Where They Come From

by
Luis E Santiago

English 220
Instructor: Megan Malcolm-Morgan
November 25th 2015

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Where They Come From

To understand this topic will be confusing to some, and it will be in the best interest to
explain it in the opening sequence. This paper will focus on the history of monsters, mythical
beasts, modern accounts of aliens, and Biblical creatures. Obviously, humans create these
creatures based off their own allusions. The mystery surrounding monsters lies with their origins
in reality and mythology. Humans had to see anomalies in order to make an account which
translated into folklore. This folklore becomes the tradition of fear for generations that follow.
Also, the focus will be on phenomena that alludes humans to misinterpret it as monstrous. As
confusing it may seem, there lies evidence for the reasons people mistake natural elements or
animals for monsters. Although the vision of the human eye will be questioned, that will not be
the focus. Instead, it will more important to understand how and why humans saw the world as
mythical through history. It will compare with accounts of alien sightings in recent memory to
correlate with past sightings of monsters. There will be examples of famous creatures that appear
throughout history. But, there will be scientific explanations for most of the sightings and
accounts. Almost all of these creatures and monsters have a scientific explanation, and this paper
will find out the rationale for human initial reactions to the mythical allusions. The problem with
scientific explanations are that they cannot prove all of these accounts. So, the argument can be
that humans are not wrong or incorrect with their sightings, but misinformed about the reality of
the bigger world. The explanation for humans creating monsters or creatures cannot be
explained, but there are many theories and beliefs to give an idea for the fantasy for monsters and
continuing to create them today.
Humans are imaginary beings that create fantasies all the time. The term for humans
creating sounds or pictures of familiar human references is called pareidolia. Kim Zimmerman

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for LiveScience gives a few explanations that come from prominent scientific personnel. She
says that Carl Sagan believes that humans recognize faces as a survival technique. This helps
distinguish the differences between an enemy and friend. So, it can be said that this same
technique could mistake some situations into hallucinations or misinterpretations. Pareidolia
could be an explanation for where monsters come from. One example can relate to the Biblical
monsters known as the Leviathan and Behemoth.
The Leviathan and Behemoth are Biblical creatures described by Job that could be
mythological but real as well. These beasts are not examples of pareidolia but instead as cryptid
(creatures in myth that are supported by the scientific community). At the scientific level, it
would be difficult to find these creatures in the category of cryptid because there is no evidence
to support it. Yet, cryptid creatures are believed to come from myth, but may have been real. So,
these Biblical creatures may be valid. Eric Lyons writes about these creatures and the possibility
for being real. He says that Hebrews differed from Canaanites by using the imagery of their
pagan myths on monsters. So, these Hebrews did not copy the myths, but used the same
imagery. This comes back to the original topic that humans mistook nature as monstrous.
These monsters come up in the book of Job, and Job curses using the monsters as a metaphor.
According to the Bible, it seems that Job did not make any contact with monsters. So, it cannot
be fair to say Job misinterpret the creatures, because he never saw them. Yet, these creatures may
have indeed existed, and it will be important to find out from where. Lyons argues for both sides,
but gives more explanations for a literal view.
Eric Lyons evidence comes from the text of the Bible, while those opposing these
creatures existence believe that these creatures do not compare to animals of today. The
Behemoth is said to be similar to a hippo or bull, and the Leviathan to be similar to a sea-servant.

