loom and tore the thread to pieces, doing it with delight. Baba Yaga returned. “Where are the children?” she shouted, and began to beat the cat. “Why did you let them go, you treacherous cat? Why did you not scratched their faces?” The cat answered: “Well, it was because I have served you so many years and you have never given me a bite, while the dear children gave me some good ham.” The witch scolded the dogs, the gates, and the birch tree near the path. “Well,” barked the dogs, “you certainly are our mistress, but you have never done us a favor, and the orphans were kind to us.” The gates replied:

Baba Yaga understood that there was no help and started to follow the children herself. In her great hurry she forgot to look for the towel and the comb, but jumped astride a broom and was off. The children heard her coming and threw the towel behind them. At once a river, wide and blue, appeared and watered the field. Baba Yaga hopped along the shore until she finally found a shallow place and crossed it. Again the children heard her hurry after them and so they threw down the comb. This time a forest appeared, a dark and dusky forest in which the roots were interwoven, the branches matted together, and the tree-tops touching each other. The witch tried very hard to pass through, but in vain, and so, very, very angry, she returned home.

The orphans rushed to their father, told him all about “We were always ready to obey you, but you always their great distress, and thus concluded their pitiful story: neglect us, and the dear children smoothed us with oil.” “Ah, father dear, why do you love us less than our “The children ran away as fast as their feet could brothers and sisters?” possibly carry them” The father was touched and became angry. He sent The birch tree lisped with its leaves, “You have never the wicked stepmother away and lived a new life with put a simple thread over my branches and the little his good children. darlings adorned them with a pretty ribbon.” From that time he watched over their happiness and never neglected them any more.

BIG BAD WOLF

Big Bad Wolf The wolf has typically assumed a more negative image in legend, including in most of modern western folklore. Specifically, the wolf has often been portrayed as a creature to be feared.

In a number of fairy tales the wolf appears as a villain due to its vile personality. The big bad wolf appears such as in Grimmâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Fairy Tales, Three Little Pigs, and as the Aesopian Fable The Boy Who Cried Wolf.

Little Red Riding Hood by The Brothers Grimm

There was once a sweet little maid, much beloved by everybody, but most of all by her grandmother, who never knew how to make enough of her. Once she sent her a little riding hood of red velvet, and as it was very becoming to her, and she never wore anything else, people called her Little red Riding Hood. One day her mother said to her,

“Come, Little Red Riding Hood, here are some cakes and a flask of wine for you to take to grandmother; she is weak and ill, and they will do her good. Make haste and start before it grows hot, and walk properly and nicely, and don’t run, or you might fall and break the flask of wine, and there would be none left for grandmother. And when you go into her room, don’t forget to say good morning instead of staring about you.” “I will be sure to take care,” said Little Red riding Hood to her mother and gave her hand upon it..

Now the grandmother lived away in the wood, half an hour’s walk from the village; and when Little Red Riding Hood had reached the wood, she met the wolf; but as she did not know what a bad sort of animal he was, she did not feel frightened. “Good day, Little Red Riding Hood,” said he. “Thank you kindly, wolf,” answered she.

“Where are you going so early, Little Red Riding Hood?”

“A quarter of an hour’s walk from here; her house stands beneath the three oak trees, and you may know it by the hazel bushes,” said Little Red Riding Hood. The wolf thought to himself, “That tender young thing would be a delicious morsel and would taste better than the old one; I must manage somehow to get both of them.”

Then he walked by Little Red Riding Hood a little while, and said,

“Little Red Riding Hood, just look at the pretty flowers that are growing all round you; and I don’t think you are listening to the song of the birds; you are posting along just as if you were going to school, and it is so delightful out here in the wood.”

Little Red Riding Hood glanced round her, and when she saw the sunbeams darting here and there through the trees, and lovely flowers everywhere, she thought to herself, “if I were to take a fresh nosegay to my grandmother, she would be very pleased, and it is so early in the day that I shall reach her in plenty of time”; and so she ran about in the wood, looking for flowers. And as she picked one, she saw a still prettier one a little farther off, and so she went farther and farther into the wood. But the wolf went straight to the grandmother’s house and knocked at the door. “Who is there?” cried the grandmother.

“Little Red Riding Hood,” he answered, “and I have brought you some cake and wine. Please open the door.” “Lift the latch,” cried the grandmother; “I am too feeble to get up.”

So the wolf lifted the latch, and the door flew open, and he fell on the grandmother, and ate her up without saying one word. Then he drew on her clothes, put on her cap, lay down in her bed, and drew the curtains. Little Red Riding Hood was all this time running about among the flowers, and when she had gathered as many as she could hold, she remembered her grandmother, and set off to go to her. She was surprised to find the door standing open, and when she came inside she felt very strange and thought to herself, “oh dear, how uncomfortable I feel, and I was so glad this morning to go to my grandmother!”

And when she said, “Good morning,” there was no answer. Then she went up to the bed and drew back the curtains there lay the grandmother with her cap pulled over her eyes, so that she looked very odd. “O grandmother, what large ears you have!” “The better to hear with.”

“O grandmother, what great eyes you have!” “The better to see with.”

“O grandmother, what large hands you have!” “The better take hold of you with.”

