8 Hidden TV Monsters (And What They Really Look Like)
For when you need more than a sneak peek at the monster of the week.
Monsters on TV shows are a different breed to those in film. They can be slowly but surely eked into a narrative, keeping their secrets for seasons at a time until they finally make their move, or they can be single-episode specials that are busted out and defeated roundly in an hour long confrontation. They're unpredictable, and often only thrown in if they can make a sizable impact - meaning it's not common to be faced with monsters we can't really see.
But every now and then, we're treated to mysteries that can never be solved - creatures from the dankest depths that elude corporeal form, or if they do have one, refuse to show more than a sliver of it - basking in the fear of the unknown like a fat snake in the summer sun.
And still, we want to know more. Just because they're hidden on screen doesn't mean they haven't been made with appearance in mind, with scraps to be gleaned from concept art or mythological tales. If we take a look closer, the truth is out there. It's just whether we can cope with living with the aftermath of what we find...
8. Djinn - The Witcher
Technically, The Witcher unabashedly shows the Djinn in its entirety in the clip it appears in during the TV shows run. With the Netflix series following the titular witcher, Geralt of Rivia - a mutated man that hunts monsters - we encounter a handful of the beasts he's tasked with taking down, and a few that he bumps into on his perilous adventures. One such creature is the Djinn, a magical entity that grants three wishes and takes loosely the form of swirling smoke, able to be bottled and imprisoned if captured correctly.
But what does a Djinn really look like? Well, if we look to the Islamic mythology that brings them to life, they can be perceived as formless, humanoid fire. They're spiritual beings, neither inherently good or bad, and often associated with demons.
Of course, one of the most popular realisations of them comes in Aladdin's Genie, but in real world lore they can take the form of animals, and are commonly associated with serpents, though black dogs also crop up often. They can anthropomorphize into human-like creatures, but retain animal features, making them malleable spirits that you'd soon spot should they be mixed up in human society.
There's realisations of the strange, inhuman form of Djinns in B-Movies from Clash of the Titans to Netflix originals, and whilst The Witcher's form is a different, secretive one - it's not necessarily wrong, just a different interpretation of the mythological beings.
[Ashleigh Millman]