Monsters and Musings

 I've been struggling the last couple of days, not having much luck with writing.  So I've taken the academic way out by just doing more research!

While reading through The Element Encyclopedia of Ghosts & Hauntings, I came across the story of the "Monster of Glamis."  I think it has some potential for further fiction.

Glamis Castle is--as you can tell by the picture--a magnificent dwelling in Scotland.  Built in the 14th century, it became the home of the Lyon family, whose eldest males held the title of Earl of Strathmore.  In 1821, the birth of another heir was expected.  The child, named Thomas Bowles-Lyon, supposedly was born and died on the same day, not an uncommon occurrence even among the nobility.  But some discrepancies in the matter (like the child's lack of a tombstone, and the fact that a second child was given the same name) helped give rise to a darker tale.

According to this story, the infant was so hideously deformed that even his own parents could not bear to look at him.  It was said the child had an egg-shaped body with no
neck, and tiny, malformed arms and legs.  Unable to love his son but also unwilling to kill him, the Earl had the infant placed in a secret room and assigned one servant to tend to him.  It was assumed the boy would not live long, but to everyone's surprise, he flourished.

Of course, such a monstrosity could not be allowed to inherit a title.  But should his presence ever become known, the scandal would destroy the family.  Thus the 'monster' became the 'family secret.'  He lived for over a century, and each heir was shown the monster on his 21st birthday.  Taking care of the creature became the special charge of the current Earl, even though the sight of the monster was supposedly enough to 'drive a man to madness.'

I have to admit that when I read this story, my first reaction was real sympathy for the 'monster'!  It wasn't his fault that he was born that way.  Then I began to wonder what kind of a person he would have become.  How lonely would he have been?  Might he have crept around the castle, spying on his 'normal' family?  And what if his mind was as sharp as his body was deformed?

Reading further, I discovered that Glamis is considered one of the most 'haunted' castles in the UK.  Supposedly the monster kept company with Janet Douglas, wife of the sixth Lord of Glamis, who was burned at the stake for witchcraft and supposedly appears enveloped in flame.  Another resident ghoulie is Earl Beardie, condemned to wander through the castle for the crime of gambling away his soul to the Devil.  Add to this the shades of a madman, a woman without a tongue, several 'grey ladies,' and a vampire girl, and you have quite the creepy menagerie.

But if you were a monster, would ghosts really scare you?  Or would they become your friends?  And how would you feel if they were suddenly gone?

I do have a point here---so many of the great stories from Britain involve haunted houses and restless spirits.  But what if someone could 'steal' them away?  And what if the only people who missed them were fellow outcasts, the monsters of society?  And what if this Monster of Glamis, because he is rich and a rightful Earl, could call in Sherlock Holmes to solve the mystery of his vanished companions?

OK...maybe I have another idea I can play with.