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In ancient times babies and animals that were born with severe deformities were sometimes referred to as monsters. Less severe deformities were called anomalies, abnormalities, or birth defects.
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In mythology giants and dwarfs were considered to be monsters. Today there are much nicer terms for congenital abnormalities. In the animal kingdom the bulldog is a type of dwarf.
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Ancient Greek, Roman, Chinese, Celtic, Norse, and Semitic legends and folklore include a variety of monsters. Some of these include sirens, harpies, polyphemus, Medusa, and chimaera.
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Popular monsters in legends include Behemoth, ghouls, dragons, demons, Cyclops, Jiangshi, werewolves, vampires, Leviathan, Minotaur, ogres, trolls, and many more.
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Monsters can include extraterrestrial aliens, supernatural creatures, plants, and even machines.
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The most famous monsters in modern fiction include mummies, zombies, werewolves, vampires, and Frankenstein.
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Argus was an Ancient Greek monster with about one hundred eyes located all over his body. Other popular Ancient Greek monsters include Cerberus (three-headed dog), Cyclops (one-eyed giant), Gorgons (serpent-haired creatures including Medusa), Hydra (nine-headed serpent), and Minotaur (monster with bull's head).
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During the silent film era in the early 20th century monsters were popular characters. They included Frankenstein, vampires, werewolves, and lizard-like creatures.
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Godzilla is one of the most famous monsters created in the 20th century. Godzilla was only created after the invention of nuclear weapons, supposedly a creation resulting from exposure to nuclear radiation.
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Not all monsters are horrible creatures that want to kill people. King Kong and Frankenstein are monsters that were created as misunderstood characters.
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Friendly monsters exist in children's literature and films, such as in Monsters Inc. Other friendly children's monsters include Elmo, Shrek, Chewbacca, and those found on Sesame Street.
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Legendary monsters can be found in folklore in many countries around the world. Some of these monsters include Bigfoot (Sasquatch), Loch Ness Monster, Dracula, Naga (sea serpent), Abominable Snowman (Yeti), Ebu Gogo, El Chupacabra, and even witches.
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Even normal creatures such as birds have been turned into terrifying monster movie characters, such as Alfred Hitchcock's movie The Birds.
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Some monster movies star characters that are just giant or more vicious versions of a normal animal such as Jaws (giant shark), King Kong (ape), Lake Placid (giant crocodile), Piranha (deadly fish), and Tremors (giant worms).
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Some of the most famous monster movies of all time include Creature from the Black Lagoon, Alien, King Kong, Frankenstein, Godzilla, The Thing, The Fly, Tremors, The Beast from 20,000 Fathoms, The Blob, Swamp Thing, and The Phantom of the Opera.
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