10 Famous Monsters Who Deserve More Love From Hollywood

Nothing against vampires, werewolves, zombies, and fictional serial killers, but horror fans have plenty to choose from when it comes to those classic baddies. Sometimes you crave something a little bit different.

While movies like Wishmaster (1997) and more recent ones like The Hallow (2015) have expanded the horror genre’s range, there are still plenty more creatures and nasty beings out there that deserve more attention. Here are 10 picks from a wide range of pop culture mediums, from folklore and literature to even Dungeons and Dragons. Some of these characters have appeared in movies and TV shows before. But they all still have plenty more to give horror fans and just need the right vehicle.

Wererat
Baba Yaga
Melmoth
Palmer Eldritch
Eva/Anna/Alma from Ghost Story
Ghoul
The Wild Hunt
The Mad Gasser of Mattoon
Charles Dexter Ward
Rakshasa

Wererat

While this is technically a take on the classic Wolf Man, the Wererat in D&D has always been different. They can control their transformation and maintain their intellect whether in human, rat, or wererat form. This creature was the main bad guy in Return to Brookmere, the TSR version of the Choose Your Own Adventure books called Endless Quest. Rats are already horror movie staples. Now imagine one, human-sized, and with a broadsword.

Baba Yaga

It’s a bit surprising that even though Baba Yaga has a big pop culture footprint, the witch herself has yet to have her own franchise film.

“Baba Yaga” is John Wick’s nickname, and her iconic hut with legs was a source of inspiration for Howl’s Moving Castle. Using Baba Yaga herself as the antagonist would allow filmmakers to tap into even more. For example, in the original folklore, she’s a child stealer. This makes her a truly terrifying antagonist with some unique visual elements.

Melmoth

Gothic 19th-century literature was a goldmine for Hollywood during the Silent and Classic eras. It gave us three iconic monsters with Dracula, Frankenstein, and the Phantom of the Opera. It also indirectly inspired the Wolf Man and the Mummy franchises.

But one giant of the genre was left untouched: Melmoth the Wanderer. He’s inspired a lot of similar characters over the years, but hasn’t starred in his own movie. One of the grand daddies of the Cursed Immortal subgenre, Melmoth is a character who combines terror with pathos. Like with Frankenstein’s monster, he’s a character who can also be a meaty role for the right actor.

Palmer Eldritch

Writer Philip K. Dick needs no introduction in the world of sci-fi. Not only is Blade Runner an all-time classic, but Dick’s Hallucination-Within-An-Hallucination trope has become a staple of thrillers like Inception, A Nightmare on Elm Street, or the giant fungus episode of The X-Files. One of his most nightmarish works, The Three Stigmata of Palmer Eldritch, has loads of potential.

The titular Three Stigmata is a great visual, and the sci-fi setting is both unique and timely. A big part of the story involves using fantasy to cope with the misery of life on colonies in outer space.

Eva/Anna/Alma from Ghost Story

If you only know Peter Straub’s Ghost Story from the 1981 film, the book may come as a huge shock. The film is excellent in its own right and features the legendary Alice Krige in one of her first major roles. But the story was simplified and made the antagonist an actual ghost. In the original novel, she’s a shapeshifter who could take nearly any form.

She’s one of many who prey on humanity, and they are the basis for all the monsters of legend and folklore. This idea is very similar to Stephen King’s far more famous outing, It. Ghost Story predates It by around seven years and has plenty to offer the horror audience on its own.

Ghoul

We’ve all heard the word “ghoul” before, but what is it? How is it different from a Romero-style zombie? How are they created, and what kills them? That shows how much grey area there is surrounding this iconic monster.

There was the Ghoulies franchise in the '80s, and the Groovy Ghoulies cartoon by Filmation. But both were using the term “ghoul” as a catch-all for anything creepy or monstrous. There still hasn’t been a definitive movie about the corpse-eating undead aside from the obscure Boris Karloff film from the 1930s. There is Walton Goggins’s fantastic character in the Fallout series and the long-running manga series Tokyo Ghoul, but it’s time for the horror genre to show the character some love as well.

The Wild Hunt

Folk horror has been a staple subgenre in recent years. Many of these films delve into myths about fairy folk and present these creatures not as cute little Tinkerbells but something much darker. But among the fae, the Wild Hunt is maybe the most fearsome. It’s a popular subject in fantasy art and has appeared in the Witcher franchise, but has yet to make its mark in horror cinema. But with its pack of hungry dogs and the dark, horned Master of the Hunt, it seems like a natural.

The Mad Gasser of Mattoon

An urban myth similar to The Mothman or Slender Man, The Mad Gasser has just such an unbelievable story that it cries out for Hollywood. Visually, the character can be very intimidating, similar to the Golden Age DC character The Sandman (not to be confused with the modern character who stars in the Netflix series). The concept combines urban legend with an iconic look, but also has room for some humor.

Charles Dexter Ward

H.P. Lovecraft is one of the most popular horror authors of all time, but his work can be a little hard to adapt. That’s because the human characters are often dwarfed by his terrifying cosmic entities. So it’s not surprising that the most famous film adaptation of Lovecraft’s work centers around Herbert West, the Reanimator. But West is not the only human character created by Lovecraft.

His other creation, Charles Dexter Ward, has a ton of potential for the big screen. The character has been used before; there was the 1963 Roger Corman movie The Haunted Palace and the 1992 film by Dan O’Bannon, The Resurrected. But the character deserves another bite of the apple. (If you know the story, you’ll know why we added this character to the monsters list.)

Rakshasa

Non-Western stories have a lot to offer in the horror genre. There are the jumping vampires of China and the Kappa, a water spirit from Japan. The Rakshasa hails from India and Southeast Asia. Like the Wererat, this is a creature who will be familiar to D&D fans, but they have a long history in myth and legend.

The Rakshasa also appeared as a guest monster on the classic Kolchak: The Night Stalker series in an episode penned by Jimmy Sangster of Hammer Films. If Hollywood wants a different and terrifying menace, the Rakshasa ticks a lot of those boxes.