Release the Monsters!

[ecosophia]

Well, the Sign of the Outhouse Moon has done it again. Llewellyn Publications, who published a bunch of my books on occultism and the unexplained early on, and has been dropping those books off their backlist rather rapidly of late, informed me via form letter that Monsters: An Investigator's Guide to Magical Beings is being allowed to go out of print, effective immediately. There are still some copies in the supply chain, but they probably won't last long -- Monsters has been my most successful Llewellyn book, with very steady sales for almost twenty years now. 

The upside is that I was able to place Monsters with another publisher in less than 24 hours, and since 2021 will be the twentieth year since the original publication, we're discussing a revised and expanded edition. The second edition, published in 2011, included new sections on zombies and chimeras (monsters like the Jersey Devil and Mothman, which appear to be patched together from an assortment of creatures) and a good deal of further information on some of the old standards.

The one challenge I face now is that it's been a good long time since I've done any monster research, and I don't happen to know what the latest trends in monsterdom might be. This book is about magical entities rather than cryptids -- think ghosts, demons, and phantasms rather than sasquatches and plesiosaurs -- and there are definite trends in the world of the weird. (Zombies were hardly on anyone's radar screen in 2001, when the first edition came out.) So what's out there slithering in the shadows these days? Inquiring authors want to know...

Comments

[(Anonymous)]

Karens?

Wokesters?

Eek!

[ecosophia]

There are things too terrible to be discussed in print -- loathsome, rugose, eldritch horrors alien to all sanity and to this earth itself, of a kind described solely in the pages of such dread tomes as the Karenomicon of the mad suburbanite Yuras Hazzadit. Were I to put such hideous things in my book, it would catch on fire as fast as a city with a Democrat mayor!

[(Anonymous)]

Hey Archdruid,

If I'm looking in the stores, mermaids and unicorns, I guess :)

Are you keeping the tongue-in-cheek monster hunting theme? May have been part of why it is so succesful!

Yours in Druidry,
Brigyn

[packshaud]

Everyone keeps talking about the "tongue-in-cheek" tone, and I still fail to see it.

[(Anonymous)]

Just had to chase off some larvae with Dragons Blood tonight. Looking forward to the updated version.

[(Anonymous)]

Didn't work. Going with the vinegar.

[tolkienguy]

One thing I've always been curious about after reading the chapter in that book on werewolves-wouldn't the sort of etheric transformations you've talked about be a way to "prove" the supernatural exists? I mean, even Richard Dawkins might reassess his worldview if a nonphysical cat suddenly appeared on his desk, knocked all the crap off, then ran out into the lobby and dissappeared in front of everybody...

[ecosophia]

No, he wouldn't. It would take him less than ten minutes to convince himself that it never happened at all.

[(Anonymous)]

South Bay Bessie, Lake Erie’s own cryptid / monster is a staple of monsterdom here in Ohio. It appears in my WoH campaign as a long-necked seal with the Latin name you invented, Megalotaria longicollis. A less cute version appears on bottles of Lake Erie Monster from Great Lakes Brewing.

[ecosophia]

I didn't invent the name -- it's from Bernard Heuvelmans' In the Wake of the Sea-Serpent, an excellent book. Do you know of any reason (outside of the realm of roleplaying games) that Bessie is more than a cryptid?

[filthywaffle]

As a former book publisher I am in equal measures perplexed they would drop a consistent seller on the backlist and relieved they didn't hold onto it forever without doing anything with it. The publisher I worked for had those contracts that didn't revert publishing rights until the book was out of print. And since everything had an electronic version, that meant it was never out of print! (I always changed that default clause to a royalty threshold, where reversion happened if royalties didn't reach a certain amount in a given year.) Sounds like Llewellyn, as big and idiosyncratic as they are, are still somewhat reasonable.

[ecosophia]

I tend to be very picky with contracts, having been badly burned more than once early in my writing career, and will not sign one without a functional reversion clause. As for Llewellyn, they've been dropping my books pretty steadily for a couple of years now. I'm pretty sure the issue is political; I'm insufficiently woke for their tastes.

