Where Our Monsters Come From By Leo Braudy

Monsters are a topic everyone can relate to. In Where our Monsters Come From, Leo Braudy speaks of the origin of Halloween, where monsters stem from, and four main kinds of monsters and their origin. Each of these four monsters is relatable to a human element and possibly even our darkest realities. These monsters are ones of nature, creation, one stemming within us, and one of the past. Braudy’s story about these monsters has a deeper connection meant to instill in the reader with a reality on what a monster actually is: us. In 2016, political stress was high and many people were presented as monsters.

The knowledgeable author Leo Braudy is currently a professor at Southern California University in various categories such as 17-18 century

When we read about the different kinds of monsters we could relate to each one. In 2016 was a time that many of these monsters were prevalent. In the United States the 2016 election was one of the closest and stressful there has been. With the election being so close many people were anxious. The election represented the monster of creation. The media portrayed these two as monsters to the opposite parties. They created this underlying monster about each person and portrayed each horribly on live television. Media is part of all of our lives and it was a way to instill fear in us about what would happen if one got political power over the other. In 2016 the Zika virus broke and many people got sick. This is the monster of nature. We only know so much about the Zika virus and how to fight it off, we don't know everything about it. And it's not just the Zika virus, it's everything. When a human doesn't know everything that they are looking for or we cant fully understand it humans become fearful. Braudy stated “They remind us that, much as we might seek to understand the secrets of nature, it has a few deadly surprises of its own.” (7) Within Where our monsters come from each monster instills some kind of fear within us. The monster within is another one many fear. We often hear you are your own worst enemy, could that also be true about the fear and evil inside of us? Is what is tucked inside us truly a horrible

The greatest model of the past is Dracula. Braudy gives detail relaying to us that Dracula’s origin story was based off “Vlad the Impaler” who was “defending the Christian Romania”. Showing historical facts based on a religion that Vlad defended and he protected, which states his savior offered up his body and blood for the forgiveness of sins. Dracula, and all other vampires, source of food is blood, showing an origin story instead of just an idea, turned it into a fable with a drastic twist of a nightmarish character. Braudy also states “we can't escape from the dark lore of the past '' Dracula is here now and will be there in the future. Due to the cultural acceptance of making a monster stemming from a blood sucking maniac of the past, to a vampire that teaches children numbers on Sesame street now. Braudy clings to the historical narrative and implements a logical side to thinking because,as humans, we need facts to believe in