The real monsters on Supernatural are real
By Bonnie
Before we knew we were heading to Heaven, Hell, and all spaces surrounding, Supernatural Season 1 brought story after story about monsters, creatures, and stuff.
Dracula, Nosferatu, we know about vamps. But how about the legends fueling some of Supernatural’s other mischief-makers and boogeypersons? Monsters come in so many forms, even human, and we learned all about them before Heaven, Hell, and other ethereal planes fueled our world.
Just like the sandbox gateway to Heaven, these things are (maybe) real, folks. Have you ever imagined sorting through those files in the Men of Letters bunker for a weekend (year), unsupervised? Let’s have a peek…
WENDIGO
This horrible pile of awfulness has monster roots in Native American folktales. According to legends, this is what fate awaited those who habitually participated in the consumption of human flesh. Some say it is the result of possession by a certain evil spirit but the end result was the highlander-style quickening that led to the need for another fix.
Over time, the negative effects you’d anticipate from this type of hardcore addiction started to take hold: getting like 12 or 15 feet tall, bones showing under the skin from all that stretching, and maybe antlers. Finally, sentenced to forevermore trick humans into joining you for (as) dinner in order to survive, yourself. Not only was this a good way to remind people not to eat each other, but it also kept the teenagers from wandering the forest after curfew, no doubt.
PHOENIX
We loved the concept of the Phoenix being portrayed on the show in human form. Classically, the Phoenix is a bird creature that has an immortal existence through constant death and rebirth. Found across multiple ancient cultures as a symbol of strength, and is often associated with a rising from the ashes motif.
The Egyptians, Chinese, and many other ages-old traditional systems all carry legends about some kind of eternal bird, even attributing it to theories of creation. Fire is a constant theme surrounding the Phoenix, lending to the ashes that are often the birthplace of another round of this rejuvenating critter cycling endlessly through time. Go ahead and shoot this monster with that Colt, it’s gonna come back.
WRAITH
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A wraith is truly a horrible being. Reminiscent of a Celtic banshee, they are typically depicted as faceless, but if you do happen to see their faces, it will be a scary, scary day. Said to be extremely gross and Nightmare-On-Elm-Street-level deformed, there is no escaping. Once they target a special guy or gal, or just pick up on someone passing by, the ultimate goal is to drain every last drop of life essence and they won’t back down until they do. You’re going to hope it’s fast, but they can be real torturous jerks about it. They have been purported to take out groups of people, and we’re talking whole towns, here.
On Supernatural, we see the wraiths portrayed with that sharp, terrifying horn-straw that emerges from the wrist area. They use this to just go ahead and extract your necessary juices. This is a creative twist since legends don’t tend to elaborate on how this depletion takes place, only that there is no way out of it once they have their sights set on you. Said to be as powerful as the actual devil, there is also apparently no way to destroy them.
You don’t have to look very hard to find the roots of Leviathan (Bible), Jinn (Iran and more), Werewolves (everywhere), or tons of the other monsters we’ve all grown to know and love (to watch on the show). I couldn’t find the elusive stories behind Jefferson Starships though. I think they might be a well-kept secret for only the most elite hunters of yore.
The bottom line here is that these things are very real to some. They are discussed, they have full dossiers on cave walls and in legends across cultures everywhere and all through time. When we see Supernatural’s interpretations, we are able to understand ancient lore with a modern twist. These things are based on truth and our storylines might be coming from a hardcore historical genius or something. Maybe soon we will get to see Sam and Dean run into Sasquatch. We’ll see some of that pics or it didn’t happen action on Bizarro-world Misha’s IG, no doubt.
Next: 4 worst creatures in Supernatural season 1 for mythology
What’s left? Tell us some other real monsters you still hope to see on the show!
Supernatural returns Thursday, October 11th at 8/7c on The CW!