[(Anonymous)]

Hi JMG,

Would you consider including mythical creatures like Giants, Nephilim, Watchers, Anunnaki and the like? There are too many inflated speculations about these creatures in "alternative archaeology" business.

[ecosophia]

Hmm! I'll consider that.

[thuley]

Tulpas. Between their popularity in chaos magick, online fandoms, and being featured heavily in the Twin Peaks TV series revival, they might be worth including.

I heard a theory from Shaivist spiritual teacher Sadhguru that Tantric mages used to create hideous Tulpas as an exercises in energy (and, I believe, compassion)--but some of these ancient Tulpas have long survived their creators, still stalk the earth as eldritch, stygian, and cyclopean horrors.

According to wikipedia, Tulpas didn't start gaining traction in online communities until 2009:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulpa

On a similar note, Egregores have become fairly common in occult parlance, despite there being very few scholarly explanations of them. Mark Stavish's book of the same name (2018) mentions the strong pull that abusive cult egregores can have to trap anyone trying to leave or even challenge the dynamics that make it toxic in the first place.

[ecosophia]

Thank you for this. Tulpas and other magically created monsters certainly deserve a chapter.

Long reply is long

[packshaud]

Monsters is one of my favorite books. What I am writing here are some divergences on what I consider to be one of your best introductory works. I gained a lot from it, but there are five aspects I would like you to consider.

First, to reply your question, I am more or less at a loss on specifics. During The Long Descent, shifting opinions are a fertile ground for everything trickster; these are perhaps most related to the destruction from demons and the confusion of the fae. Hopes and fears are where monsters usually dwell, as well as pop culture. Black-eyed children in the fear section, and indigo ones on the hope spectrum part, are proper examples, echoing the Men in Black from the UFO paranoia and--I don't remember a positive aspect from that time. In any case, the Good People do not care; they never minded to take a hitchhike on the Associated Press confusion about "flying saucers." I would also point to all the political reading you do--it probably is swarming with monsters, including the mythical Orange Julius, trying to drain Swamp City.

Second, the book works very well from a viewpoint treating monsters as a sort of pest. Describe how they "work," and explore the weaknesses that arise from that, which can be used to repel or slay them. That's fine for a book that emulates paranormal guides from decades ago, but it is not very... ecosophian. This book was the door I used to enter the unseen party. The new edition will be one of the greeting cards for your many more readers, if compared to 2001, into how "this stuff can be real." Whatever the narrative that glues the different monsters together--akin to evolution theory as a narrative for biology--is used on the book, perhaps updates with changes in your thought about the subject during the almost 20 years since the first edition, will have a huge impact on the final book. This could require a major rewrite, though.

Third, there is the issue of the somewhat Judeo-Christian banishment rituals, for which you might want to provide alternatives.

Fourth, this is a book you once said you did not intend to revisit. Try to make this Prime Evil a way to improve it. Although, would the changes I'm suggesting still make a viable product? If the book is too different from the original, this might impact sales, and you would end with the infamous Homer Car [ https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffab&q=homer+car ]. Books written under commission sometimes are hated even by the author; Lovecraft's Herbert West serial is a good example.

Fifth and last, you have to decide what will be done about the book illustrations.

My congratulations for having another book freed from the clutches of the Sign of the Outhouse Moon. I have an irrational dislike for that publisher, that shan't be named, for reasons I do not know how to explain. They are a bit like being human, I think; you can do a lot of good in that condition, until you reach a point you can do and be better outside of it.

Re: Long reply is long

[ecosophia]

Long reply is also useful; thanks for this. I'll consider the points you've raised.

[(Anonymous)]

Social Justice Warriors?

[ecosophia]

A case could be made...

[inavalon]

The Wendigo.

[(Anonymous)]

Isn’t the only way to get rid of a Wendigo to kill it? That might present some interesting legal questions for JMG and his publisher!

