HCF #2: 1000 Imaginary Beasts to Flee Before You Die

[peadarog]

And on to part two. Remember the rules: we're after High Concept Fantasy here. Creativity verging on holiness or madness, the type of thing SF revels in when so much fantasy wallows in the tried and true. Let's do it! Let's go! Hup!

In no particular order...

Gollum from Lord of the Rings. Creator: J.R.R. Tolkein.
As dangerous and vile as all lovers of

Comments

[bondo_ba]

Chung the Unavoidable is good too... His cape made of eyeballs has stayed with me.

And, of course, the Death of Rats from Pratchett's Discworld series.

[peadarog]

Somehow, I considered "Chun" a character, although what he is, is never made clear. I love him though.

Death of Rats is a really good one...

[bondo_ba]

Last night I remembered the Others from A Song of Ice and Fire...

[peadarog]

Last night I remembered the Others from A Song of Ice and Fire...

As long as they don't remember you, you should be OK :) Stone cold killers...

[fenryng]

Not Gollum, no.

SHELOB, on the other hand, I would give an extremely wide berth to.

Cthulu, and others from HP Lovecraft's work, besides.

I don't fear the worms of Dune, but simple prudence, and their power, demands a certain modicum of respect.

The Reaper from the Elfstones of Shannara by Terry Brooks (yeah, I know).

Pennywise the Clown from Stephen King's IT.

The shark from Jaws, by Peter Benchley.

[peadarog]

You probably get a lot of nightmares. I don't remember the Reaper, although I did read TEoS in my teens.

[bondo_ba]

He's right! The Reaper is a truly spooky bastard!

[eldritchhobbit]

The Sirens from The Odyssey by Homer, Carmilla from Carmilla from J. Sheridan Le Fanu, Mrs. Amworth from Mrs. Amworth by E.F. Benson, and the Velvets from Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, because evil is most frightening when it's disguised in beauty.

Brown Jenkins from H.P. Lovecraft's "Dreams in the Witch-House" because.... ew. Just ew.

Glaurung from J.R.R. Tolkien's The Silmarillion, The Children of Hurin, The Book of Lost Tales, etc. He's called the Deceiver and the Worm of Greed. 'Nuff said.

[peadarog]

the Velvets from Neil Gaiman's Neverwhere, because evil is most frightening when it's disguised in beauty.

It can't be denied! The Sirens are a great example. The ancients did wonderful HCF, which is why it's such a shame we don't do more of it.

[ildrinn]

LeGuin's Earthsea dragons are all kinds of awesome; none of this dragonslayer crap allowed, you earn the Dragon Master title simply by being able to talk to the dragons without getting eaten...

Donaldson has a good few decent ones, too. The acid children in the swamp? The sunbane-warped mutants with snakes for hands, mouths in their bellies, etc? The sandgorgons? Great stuff.

[peadarog]

Yeah, Donaldson has some great ones and yes, I remember the dragons, although I've disqualified all dragons from the list :-)

[niamhotoole]

That big demon whatsisname come to kill the Ventrian King Druss ends up fighting in the first chronicles. Bad bastard.

The number one Beast everyone has to flee before they die though is.....
...........

Of course....

.............

THE KILLER RABBIT FROM CAERBANNOG!!!!!

And it cannot be argued with.

[niamhotoole]

Only that the big demon is in the second chronicles, right?

Alzheimer Alzheimer........

[peadarog]

Alzheimer Alzheimer........

Please don't call me that!

[peadarog]

Unless you have a holy hand grenade from Antioch, of course.