“But, grandmother, what a terrible large mouth you have!” “The better to devour you!”

And no sooner had the wolf said it than he made one bound from the bed, and swallowed up poor Little Red Riding Hood.

Then the wolf, having satisfied his hunger, lay down again in the bed, went to sleep, and began to snore loudly. The huntsman heard him as he was passing by the house, and thought, “How the old woman snores—I had better see if there is anything the matter with her.” Then he went into the room, and walked up to the bed, and saw the wolf lying there. “At last I find you, you old sinner!” said he; “I have been looking for you a long time.”

And he made up his mind that the wolf had swallowed the grandmother whole, and that she might yet be saved. So he did not fire, but took a pair of shears and began to snip up the wolf ’s body. When he made a few snips Little Red Riding Hood appeared, and after a few more snips, she jumped out and cried, “Oh dear, how frightened I have been! It is so dark inside the wolf.” And then out came the old grandmother, still living and breathing. But Little Red Riding Hood went and quickly fetched some large stones, with which were so heavy that he sank down and fell dead. They were all three very pleased. The huntsman took off the wolf ’s skin, and carried it home. The grandmother ate the cakes, and drank the wine, and held up her head again, and Little Red Riding Hood said to herself that she would never more stray about in the wood alone, but would mind what her mother told her.

It must also be related how a few days afterwards, when Little Red Riding Hood was again taking cakes to her grandmother, another wolf spoke to her and wanted to tempt her to leave the path; but she was on her guard, and went straight on her way, and told her grandmother how the wolf had met her, and wished her good day, but had looked so wicked about the eyes hat she thought if it had not been on the high road, he would have devoured her. “Come,” said the grandmother, “we will shut the door, so that he may not get in.”

Dracula Dracula is a novel published in 1897 by Irish author Bram Stoker, and the name of the worldâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most famous vampire character. Although Stoker did not invent the vampire, the novelâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s influence on the popularity of vampires has been singularly responsible for scores of theatrical and movie interpretations throughout the 20th century.

Vampires are mythical or folkloric creatures, typically held to be the re-animated corpses of human beings and said to survive through drinking human and/or animal blood, often having unnatural powers, heightened bodily functions, and/or the ability to physically transform. Some cultures have myths of non-human vampires, such as demons or animals like bats, dogs, and spiders. Vampires are often described as having a variety of additional powers and character traits, extremely variable in different traditions.

Dracula

Bram Stokerâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Dracula Bram Stoker

The tale begins with Jonathan Harker, a newly qualified English solicitor, journeying by train and carriage from England to Count Dracula's crumbling, remote castle (situated in the Carpathian Mountains on the border of Transylvania and Moldavia). The purpose of his mission is to provide legal support for Dracula for a real estate transaction overseen by Harker's employer, Peter Hawkins, of Exeter in England. At first seduced by Dracula's gracious manner, Harker soon discovers that he has become a prisoner in the castle. He also begins to see disquieting facets of Dracula's nocturnal life. One night while searching for a way out of the castle, and against Dracula's strict admonition not to rest outside his room at night, Harker falls under the spell of three wanton female vampires, the Brides of Dracula. He is saved at the last second by the Count, however, who ostensibly wants to keep Harker alive just long enough because his legal advice and teachings about England and London (Dracula's planned travel destination was to be among the "teeming millions") are needed by Dracula. Harker barely escapes from the castle with his life.

Not long afterward, a Russian ship, the Demeter, having weighed anchor at Varna, runs aground on the shores of Whitby, England, during a fierce tempest. All of the crew are missing and presumed dead, and only one body, that of the captain, is found tied up to the ship's helm. The captain's log is recovered and tells of strange events that had taken place during the ship's journey. These events led to the gradual disappearance of the entire crew apparently owing to a malevolent presence on board of the ill-fated ship.

An animal described as a large dog is seen on the ship and leaping ashore. The ship's cargo is described as silver sand and boxes of "mould" or earth from Transylvania.

Soon Dracula is menacing Harker's devoted fiancée, Wilhelmina "Mina" Murray, and her vivacious friend, Lucy Westenra. Lucy receives three marriage proposals in one day, from Hon. Arthur Holmwood (later Lord Godalming); an American cowboy, Quincey Morris; and an asylum psychiatrist, Dr. John Seward. There is a notable encounter between Dracula and Seward's patient Renfield, an insane man who means to consume insects, spiders, birds, and other creatures — in ascending order of size — in order to absorb their "life force". Renfield acts as a kind of motion sensor, detecting Dracula's proximity and supplying clues accordingly.

Lucy begins to waste away suspiciously. All her suitors fret, and Seward calls in his old teacher, Professor Abraham Van Helsing from Amsterdam. Van Helsing immediately determines the cause of Lucy's condition but refuses to disclose it, knowing that Seward's faith in him will be shaken if he starts to speak of vampires. Van Helsing tries multiple blood transfusions, but they are clearly losing ground. On a night when Van Helsing must return to Amsterdam (and his message to Seward asking him to watch the Westenra household is accidentally sent to the wrong address), Lucy and her mother are attacked by a wolf. Mrs Westenra, who has a heart condition, dies of fright, and Lucy apparently dies soon after. Lucy is buried, but soon afterward the newspapers report a beautiful lady stalking children in the night. Van Helsing, knowing that this means Lucy has become a vampire, confides in Seward, Arthur, and Morris. The suitors and Van Helsing track her down, and after a disturbing confrontation between her vampiric self and Arthur, they stake her heart and behead her.

