Monsterland: A Journey Through the World’s Dark Imagination by Nicholas Jubber is an exploration of monsters from around the world - one part travelogue of the author’s journeys and interactions with people, and one-part cultural history of monsters and monster stories through history. Through the book, Jubber explores why and how these monster stories came to be and the fascinating cultural and social roles they play in our societies.
Jubber’s writing is really evocative, and he engages with some really interesting people in his book – from Gojira fanatics to the participants in a dragon parade in a Bavarian town, to experts in Cajun music and stories in Louisiana. Throughout, he shows why these and other monsters exist – a mirror of our fears, the descendants of older cultural stories and narratives retained, symbols of local and national pride, warnings about how we should and should not behave, and ways to understand change.
A great example of this was his chapter on Vodou and zombis – stories emerging in Haiti from a society of people transported from their homes and forced into unimaginable work, who overthrew their masters. The worst they could imagine was becoming a slave to another master – the zombie.
Another fascinating story was about dragons and the Bavarian town of Furth im Wald and the lake Drachensee (literally Dragon Lake). This town next to the Czech border and its history as a borderland links into the story of St George and his dragon, historic medieval conflicts and civic pride with the town holding a yearly procession since 1590. The local church's displeasure at the town’s rituals and folk play turning into conflict between church and town in the 19th century, won by the town and their desire to keep their traditions going.
Through twelve chapters, Jubber explores different categories of monsters from different times and places, from stories of giants in Cornwall to yokai in Japan to werewolves in Louisiana, to robots and Gojira. These categories of wild monsters, human-like monsters, the undead, and modern monsters of our own creation show the diversity of monster stories around the world and the important role they have played and continue to play in our cultures.
Long may the monsters reign.
Check out other titles by Nicholas Jubber
The Timbuktu School for Nomads
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