Of Dragons and Goblins: How Monsters Shape Our Imaginations

Halloween gives us monsters everywhere. Even though these fictional creatures are usually ugly and frightening, people seem irresistibly attracted to them. But the popularity of monsters goes well beyond Halloween. Surprisingly, monsters often appear in some of the most beloved children’s stories. Lewis’s Narnia teems with dragons, giants, and sea serpents. Tolkien’s Middle-earth holds many scary creatures — orcs, trolls, goblins, wargs, and balrogs (to name just a few). And this phenomenon is n