Around the same time, Jonathan Harker arrives home from Budapest (where Mina joined and married him after his escape from the castle); he and Mina also join the coalition, who turn their attentions to dealing with Dracula.

After Dracula learns of Van Helsing and the others' plot against him, he takes revenge by visiting and biting Mina at least three times. Dracula also feeds Mina his blood, creating a mental bond between them, aiming to control her. The only way to forestall this is to kill Dracula first. Mina slowly succumbs to the blood of the vampire that flows through her veins, switching back and forth from a state of consciousness to a state of semi-trance during which she is telepathically connected with Dracula. It is this connection that they start to use to track Dracula's movements. It is only possible to track Dracula's movements when Mina is put under hypnosis by Van Helsing. This ability is actually lost as the group makes their way to Dracula's castle. Dracula flees back to his castle in Transylvania, followed by Van Helsing's gang, who manage to track him down just before sundown and destroy him by shearing through the throat and stabbing him in the heart with a Bowie knife. Dracula crumbles to dust, his spell is lifted and Mina is freed from the marks. Quincey Morris is killed in the final battle, stabbed by Gypsies who had been charged with returning Dracula to his castle; the survivors return to England. The book closes with a note about Mina's and Jonathan's married life and the birth of their first-born son, who they name Quincey in remembrance of their American friend.

franken stein

Frankenstein From the moment it was published in 1818, Frankenstein, a classic horror story, has been enormously popular and continuously in print in many languages. The story has inspired plays, poems, parodies as well as other stories, novels, and more than 40 movies. The monster derives from the novel by Mary Shelley and is the result of manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s tinkering with nature and his untamed desire to create and apply his knowledge. The name of the scientist is sometimes wrongly used as that of the monster itself, and hence for any monstrous creation. Frankensteinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s popularity is partly because it is the first modern myth that used science to release the monster. Frankenstein is sometimes compared with politics, nuclear science, genetic engineering and other agents of change to warn against experimenting with things we donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t understand

Frankenstein by Mary W. Shelley

rankenstein, set in Europe in the 1790â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, begins with the letters of Captain Robert Walton to his sister. These letters form the framework for the story in which Walton tells his sister the story of Victor Frankenstein and his monster as Frankenstein told it to him.

Walton set out to explore the North Pole. The ship got trapped in frozen water and the crew, watching around them, saw a giant man in the distance on a dogsled. Hours later they found Frankenstein and his dogsled near the ship, so they brought the sick man aboard. As he recovered, Frankenstein told Walton his story so that Walton would learn the price of pursuing glory at any cost.

Frankenstein grew up in a perfectly loving and gentle Swiss family with an especially close tie to his adopted cousin, Elizabeth, and his dear friend Henry Clerval. As a young boy, Frankenstein became obsessed with studying outdated theories about what gives humans their life spark. In college at Ingolstadt, he created his own â&#x20AC;&#x153;perfectâ&#x20AC;? human from scavenged body parts, but once it lived, the creature was hideous. Frankenstein was disgusted by its ugliness, so he ran away from it.

Henry Clerval came to Ingolstadt to study with Frankenstein, but ended up nursing him after his exhausting and secret efforts to create a perfect human life. While Frankenstein recovered from his illness over many months and then studied languages with Clerval at the college, the monster wandered around looking for friendship.

After several harsh encounters with humans, the monster became afraid of them and spent a long time living near a cottage and observing the family who lived there. Through these observations he became educated and realized that he was very different from the humans he watched. Out of loneliness, the monster sought the friendship of this family, but they were afraid of him, and this rejection made him seek vengeance against his creator. He went to Geneva and met a little boy in the woods.

The monster hoped to kidnap him and keep him as a companion, but the boy was Frankenstein’s younger brother, so the monster killed him to get back at his creator. Then the monster planted the necklace he removed from the child’s body on a beautiful girl who was later executed for the crime.

When Frankenstein learned of his brother’s death, he went back to Geneva to be with his family. In the woods where his young brother was murdered, Frankenstein saw the monster and knew that he was William’s murderer. Frankenstein was ravaged by his grief and guilt for creating the monster who wreaked so much destruction, and he went into the mountains alone to find peace. Instead of peace, Frankenstein was approached by the monster who then demanded that he create a female monster to be the monster’s companion. Frankenstein, fearing for his family, agreed to and went to England to do his work. Clerval accompanied Frankenstein, but they separated in Scotland and Frankenstein began his work. When he was almost finished, he changed his mind because he didn’t want to be responsible for the carnage another monster could create, so he destroyed the project. The monster vowed revenge on Frankenstein’s upcoming wedding night. Before Frankenstein could return home, the monster murdered Clerval. Once home, Frankenstein married his cousin Elizabeth right away and prepared for his death, but the monster killed Elizabeth instead and the grief of her death killed Frankenstein’s father. After that, Frankenstein vowed to pursue the monster and destroy him. That’s how Frankenstein ended up near the North Pole where Walton’s ship was trapped. A few days after Frankenstein finished his story, Walton and his crew decided to turn back and go home. Before they left, Frankenstein died and the monster appeared in his room. Walton heard the monster’s explanation for his vengeance as well as his remorse before he left the ship and traveled toward the Pole to destroy himself so that none would ever know of his existence.