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In Job, the Behemoth describes as a grazing animal and the Leviathan as a servant of the sea that
follows ships. These creatures are more dangerous and violent as they are feared among many
people. It becomes unclear whether these creatures existed or not, but it leaves an early
representation for the possibility for humans mistaking these creatures for monsters. These
animals may have existed thousands of years ago, or could have been the allusion for religious
peoples. As pagan mythical creatures were somewhat dismissed, there are many comparisons
with these Biblical creatures that have better evidence.
John Wilford published an article called Greek Myths: Not Necessarily Mythical which
argues that ancient Greeks saw huge fossils of animals and depicted them as monsters. Wilford
says that the Greeks found more unusual fossils as proof toward existing myths or creating new
ones. As scientific as the Greeks were, they could not help but create myths from actual
creatures. Obviously, fossils are not living animals or natural elements, but an interesting idea
can come from this. Because of these large fossils, the Greeks created the myth of the creature
known as Neades. Neades was thought to stomped the world and create chaos, since earthquake
activity was simultaneous to the discovery of the fossils. Again, the problem with comparison
lies with the lack of living evidence. The Greeks were not the only ones to base their myths off
fossils, but people in Europe viewed the large bones to come from dragons (Bryner). Dragons are
the ultimate mythical creature which has been feared throughout history. The Greeks do not
actually see these monsters, but create myths and tales of creatures that may have once lived. The
Greeks did try to offer a scientific explanation for the fossils, but failed to keep it scientific. The
spectacular concept that the Greeks did create was the idea of earthquakes coming from the
creature. This alone was enough to frighten a mass of people as the Neades was nearby stomping

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the ground. Understanding how ancient creatures were created can help grasp the myths about
creatures seen by people later on.
All classic or popular monsters are subject to myth or legend. The Greeks and Europeans
based some of their mythical creatures on the fossils they found. As humanity continues forward,
people still create monsters and creatures based on their own experiences. The root for the
creation of any mythical creature comes from fear. The Greeks feared earthquakes and blamed a
monster for it. The world has the ability to blur the human eye to construct a monster. Going
back to the dragon, ancient Europeans saw fossils and created this creature. Yet, Paul Trout found
an archaeologist named David Jones who believed that the dragon emerged far beyond the
ancient Greeks and Europeans. Jones says that millions years ago, that early primate/humans
living in the trees were hunted by three animals: the leopard, the python, and eagle. As these
primate/humans began to leave the trees and walk on land, they formed what is known as brain
dragon (Trout). Because of this, large parts of the brain were forced to grow as a result to all
these attacks and information flooding into the mind. The combination of the feared animals
caused people to genetically pass this same monstrous fear. So, the argument he claims is that
people have already had this image of dragons and monsters far before than one imagined. Trout
continues to say that this fear lays dormant until it becomes ready to unleash. So, re-appearing
images of animals combined with unfortunate situations could cause someone to create their own
imagery of a snake or unusual animal. Although Jones presented a theory about the creation of
dragons, it could easily be opposed. Yet, it still has an interesting idea to the possibility on why
and how humans create monsters. Comparing this allusion with actual reality may possibly give
a better understanding to the visual account people have made.

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One argument for why early humans created monsters was because they lacked
understanding and knowledge of the known universe. Science has proven to destroy many of
these beliefs and myths about superficial beings. Yet, somehow people around the world report
on sightings on monsters and creatures. Some of the most common recent sightings are the loch
ness monster and the chupacabra. Robert Carroll in his book Mysteries and Science talks about
lake monsters. He explains that these monsters are not scary, yet they are still called monsters.
The reason they are called monsters is that they are freaks of nature in a sense that should not
exist (Carroll 60). So, if they do not exist then people must mistake lake monsters for objects
floating in the water. Carroll did say that even if there is no proof for the monster, people are still
going to search for them and faithfully believe in them. Also, the abnormalities of animals have
caused people to speculate monstrous characteristics. Oversized or genetically ugly animals have
been mistaken for mythical creatures.
The chupacabra has been an animal which may have been mistaken for a monster.
Surprisingly, this monster has only existed in myth since the 1990s. The most popular story goes
that the creature sprang up in Puerto Rico as the U.S. government were experimenting in the
jungles. Since then, people have reported this creature in many forms. Stories say that this
creature has vampire qualities as it sucks the blood off animals. Benjamin Radford writes in
Tracking the Chupacabra about the many witness account of the creature. There are so many
descriptions of the creature that it becomes difficult to picture the creatures physical form. It
becomes interesting to think about how other monsters were arguably depicted by others as well.
Dragons have the iconic lizard like form, huge scale, wings, and breathe of fire. Yet, people
never saw dragons, but had a mental image of what it might look like. Yet, the focus of this paper
does not follow the details of creatures physical forms, but why to people create them in myth or

