Monsters
A Bedford Spotlight ReaderThird Edition| ©2025 Andrew J. Hoffman
ISBN:9781319564346
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ISBN:9781319474508
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A brief, affordable, and versatile thematic reader about Monsters
Monsters explores the central concept of the monstrous: Why do we create monsters? Are they animal, human, both, or neither? Which of our fears and desires do monsters embody? What can monsters tell us about cultural and historical moments? How do we cope with the monsters that haunt our imaginations—and our societies?
Features
Bedford care and quality in every volume. Each volume in the Bedford Spotlight Series is developed with attention to design, pedagogy, and compelling readings that work in the classroom.
Interdisciplinary perspectives on monsters and their effects on individuals and society. In order to foster student engagement, five chapters, built around central questions on the subject of monsters, offer numerous entry points for inquiry and discussion. A mix of genres as well as accessible and challenging selections from a variety of academic fields–including the humanities, social sciences, and the sciences–allow instructors to tailor their approach to each classroom.
Thoughtful support for writers and instructors. A general introduction, chapter introductions, and headnotes provide context, and prompts and assignments offer suggestions for discussion, informal writing, and research; ways to connect selections; and assignments for writing. Alternative tables of contents organized by discipline and theme suggest further ways to teach and make connections among selections.
New to This Edition
Reading Selections from Diverse Areas of Study
The 3rd edition showcases texts from a variety of sources, from classic literature, peer-reviewed academic journals, and graduate dissertations, to interviews, a cartoon, book and film reviews, and blog postings.
Expanded Coverage of Monsters and Identity
The 15 new readings represent a range of genres, subject matter, and voices, including:
- Discussions of gender, sexuality, race, religion, disability, and more in Chapter 3, “How Does Gender Affect the Monster?,” and throughout the book
- A broader array of author identities and backgrounds for fresh and diverse perspectives
- Readings like Basil Johnston’s “Weendigo” and Edward T.C. Werner’s “Myths of the Waters,” which explore historial monsters from various cultures around the world
Updated Themes and Social Commentary
New topics relevant to media and pop culture, such as current films and TV shows and the rise in artificial intelligence, offer expanded opportunities for considering the monster. Notable readings include:
- Scott O. Moore, “The Momo Challenge and the Intersection of Contemporary Legend and Moral Panic”
- Bruce Sterling, “AI is the Scariest Beast Ever Created”
- Judith Clemens-Smucker, “Stranger Teens: Eleven Transforms the Monstrous Symbolism of Adolescence through a Contemporary Narrative Arc”
Adam Chitwood, “A Quiet Place Monsters Explained by John Krasinski”
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Monsters
Third Edition| ©2025
Andrew J. Hoffman
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Monsters
Third Edition| 2025
Andrew J. Hoffman
Table of Contents
[[*Indicates new selection]]
Introduction for Students
Chapter 1: Why Do We Create Monsters?
Stephen King, Why We Crave Horror Movies
Mary Shelley, from Frankenstein: The Modern Prometheus
Susan Tyler Hitchcock, Conception
Guillermo del Toro and Chuck Hogan, Why Vampires Never Die
Chuck Klosterman, My Zombie, Myself: Why Modern Life Feels Rather Undead
Peter H. Brothers, Japan’s Nuclear Nightmare: How the Bomb Became a Beast Called Godzilla
*Scott O. Moore, The Momo Challenge and the Intersection of Contemporary Legend and Moral Panic
Stephen T. Asma, Monsters and the Moral Imagination
Chapter 2: How Do Monsters Reflect Their Times?
Ted Genoways, Here Be Monsters
Daniel Cohen, The Birth of Monsters
*Anonymous, from Beowulf [[*new excerpt]]
*Edward T. C. Werner, Myths of the Waters
*Basil Johnston, Weendigo
Matt Kaplan, Cursed by a Bite
W. Scott Poole, Monstrous Beginnings
*Iikura Kimie, Japanese Urban Legends from “The Slit-Mouthed Woman” to “Kisaragi Station”
*Bruce Sterling, AI is the Scariest Beast Ever Created
Chapter 3: How Does Gender Affect the Monster?
Amy Fuller, The Evolving Legend of La Llorona
Bram Stoker, from Dracula
*Sarah Stang, Shrieking, Biting, and Licking: The Monstrous-Feminine in Video Games
Sophia Kingshill, Reclaiming the Mermaid
*Jalondra A. Davis, Magic, Mermaids, and the Middle Passage: On Natasha Bowen’s Skin of the Sea
*Gary Morris, Sexual Subversion: The Bride of Frankenstein
Carol J. Clover, Final Girl
Jack Halberstam, Bodies that Splatter: Queers and Chainsaws
Chapter 4: What is the Power of the Monster?
Jeffrey Jerome Cohen, Fear of the Monster Is Really a Kind of Desire
*Daniel Loxton, The Howling Horror of Werewolves!
*Kiley Fox, Noppera Bo and the Fear of Nothingness
Robert Louis Stevenson, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
*Rodrigo Silva Guedes, Jeykll and Hyde: The Monster as a Metaphor
*Adam Chitwood, A Quiet Place Monsters Explained by John Krasinski
Christian Jarrett, The Lure of Horror
Chapter 5: Is the Monster within Us?
Adolf Hitler, Nation and Race
Patrick McCormick, Why Modern Monsters Have Become Alien to Us
*Fay Onyx, Ridding Your Monsters of Ableism
Anne E. Schwartz, Inside a Murdering Mind
William Andrew Myers, Ethical Aliens: The Challenge of Extreme Perpetrators to Humanism
*Mary Retta, The Unexpected Power of Seeing Yourself as the Villain
*Judith Clemens-Smucker, Stranger Teens: Eleven Transforms the Monstrous Symbolism of Adolescence through a Contemporary Narrative Arc
Kevin Berger, Why We Still Need Monsters
Authors
![Headshot of Andrew J. Hoffman](http://prod-cat-files.macmillan.cloud/MediaResources/Authors/207W/101884251.jpg)
Andrew J. Hoffman
![Cover: Monsters, 3rd Edition by Andrew J. Hoffman](http://prod-cat-files.macmillan.cloud/MediaResources/Jackets/258W/9781319474508.jpg)
Monsters
Third Edition| 2025
Andrew J. Hoffman
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