Giant

by Micha F. Lindemans

The giants in mythology are primordial creatures of enormous size, the personifications of the forces of nature. They usually are the enemies of humans and often battle the gods (such as the Greek Titans, the Irish Fomorians and the Norse giants of Jotunheim). There are many fairy tales in which giants appear. Those giants are usually very stupid, greedy and fond of human flesh. Often a resourceful young man (named Jack) is able to kill or defeat the giant ( Jack and the Bean Stalk, Jack the Giant Killer). However, not all the giants are evil; in some tales they are kind beings, who befriend little children.

GIANT

Jack and the Beanstalk by Joseph Jacobs

once upon a time...

there was a poor widow who lived with her son Jack in a little house. Their wealth consisted solely of a milking cow. When the cow had grown too old, the mother sent Jack to sell it. On his way to the market, the boy met a stranger. "I will give you five magic beans for your cow," the stranger offered.

Jack was unsure and hesitated for a while but then, enticed by the idea of such an extraordinary deal, he decided to accept. When he returned home, his mother was furious, "You fool! What have you done? We needed the money to buy a calf. Now we don't have anything and we are even poorer." Jack felt guilty and sad.

"Only a fool would exchange a cow for five beans," his mother fumed.

Then, at the height of her exasperation, she threw the five beans out of the window and sent Jack to bed with no dinner.

The morning after, when he stepped outside, Jack saw an amazing sight. A gigantic beanstalk, reaching far into the clouds, had grown overnight. "The beans must have really been magic," Jack thought happily.

Being very curious, the boy climbed the plant and once he reached the top of the stalk he found himself over the clouds.

While looking around in amazement, Jack saw a huge castle.

"I wonder who lives there," he thought. Jack was very surprised to see a path leading to the castle.

"What are you doing here?"a thundering voice asked. The biggest woman he had ever seen was scowling at him. Jack could only mutter: "I am lost. May I have something to eat? I am very hungry."

The woman, who did not have children, looked at him a little more kindly: "Come in, quick. I will give you a bowl of milk. But be careful because my husband, the giant, eats children. If you hear him coming, hide at once."

Jack was shaking with fear but, nonetheless, he went inside. The milk the woman gave him was very good and Jack had almost finished drinking it when they heard a tremendous noise. The giant was home.

"Fee fi fo fum! I smell the blood of an Englishman!" the giant shouted. "Hide, quick!" the woman whispered, pushing Jack into the oven.

“Do I smell a child in this room?” the giant asked suspiciously, sniffing and looking all around.

“A child?” the woman repeated. “You see and hear children everywhere. That’s all you ever think about. Sit down and I’ll make your dinner.” The giant, still grumbling, filled a jug of wine and drank it all with his dinner.

After having counted again and again all the gold pieces of his treasure, the giant fell asleep with his feet propped up on the table. After a little while, his thundering snoring echoed throughout the castle.

The giant’s wife went to prepare the giant’s bed and Jack, who had sneaked out to the oven, saw the gold pieces on the table and filled a little bag full of them. Jack’s heart was beating faster, not just faster because he feared the giant but because he was very excited. Thanks to all the gold coins, he and his mother would be rich. Jack ran down the path over the clouds.

Jack arrived at the top of the giant beanstalk and began to descend as quickly as possible, hanging on the leaves and the branches. When he finally reached the ground, he found his mother waiting for him. The poor woman had been worried sick since his disappearance.

She had been frightened by the giant beanstalk. When she saw Jack come down and then triumphantly hold up the bag full of gold, she burst out crying: “Where have you been, my son? Do you want me to die worrying? What kind of plant is this? What . . .”

Jack cheerfully interrupted her, emptying the contents of the bag before her. "You see, I did the right thing exchanging that cow for the magic beans."

Jack decided to go back to the castle above the clouds. This time the boy went inside through the kitchen and hid once again in the oven. Shortly after, the giant came in and began to sniff about. "I smell children," he said to his wife. But since she had seen no one come in, she didn't pay any attention to him.

After dinner, the giant placed a hen on the table. The hen laid golden eggs. Jack saw the miraculous hen from a crack in the oven door. He waited for the giant to fall asleep, jumped out of the oven, snatched the hen and ran out of the castle. The hen's squawking, however, woke up the giant. "Thief! Thief!" he shouted. But Jack was already far away.

Once again, he found his mother anxiously waiting for him at the foot of the beanstalk. "Is that all you got? A hen?" she asked Jack, disappointed. But Jack ran, happy, to the courtyard.

"Just wait," he said to his mother. As a matter of fact, a little while later the hen laid a golden egg and continued to lay such an egg every single day after that. One evening he gathered all his courage and climbed once more the giant beanstalk. This time he entered the castle through an open window.