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legend. Back to the chupacabra, Radford interviewed Karl Shuker who has researched about the
creature. Shuker told Radford
I think it possible that there is some unusual animal at the basis of at least some reports,
but nothing remotely as exotic as the press would like to make out, and quite possibly
comprising a situation where a host of wholly different entities are all being lumped
together to create what is essentially a nonexistent composite.
This sounds similar to Trouts idea of the brain dragon. So, this parallels the mental aspect that
the culmination of animals combine into a monster.
Aliens are the most recent modern creature which has taken over monstrous mythology.
Aliens do not follow Trouts brain dragon theory, but can relate to it. Aliens differ from other
mythical creatures, as they come from beyond the Earth (Although some myths come from the
heavens, it follows a religious context). These creatures vary from actual humanoid beings to
sightings of their aircraft, Unidentified Flying Objects (U.F.Os). The trend may have started back
with the famous Roswell site, and ever since has gained momentum. Yet, there is evidence to
suggest that flying objects and strange humans visiting the Earth before. The most popular
assumption tags aliens with the military, as aliens have parallels with the scientific technologies
located within the government. Aliens do have some relevance as they are again product of the
some human imagination, and many reports can be overturned by science.
Aliens are important to analyze the past, because it can compare with peoples accounts
of mythical beasts from earlier times. The key to understanding this rationale may come from
personal accounts of alien abductions. Sarah Griffiths writes for Dr. French, a psychologist from
the University of London, and argues that people misinterpret abductions from sleep. First, Dr.

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French explains that people have false memories when making these accounts. The typical
abduction goes that someone cannot remember any lost time from point A to point B. This lost
time makes the person unable to remember the events, and the assumption of sleep or paralysis
must be credited. During this sleep, the person imagines any events which can be remembered.
People who tend to have a more imaginable or fantasy personality will create a situation more
unrealistic. Dr. French uses the sleep paralysis theory to explain peoples accounts. During Rapid
Eye Movement (R.E.M) sleep, people will undergo a sort of paralysis as the body relaxes and
cannot move during a deep sleep. Yet, sometimes if awoken during REM sleep, a person might
see blurry images of a person, an evil feeling, or even a haunting as they cannot depict what they
see. The terrifying matter happens as the person wakes up, they cannot move, and thus believe
they are being experimented on.
However, the difficulty remains with abductions that take place outside. Dr. French gives
his explanations as the four kinds of encounters. The first encounter are sightings of the UFO in
the sky which can be disproven. The second comes through viewing images of UFOs and again
can be disproven. The third are direct contacts between aliens and people, but these rule out to be
hoaxes. The fourth kind are abductions which can be explained by the brain. Ultimately, the
explanation for the sightings are due to neurosis or other pathological states of mind, abuse,
trauma, stress, sleep paralysis, drugs, sensory deprivation, lack of sleep, dreams, trance states and
other psychological factors (Griffiths). This can give a close look to the possibilities for early
humans struggles to explain things that they have been either dreaming about or cannot depicted
clearly.
Most of this topic has been closer toward mythical creatures, monsters, and animals, but
there are other factors that can lure the eyes of a human. Briefly, there are sightings by early

