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the classical era, monstrous creatures such as the cyclops and the Minotaur appear in heroic tales for the protagonist to destroy. Other creatures, such as the unicorn, were claimed in accounts of natural history by various scholars of antiquity.

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People in the Middle Ages, just like today, could imagine a very strange monster! They created tales and stories about fantastical beasts, some of whom lived in far-off lands, while others could lurk much closer, offering an ever-present threat to medieval man.

The origins of these creatures sometimes came from ancient writers, such as Pliny the Elder (AD 23 – 79) who wrote of various strange peoples who lived in other parts of the world. Medieval writers such as John Mandeville would add new details to these creatures. Other monsters came from Biblical references, with Christianity invoking them as the enemies of God and threats to humanity.

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Not all of the ‘monsters’in the book can be matched with real phenomena. Aldrovandi’s faith in ancient Greek and Roman sources led to the inclusion of satyrs. He also relied on medieval bestiaries and reports many cases of half-man half-animal births from around Europe from the previous few centuries. These may seem absurd to us today but he was building upon a pre-existing body of work considered reliable for over a millennium. Even when naturalists strove to achieve reasonable verification of natural phenomena artists often had to create images second hand from incomplete descriptions which resulted in unusual visual depictions. One amusing example of the difficulties artists faced is shown by this seahorse monster included in Aldrovandi’s book.

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A werewolf is a folkloric human that is able to briefly transform into a wolf-man hybrid. Fables of wolves kidnapping children for food led to the widespread persecution of suspected werewolf. The last of these occured during the Victorian era. It was said that a person would become a werewolf if they slept outside on a wednesday or friday during a summer night when a full moon shone down on them.

Many believed that the only cure for this affliction was execution.

A werewolf is a folkloric human that is able to briefly transform into a wolf-man hybrid. Fables of wolves kidnapping children for food led to the widespread persecution of suspected werewolf. The last of these occured during the Victorian era. It was said that a person would become a werewolf if they slept outside on a wednesday or friday during a summer night when a full moon shone down on them.

Many believed that the only cure for this affliction was execution.

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Given the rich folklore and ancient mythology, I believe it is safe to assume that mankind has always been fascinated with monsters. Interestingly enough, even though most people nowadays perceive those creatures as pure fiction, it is necessary to mention that their existence was undisputed until two centuries ago.

However, not everyone accepts the unrealism of frightful and mysterious creatures. While the modern creatures are not as fascinating as those of the past, some people strongly believe in their existence, particularly after being witnesses to various inexplicable circumstances. Whether they are real or not one thing is for sure: their anonymity will always hunt us.