He sneaked in the darkness to the kitchen and hid inside a huge pot until the following day. After dinner the giant went to get his magic harp, an instrument that sang and played marvelous music. While listening to the harp’s sweet melody, the giant fell asleep. In his hiding place, Jack was captivated by the harp’s song as well. When he finally heard the giant snore loudly, he lifted the pot’s lid and saw the extraordinary instrument: a golden harp. He quickly climbed on the table and ran away with the harp in his hands. The instrument woke up the giant screaming:

"Master, master! Wake up! A thief is taking me away!" The giant woke up suddenly, was disorientated for a couple of seconds but then realized what was happening and began chasing Jack. The boy ran as fast as he could and the harp kept calling out. When Jack got down to earth he called to his mother, "Look what I've brought you!"

The harp began to play an enchanting melody and his mother smiled happily.

But up there in the clouds someone else had heard the harp's beautiful song and Jack soon realized with terror that the thick beanstalk was shaking under a very heavy weight. The giant was coming down to earth! “Hide the harp and bring me an ax! I must chop down the plant before the giant gets here," Jack said to his mother.

They could already see the giant's huge boots when the plant and the giant finally crashed to the ground.

The magical sound of the harp cured his motherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s sadness and she was once again happy and cheerful. The hen kept on laying golden eggs. Jack's life had gone through a lot of changes since he had accepted the magic beans. But without his courage and his wit, he and his mother could never have found happiness.

GHOST

Ghost

by Micha F. Lindemans

A disembodied spirit. The term is usually applied to the human soul after death. It is used interchageably with such words as apparition, phantom, specter, shade, and revenant.

The Headless Horseman retold by S.E. Scholosser

One cold winter night, early in the New Year, a certain Dutchman left the tavern in Tarrytown and started walking to his home in the hollow nearby. His path led next to the old Sleepy Hollow cemetery where a headless Hessian soldier was buried. At midnight, the Dutchman came within site of the graveyard. The weather had warmed up during the week, and the snow was almost gone from the road. It was a dark night with no moon, and the only light came from his lantern.

The Dutchman was nervous about passing the graveyard, remembering the rumors of a galloping ghost that he had heard at the tavern. He stumbled along, humming to himself to keep up his courage. Suddenly, his eye was caught by a light rising from the ground in the cemetery. He stopped, his heart pounding in fear. Before his startled eyes, a white mist burst forth from an unmarked grave and formed into a large horse carrying a headless rider.

The Dutchman let out a terrible scream as the horse leapt toward him at a full gallop. He took to his heels, running as fast as he could, making for the bridge since he knew that ghosts and evil spirits did not care to cross running water. He stumbled suddenly and fell, rolling off the road into a melting patch of snow. The headless rider thundered past him, and the man got a second look at the headless ghost. It was wearing a Hessian commander's uniform. The Dutchman waited a good hour after the ghost disappeared before crawling out of the bushes and making his way home. After fortifying himself with schnapps, the Dutchman told his wife about the ghost. By noon of the next day, the story was all over Tarrytown. The good Dutch folk were divided in their opinions. Some thought that the ghost must be roaming the roads at night in search of its head. Others claimed that the Hessian soldier rose from the grave to lead the Hessian soldiers in a charge up nearby Chatterton Hill, not knowing that the hill had already been taken by the British. Whatever the reason, the Headless Horseman continues to roam the roads near Tarrytown on dark nights from that day to this.

Monster of Loch Ness, The by Micha F. Lindemans

A legendary animal which lives in the depths of Loch Ness, a lake in the Highlands of northern Scotland. The size of this monster, Nessie as it is fondly called, is 12-15 m (40-50 ft) and it has a long, snake-like neck. It is popularly believed to be female. The sightings date back to 565 CE when the Irish Saint Columba claimed he saw the Niseag (the Celtic name for Nessie) when he attended a burial for a man who had been bitten to death by the monster. While it has been sighted in the subsequent centuries, it was not until the 19th century that the sightings become more frequent. The most famous encounter was perhaps in the summer of 1933. On that day Mr. and Mrs. Spicer, returning from a trip to London, saw a monster cross the road, with an animal in his jaws, and submerge in the lake. This incident drew the attention of the world press and Nessie became an international phenomena. There have been many expeditions since, but none as successful as to prove its existence.

LochNess Monster

Bearlake Monster retold by S.E. Scholosser

f you travel to Bear Lake in Utah on a quiet day, you just might catch a glimpse of the Bear Lake Monster. The monster looks like a huge brown snake and is nearly 90 feet long. It has ears that stick out from the side of its skinny head and a mouth big enough to eat a man. According to some, it has small legs and it kind of scurries when it ventures out on land. But in the water - watch out! It can swim faster than a horse can gallop - makes a mile a minute on a good day. Sometimes the monster likes to sneak up on unwary swimmers and blow water at them. The ones it doesn't carry off to eat, that is. A feller I heard about spotted the monster early one evening as he was walking along the lake. He tried to shoot it with his rifle. The man was a crack shot, but not one of his bullets touched that monster. It scared the heck out of him and he high tailed it home faster than you can say Jack Robinson. Left his rifle behind him and claimed the monster ate it.

Sometimes, when the monster has been quiet for a while, people start saying it is gone for good. Some folks even dredge up that old tale that says how Pecos Bill heard about the Bear Lake monster and bet some cowpokes that he could wrestle that monster until it said uncle. According to them folks, the fight lasted for days and created a hurricane around Bear Lake. Finally, Bill flung that there monster over his shoulder and it flew so far it went plumb around the world and landed in Loch Ness, where it lives to this day.