JMG, why’d Llewellyn dump your best-seller? Are they making too much money?

Bigfoot, BEK, Mothman

[(Anonymous)]

I have the copy of the book. The same magic monster stuff is still out there.

However, there has been an uptick in Bigfoot and his many manifestations. What I have gleamed from my readings is that Bigfoot may be from another dimension or is something more than a cryptid. (I read a lot of Loren Coleman, etc.)

Black Eyed Kids, and the Men In Black seem to have a paranormal aspect to them. The MIB have always been written as if they are otherworldly, and more than just alien. BEK comes down in the middle.

Mothman recently has taken on supernatural dimensions beyond simply cryptid. or flying humanoid.

Fairies are very big in Neopagan circles these days.
---
One thing that people around me have remarked about the book is the coverage on Bigfoot, etc. They focused on that more than the other entries, since it is creepy that there is an entity that is human but not human that stalks people, That may or may not be real.

Neptune's Dolphins.

Re: Bigfoot, BEK, Mothman

[ecosophia]

Many thanks for these. I don't think I've even heard of Black Eyed Kids before!

[jolbytlan]

I'm not sure if this counts as magical beings, but I've been seeing and hearing a lot about "shadow people" lately.
Count me in as an early buyer of a new addition of this book. It was this one that introduced me to you and your writings, so it will always hold a special place.

Jeff H.

[ecosophia]

Thanks for this. Shadow People -- I'll definitely have to look into those.

[(Anonymous)]

It's lovely to hear you've placed the book, and are in a position to revise and expand it.

Regarding your query, the first thing that comes to mind is Internet monster phenomena like Slenderman. Perhaps there might be a case study there, if you're interested in exploring that.

Second, it might be interesting to analyze the post-2016 'group political magic' movements through the 'monsters' lens.

Good luck!

[ecosophia]

Many thanks for this. "Internet Monsters" probably need a chapter of their own.

[(Anonymous)]

Ah, the serious joke. Your best book!

I would also like to know what the monster trends are. A couple of years ago there was a lot of talk about dogmen, "rakes", black-eyed kids and Mothman sightings in Chicago (sic) but I haven't looked into it much either since. Tulpas, maybe?

Tidlösa

[ecosophia]

What on earth, or off it, is a "rake"? I assume you don't mean the ordinary garden implement.

[jpc_w]

Funny you should mention sasquatches.
Mike Clelland wrote a book on owl synchronicities that sometimes accompany both UFO and sasquatch attacks. That, in turn, formed the background of
Timothy Renner and Joshua Cutchin's 2 volume series of Magonian sasquatchology; volume 1 is out now. So even the cryptid community is starting to assimilate occult ideas of what monsters "are".

For monsters, you might want to address internet phenomena such as Slenderman and the various disease-chans. The energy being dumped into these thoughforms might birth new monster-forms.

For the back matter, maybe add the Red Nail Bag™️ and Hoodoo sponge washing if they're not already in there. Maybe add a paragraph on banishing vs "psychic eggs"/wards/reliance on talismans.

[packshaud]

And silly me thinking this was just Joe "Owl" Nickell:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kelly%E2%80%93Hopkinsville_encounter#Explanations

I will take a look into this, thank you!

[isaac_hill]

I'm not too hip on Monsters, but I was under the impression that a strong theory about Sasquatch is that they are magical/multidimendional/etheric entities... they talk about this on a RuneSoup episode from May: https://runesoup.com/2020/05/talking-bigfoot-with-joshua-cutchin-and-timothy-renner/

[ecosophia]

Interesting. Thanks for this.

[(Anonymous)]

Awful AWFLs?

[ecosophia]

I see you've been turning the dread pages of the Karenomicon again. Ia! Ia! The Blonde Goat of the Suburbs with a Thousand Hissy Fits!