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humans that they could not explain. These sightings come without any animals or monsters, but
by seeing a natural object such a tree for a creature of the mythical world. One example could be
at night a tree may look like an entirely different object then during the day. So, early humans
faced this problem wandering the world with little light or little knowledge of new species of the
natural world. Rachel McCoppin wrote a book on the subject called The Lessons of Nature in
Mythology. In the book, McCoppin discusses the necessity for myths and behind the scenes of
humans rationale for creating them.
Humans create myths based off nature and McCoppin, in her experience, believes that the
beauty of nature creates them. Her time in Greece gave an understanding for the creation of the
mythic gods. The land reveals itself leaving for one to wonder and create such a story of the
imagination (McCoppin 4). The world becomes an image of itself that people interpret as either
beautiful or evil. McCoppin argues that the necessity of myths come from the inability for people
to understand the mysterious of nature. That in order to explain, myths are needed to educate
others. This differs from Trouts idea for the brain dragon as it one comes subconsciously and
the other emerges through experience. Also, the difference of myths comes through the
philosophical explanation of the connection the world has with itself. That humans feel alone in
the world and need to create a story to connect closer to the world. Because all living things
come from a single entity, this connection arises. Although, McCoppin does not talk about the
fears of humans, this can be a more mythical approach for the behavior for people creating these
unrealistic stories. It can grasp the immense pressure for people living in a world where anything
can happen. Today, people think history without the elements of the world, but they did
experience wind, rain, heat, and the cold as we do today. They may have saw clouds or
mountains that looked similar to other worldly experiences. Once extinct animals roamed the

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Earth, which may have puzzled and scared humans. Finally, the beautiful yet destructive world
gave room for the evolution of monsters to evolve.
From Biblical, pagan, mythical, to modern times, there are many accounts for why
humans created tales of monsters and creatures. It will remain an ultimate mystery to why
humans imagined seeing creatures, but scientists and religious scholars are still struggling to
understand the beginning of time. Most of the creation of monsters come from animals and their
fossils, but some comes from the natural world itself. There are also the psychological aspects
that cause people to confuse what they see with something else. Dr. French explains this through
the analysis of sleep. Yet, the sole source for the imagination of humans comes from the brain. It
continues to marvel people today, and continue to confuse as well. Without the mind, there
would not be room to create fears for the world. It was difficult to find an answer for the creation
of monsters and creature from the world, but this phenomena was created by humans. It can
never be explained, and it makes humans stand out even more as the dominant species in the
world. The marvel lies with humans abilities to create stories to explain the world. Without it,
then it would be a lonely and dark world. It could be said that creating these mythical monsters
provided a self-defense through language and story to prepare for a monster attack. Whatever the
case, it on goes today and humans will continue to create monsters in the future.

Works Cited

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Bryner, Jeanna. Science World: Mythical Creatures Revealed. Scholastic 8 May 2006. 14 Nov.
2015. http://www.scholastic.com/browse/article.jsp?id=11846.
Carroll, Robert. Mysteries and Science: Exploring Aliens, Ghosts, Monsters The End of the
World and other Weird Things. Unknown publisher, 2012.
Griffiths, Sarah. Think you've been abducted by aliens? It was probably just sleep paralysis:
Psychologist attempts to logically explain 'encounters of the fourth kind. Daily Mail 6
Nov. 2015. 14 Nov. 2015. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article3305792/Think-ve-abducted-aliens-probably-just-sleep-paralysis-Psychologist-attemptslogically-explain-encounters-fourth-kind.html.
Lyons, Eric. Behemoth and LeviathanCreatures of Mystery. Apologetics Press, Inc 2001. 14
Nov. 2015.http://apologeticspress.org/apcontent.aspx?category=9&article=184.
McCoppin, Rachel. The Lessons of Nature in Mythology. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland
& Company, Inc, 2015. 1-12.
Radford, Benjamin. Tracking the Chupacabra: The Vampire Beast in Fact, Fiction, and Folklore.
Albuquerque, NM: University of New Mexico Press. 2011.
Trout, Paul. Why We Invented Monsters. Salon 3 Dec. 2011. 14 Nov. 2015.
http://www.salon.com/2011/12/03/the_evolution_of_monsters/.
Wilford, John. Greek Myths: Not Necessarily Mythical. The New York Times 4 July. 2000. 14
Nov. 2015. http://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/04/science/greek-myths-not-necessarilymythical.html?pagewanted=all.

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Zimmerman, Kim. Pareidolia: Seeing Faces in Unusual Places. LiveScience 11 Dec. 2012. 14
Nov. 2015. http://www.livescience.com/25448-pareidolia.html.