Course, we know better than that. The Bear Lake Monster is just hibernating-like. Keep your eyes open at dusk and maybe you'll see it come out to feed. Just be careful swimming in the lake, or you might be its next meal!

Mummy A mummy is a corpse whose skin and dried flesh have been preserved by either intentional or accidental exposure to chemicals, extreme cold, very low humidity, or lack of air when bodies are submerged in bogs. Mummification existed in many cultures, eternal life was the main focus of all Ancient Egyptians, which meant preserving the body forever. Egyptian culture believed the body was home in the afterlife to a personâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Ka (soul), without which it would be condemned to eternal wandering.

mummy

The Curse of Tutankhamun the king was only nineteen...when he died, perhaps murdered by his enemies. His tomb, in comparison with his contemporaries, was modest. After his death, his successors made an attempt to expunge his memory by removing his name from all the official records. Even those carved in stone. As it turns out, his enemy’s efforts only ensured his eventual fame. His name was Tutankhamen: King Tut.

“Death Shall Come on Swift Wings To Him Who Disturbs the Peace of the King...”

-Engravings on the exterior of King Tutankhamen’s Tomb

y The ancient Egyptians revered their Pharaohs as Gods. Upon their deaths the Kingâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bodies were carefully preserved by embalming. The mummified corpses were interned in elaborate tombs (like the Great Pyramid) and surrounded with all the riches the royals would need in the next life. The tombs were then carefully sealed. Egyptâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s best architects designed the structures to resist thieves. In some cases heavy, hard-granite plugs were used to block passageways. In others, false doorways and hidden rooms were designed to fool intruders. Finally, in a few cases, a curse was placed on the entrance. Most of these precautions failed. In ancient times grave robbers found their way into the tombs. They unsealed the doors, chiseled their way around the plugs and found the secrets of the hidden rooms. They stripped the dead Kings of their valuables. We will never know if any of the thieves suffered the wrath of a curse. Archaeologists from Europe became very interested in Egypt in the 19th century. They uncovered the old tombs and explored their deep recesses always hoping to find that one forgotten crypt that had not been plundered in antiquity. They knew that the Pharaohs had been buried with untold treasures that would be of immense artistic, scientific, and monetary value. Always the archaeologists were disappointed.

# The Search for the Missing King

In 1891 a young Englishman named Howard Carter arrived in Egypt. Over the years he became convinced that there was at least one undiscovered tomb. That of the almost unknown King Tutankhamen. Carter found a backer for his tomb search in the wealthy Lord Carnarvon. For five years Carter dug looking for the missing Pharaoh and found nothing. Carnarvon summonded Carter to England in1922 to tell him he was was calling off the search. Carter managed to talk the lord into supporting him for one more season of digging. Returning to Egypt the archaeologist brought with him a yellow canary. “A golden bird!” Carter’s foreman, Reis Ahmed, exclaimed. “It will lead us to the tomb!” Perhaps it did. On November 4th, 1922 Carter’s workmen discovered a step cut into the rock that had been hidden by debris left over from the building of the tomb of Ramesses IV.. Digging further they found fifteen more leading to an ancient doorway that appeared to be still sealed. On the doorway was the name Tutankhamen. When Carter arrived home that night his servant met him at the door. In his hand he clutched a few yellow feathers. His eyes large with fear, he reported that the canary had been killed by a cobra. Carter, a practical man, told the servant to make sure the snake was out of the house. The man grabbed Carter by the sleeve. “The pharaoh’s serpent ate the bird because it led us to the hidden tomb! You must not disturb the tomb!” Scoffing at such superstitious nonsense, Carter sent the man home. Carter immediately sent a telegram to Carnarvon in England and waited anxiously for his arrival. Carnarvon made it to Egypt by November 26th and watched as Carter made a hole in the door. Carter leaned in, holding a candle, to take a look. Behind him Lord Carnarvon asked, “Can you see anything?” Carter answered, “Yes, wonderful things.”

King Tutankhamunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Death Mask

The day the tomb was opened was one of joy and celebration for all those involved. Nobody seemed to be concerned about any curse. Rumors later circulated that Carter had found a tablet with the curse inscribed on it, but hid it immediately so it would not alarm his workers. Carter denied doing so. The tomb was intact and contained an amazing collection of treasures including a stone sarcophagus. The sarcophagus contained three gold coffins nested within each other. Inside the final one was the mummy of the boy-king, Pharaoh Tutankhamen.

U The Curse Strikes?

A few months after the tomb’s opening tragedy struck. Lord Carnarvon, 57, was taken ill and rushed to Cairo. He died a few days later. The exact cause of death was not known, but it seemed to be from an infection started by an insect bite. Legend has it that when he died there was a short power failure and all the lights throughout Cairo went out. His son reported that back on his estate in England his favorite dog howled and suddenly dropped dead. Even more strange, when the mummy of Tutankhamun was unwrapped in 1925, it was found to have a wound on the left cheek in the same exact position as the insect bite on Carnarvon that lead to his death.