[violetcabra]

If I may, regarding Zombis, I remember being favorably impressed by Wade Davis' book _The Serpent and the Rainbow_. I can't remember if you discuss the Bloody Mary in _Monsters_, if not I would be very interested in reading your treatment of her, since this being figures so much in "Myths over Miami" article you posted, published in the late 1990's IIRC and the article mentions that the Bloody Mary has occurred all over the world. Also the chupacabra (first sighted in 1995 in Puerto Rico and then spreading explosively globally) seems to me much more like a magical creature than a cryptid, and I've known several people who claimed to seen one in Oregon.

[ecosophia]

I used Davis' book as a primary source for the second edition -- it's a fine book -- and chupacabras are included, as they're chimeras in my sense of the word. Bloddy Mary's not in there yet, though, and she should be. Thanks for this!

[(Anonymous)]

I have the first edition, so if the second edition addressed any of these points, please ignore.

I'm not sure if magicians themselves could be considered "monsters", but people interested in magical creatures would probably be interested in humans who take up magical practices. Given the increase in interest in witchcraft and the occult in general the average person might be interested in a brief taxonomy of the more common kinds of magical practitioners, what kinds of things they typically do, and bunny slope stuff like "What is a spell?" "What magic can and can't do" and "how can I know if I am under a spell?".

I know memes have been used in magical workings, and there are several theories that examine memes from a biological perspective: they are thought forms that reproduce by capturing our imagination and promoting sharing. So mental critters like memes and egregors might be of interest.

Speaking of memes, the first edition doesn't seem to have any entries for Tulpas or artificial elementals. I know there was a flurry of interest in those mid-decade and at a minimum would add a blurb in the Spirits section on them if the second edition didn't add them already.

And if the second edition didn't update the rituals in the back, you might consider switching from using the old-style pentagrams that start at the Earth point and trace up towards Spirit with the more user-friendly ones that start at the point you want to work with.

[ecosophia]

Many thanks for this. The material on magic and magicians belongs in a different book, I think, but a book on magic for the complete beginner might be worth doing as well. Tulpas have been suggested by several people and I think that's an excellent idea, and yes, the rituals need to be updated.

[jruss]

In the groups I’m in that haven’t become Orange Man Bad, BLM, Antifa and Far Left Politics central.

When actual cryptids come up: Shadow people, wendigo, mothman, and internet stuff like Slendernan and Black Eyed Kids are the most popular, had some encounters I could share.

[ecosophia]

Many thanks for all of these.

[avalterra]

Tulpas have been mentioned above. I have no real data point but I have feeling the haunted house is going to make a big time come back. What with people trapped in their homes due to riots/the 'rona and a general sense that our world/environment is not in our control/out to get us, it seems like a the time is ripe.

[ecosophia]

I could see it!

Monsters

[(Anonymous)]

Perhaps in the revised edition include a section on the strangeness and oft quite frightening things encountered by campers, hikers, lake divers. I believe there’s an existing book about mysterious wilderness disappearances, but it’s a subject that could be expanded considerably.

Re: Monsters

[ecosophia]

Interesting. I'll look into that.

Other kin?

[(Anonymous)]

I am not sure about this. But it was popular to claim that you were a wolf in a human body. Most of the other kin were either wolves, dragons, or elves. I don't how you would classify that group.


As for me, I just took it as a mental illness.

Neptune's Dolphins

Re: Other kin?

[ecosophia]

I encountered some of those. My take was that it was mental illness in some cases, six-year-old make-believe and dress-up games in many cases ("Look at me! I'm Spiderman!"), and in a few cases, nonhuman past life memories misunderstood. Still, it probably deserves a reference in the Internet Monsters chapter. Thank you!

Earworms

[(Anonymous)]

Are they annelid, causing a ‘ringing’ in the ears?
Or B-flatworms, hatched in elevators that play over-ripe muzak?

Do they wear earwigs if they take the form of Ode to Joy?
Can they be Bach-stabbed using a conductor’s wand with a specially prepared pointy iron tip?

Re: Earworms

[ecosophia]

These are secrets for which the world is not yet prepared!