By 1929 eleven people connected with the discovery of the Tomb had died early and of unnatural causes. This included two of Carnarvon’s relatives, Carter’s personal secretary, Richard Bethell, and Bethell’s father, Lord Westbury. Westbury killed himself by jumping from a building. He left a note that read, “I really cannot stand any more horrors and hardly see what good I am going to do here, so I am making my exit.”

M What horrors did Westbury refer to? The press followed the deaths carefully attributing each new one to the “Mummy’s Curse” By 1935 they had credited 21 victims to King Tut. Was there really a curse? Or was it all just the ravings of a sensational press? Herbert E. Winlock, the director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, made his own calculations about the effectiveness of the curse. According to to Winlock’s figures of the 22 people present when the tomb was opened in 1922, only 6 had died by 1934. Of the 22 people present at the opening of the sarcophagus in 1924, only 2 died in the following ten years. Also ten people were there when the mummy was unwrapped in 1925, and all survived until at least 1934.

Perhaps, the power of a curse is in the mind of the person who believes in it. Howard Carter, the man who actually opened the tomb, never believed in the curse and lived to a reasonably old age of 66 before dying of entirely natural causes.

KingTutankhamunâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;sCURSEisey 1468312897d(*&%dfao.,Zpi

In 2002 a medicine scholar at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, named Mark Nelson, completed a study which purportedly showed that the curse of King Tut never really existed. Nelson selected 44 Westerners in Egypt at the time the tomb was discovered. Of those, twenty-five of the group were people potentially exposed to the curse either because they were at the breaking of the sacred seals in the tomb, or at the opening of the sarcophagus, or at the opening of the coffins, or the unwrapping of the mummy. The study showed that these exposures had no effect on the length of their survival when compared to those not exposed.

Werewolf

by Micha F. Lindemans In popular folklore, a man who is transformed, or who transforms himself, into a wolf in nature and appearance under the influence of a full moon. The werewolf is only active at night and during that period, he devours infants and corpses. According to legend, werewolves can be killed by silver objects such as silver arrows and silver bullets. When a werewolf dies he is returned to his human form. The legends of werewolves have been told since the ancient Greeks and are known all over the world. In areas where the wolf is not so common, the belief in werewolves is replaced by folklore where men can change themselves in tigers, lions, bears and other fierce animals.

The Werewolf â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Bride retold by S.E. Scholosser

here once was a beautiful girl engaged to a soldier who caught the eye of an evil woodsman who had sold his soul for the ability to turn himself into a wolf at will. He lay in wait for the girl when she was walking home one day and accosted her, begging her to elope with him. The maiden refused, spurning his love and crying out to her love to save her from his advances.

The girl's cries were heard by her eager fiance, who had come searching for her when she was late returning to her parent's home. The soldier drove the woodsman away, threatening him with dire consequences if he ever approached the maiden again. The furious woodsman lay low for a few days, waiting for his chance. It came on the girl's wedding day. She was dancing happily at her wedding reception with a group of her friends when the woodsman, in the form of a wolf, leapt upon her and dragged her away with him.

The enraged bridegroom gave chase, but the wolf and his bride had disappeared into the thick forest and were not seen again. For many days, the distraught soldier and his friends, armed with silver bullets, scoured the woods, searching for the maiden and her captor. Once the soldier thought he saw the wolf and shot at it. Upon reaching the location, he found a piece of a wolf 's tail lying upon the ground. But of the wolf to which it belonged there was no sign. After months of searching, his friends begged him to let the girl go and get on with living. But the soldier was half-mad with grief and refused to give up. And that very day, he found the cave where the werewolf lived. Within it lay the preserved body of his beloved wife. he girl had refused the werewolf 's advances to the very end, and had died for it.

After his murderous fury had died away, the werewolf had tenderly laid the body of the girl he had loved and had killed into a wooden coffin, where it would be safe from predators, and he came to visit her grave every day. Lying in wait for him, the soldier shot the werewolf several times as he entered the cavern, chasing him down until the maddened and dying werewolf leapt into the lake and disappeared from view. The soldier sat by the lake with his gun, staring into the rippling waters for hours as the catfish ate the bloody bits of the wolf that were floating on the surface of the water.

When his friends found him, the soldier's mind was gone. He babbled insanely about a werewolf that had been eaten by a catfish when it leapt into the water, and he sobered only long enough to lead the men to the body of his beloved before he collapsed forevermore into insanity. He died a few days later, and was buried beside his bride in a little glen where they had planned to build there house. Their grave is long forgotten, and the place where it stands is covered with daisies in the spring. But to this day, the people of the area have a prejudice against eating catfish, though no one remember why.

The End

vocabulary baba yaga adorn

v. to beautify, as with ornaments.

astride

p. over or upon and with a leg on each side of; straddling; extending over or across; spanning.

distress

n. physical or emotional stress or suffering, or anything that causes suffering.

envious

n. feeling of discontented longing aroused by anotherâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s better fortune

interwoven

v. to weave together; to combine or blend together as if by weaving;

lisp

n. to pronounce the sounds \s\ and \z\ in an imperfect way by giving them the sounds of \th\

loom

n. a device or machine for weaving fabric. or v. to appear or come into view, often as a very large, dim, or distorted shape.

mourn

v. to feel or express grief or sorrow,to show the customary signs of grief for a death

scarcely

adv. just barely; by only a small margin.

scold

v. to find fault noisily or angrily

shrill

adj. having, producing, or characterized by a high piercing sound.

sieve

consciousness

n. the part of mental life that involves conscious thought and awareness

disclose

v. to make known

disquiet

v. to make uneasy or restless

facet

n. a small plane surface

forestall

v. to keep out, interfere with, or prevent by steps taken in advance

fret

v. to make or become worried

heighten

v. to make or become brighter or greater: to raise higher

interpret

v. to explain the meaning of

malevolent

adj. having or showing ill will

myth

n. a person or thing that exists only in the imagination: a popular belief that is false or unsupported

nocturnal

adj. of, relating to, or occurring in the night: active at night

ostensibly

adv. to all outward appearances

remembrance

n.the act of remembering

remote

adj. far removed in place, time, or relation

n. a device with meshes or holes to separate finer particles from coarser ones or solids from liquids

seduce

v. to persuade to be disobedient or disloyal: to persuade to do wrong

threshold

n. the section of wood or stone that lies under a door, entrance; the place or point of beginning

solicitor

v. to beautify, as with ornaments.

treacherous

adj. betraying or likely to betray trust; traitorous; faithless.

succumb

v. to yield to force or pressure

vast

adj. very great in size, amount, degree, intensity, or especially in extent or range

telepathy

n. apparent communication from one mind to another without speech or signs

tempest

n. a violent wind

transact

v. to carry through a business deal

transfusion

n. the process of transfusing a fluid and especially blood into a blood vessel

vivacious

adj. full of life and good spirits

wanton

adj. playful: indecent, merciless

carnage

n. great destruction of life (as in battle)

derive

v. to come from a certain source or basis

execute

v. to do what is required by: to put to death

big bad wolf devour

v. to eat up greedily or hungrily

feeble

adj. lacking in strength or endurance

flask

n. a container shaped like a flattened bottle

haste

n. rapidity of motion or action

morsel

n. a small piece of food: a small quantity or piece

tempt

v. to persuade or try to persuade to do wrong by promise of pleasure or gain 2 : to risk the dangers of

admonition

n. a gentle or friendly criticism or warning

asylum

n. a place of safety

parody

n. a written or musical work in which the style of an author or work is imitated for comic effect

confront

v. to face especially in challenge

ravage

n. violently destructive action or effect

dracula

frankenstein

yralubacov remorse

n. a deep regret for having done wrong

elaborate

n. made or done with great care or with much detail

scavenge

v. to collect usable things from what has been discarded

embalming

v. to treat a dead body with special preparations to preserve it from decay

tinker

n. a person who travels around and earns a living by repairing household utensils (as pots and pans)

eternal

n. having no beginning and no end : lasting forever

untamed

adj. in a primitive state; not domesticated or cultivated; produced by nature

expunge

v. to blot or rub out.

intern

v. to confine especially during a war

vengeance

n.punishment given in return for an injury or offense

intruder

n. an attacker that gains, or tries to gain, unauthorized access to a system

monetary

adj. of or relating to money

plunder

v. to rob especially openly and by force

precaution

n. care taken in advance: a measure taken beforehand to prevent harm or to bring about a good result

preserve

v. to keep or save from injury, loss, or ruin

sarcophagus

n. a stone coffin

summon

v.t. require presence or attendance of; call upon.

superstitious

adj. a person who believes in the existence or power of the supernatural; or have irrational fear of unknown or mysterious.

wrath

n. anger, indignation.

giant captivate

v. to influence or fascinate by some special charm

disorient

v. to cause to be confused or lost

exasperation

n. extreme annoyance

grumble

v. to mutter in discontent

ghost

fortify

v. to make strong: to give strength or endurance to

roam

v. to go or go over from place to place without a plan

schnapps

n. physical or emotional stress or suffering, or anything that causes suffering.

tavern

n. an establishment where alcoholic liquors are sold to be drunk on the premises

lochness monster

werewolf

accost

v. to approach and speak to often in a challenging or aggressive way

babble

v. to make meaningless sounds

expeditiou

n. a journey or trip undertaken for a specific purpose

cavern

n. a cave often of large or unknown size

hibernate

v. to pass the winter in a sleeping or resting state

dire

adj. causing horror: warning of disaster

phenomenon

n. an observable fact or event: a fact, feature, or event of scientific interest

scurry

v. to move briskly

elope

v. to run away secretly especially to get married without parental consent

submerge

v. to put or go underwater: to cover or become covered with or as if with water

eurage

n. feeling of discontented longing aroused by

subsequent

adj. following in time, order, or place

venture

v. to go ahead in spite of danger

mummy

antiquities

n. objects or monuments from ancient times

bog

n. wet spongy ground

condemn

v. to declare to be wrong

debris

n. the remains of something broken down or destroyed

prejudice

n. a favoring or dislike of something without good reason

publishing

abracadabra

l t Monsters

FeaR is not an option...

Monsters Alisa Pongchang

5 9 4 37 211 8 6 AUD$ 19.95

alisa pongchang

ISBN 1-04078-522-11

the retelling of Monsters’ tales

his is a small collection of some of the most famous montrous characters of our time.

“All child except one grow up” – J.M. Barry