Creepiest Supernatural Monsters Evah

Please welcome guest blogger Lisa Paitz Spindler to Supernatural Sisters!

Week in and week out, the Winchester boys kick some monster ass and deal with angsty family issues, all the while driving one heck of a cool car. Not too long ago, TV critic Maureen Ryan called the show "unheralded but excellent . . . packing meaty thrills, dude-tastic humor, and solid storytelling into each episode."

While it’s easy and fun to get caught up in the Padalecki-Ackles axis of eye candy and the classic rock soundtrack, the show also, as another reviewer points out, “effortlessly mixes traditional horror along with schlock and B-Movie” thrills, while “[S]imultaneously parodying and honouring the genre at the same time...”

In other words, we wouldn’t get to so often watch the brothers Winchester flex their muscles if it weren’t the tremendously creepy and formidable monsters they’ve had to face down. After all, a hero is only as good as the dragon he must slay. So, while we wait for Supernatural to return, let’s take a look at the top five most dangerous, nasty and creepiest monsters Sam and Dean have had to fight yet.

Vampires

The vampires of Supernatural aren’t the beautiful and flawed fiends à la Ann Rice and Paranormal Romance. (The exception to this rule is, of course, Dean’s brief stint as an undead bloodsucker.) Nope, these monsters have several rows of nasty looking fangs rather than two elegantly sharp incisors.

Left, open wide vampy.

They infect others virally with their blood and younger vamps often cart victims off to their nests to be enjoyed by vampire elders for weeks. These immortals can smell human blood and hear a heartbeat a mile away.

In “Dead Man's Blood,” Daddy Winchester said that a vampire has a person’s scent for life. The only way to kill a vampire is by beheading – and the Colt, of course.

Wendigos

The scariest aspect of a wendigo is that it was once human, but after embracing cannibalism was transformed into a monster that craves human flesh. They can mimic the voices of humans and are impervious to knives and guns.

Right, wendigo claw sharpening 101.

Wendigos are described as standing over fifteen feet tall and possessing glowing eyes and yellow skin, as well as overly long tongues. The only way to kill them is to burn them to death.

Doc Benton
Thomas Benton creeped me out so much in the episode “Time is on My Side” that he deserves his own entry. A doctor in the 1800s, Benton discovered the secret to becoming immortal. It’s simple, really. Just steal other people’s organs when yours wear out.

Left, a facelift, Doc Benton style?

If you wake up in a hotel bathtub full of ice with one kidney gone, blame Doc Benton.

John Winchester cut out the man’s heart years ago, but that didn’t stop the doctor, nope. Benton kidnaps Sam with the intent to harvest his organs and offers Dean a chance to avoid Hell by joining in his immortality.

Djinns
Not your average genie in a bottle, djinns in the Supernatural universe can pass as humans, but in their true form have tattoos and scars over their entire bodies. Their eyes glow blue when they attack and they possess superhuman strength.

Right, is that Khan herpe tattoo on his cheek?

Rather than granting wishes, they poison their victims and convince them the hallucinations that result are the victim’s dreams come true. In the meantime, the djinn feeds on the blood of the victim. The only way out is for the victim to commit suicide in their alternate reality. These cave-dwelling monsters can only be killed with a silver knife dipped in lamb’s blood.

Khan Worm
Nicknamed the “twelve inch long herpe” by Dean, the Khan Worm was created by Eve and enters a person’s body through the ear. Then it controls their actions, which usually involves killing the victim’s friends and family.

Left, Khan!!

The only way to remove a Khan Worm is to electrocute the victim near to death. This monster isn’t really scary until you see it—on the floor in a puddle of icky goo.
Then it just gives me the heebie-jeebies. Reminiscent of the Centaurian worm from Star Trek and the Ceti eel from Star Trek: Wrath of Khan, this worm looks like a freaky cross between a snail and an eel. Plus goo. Ewwww.

I need to wash out my brain now, thanks. As I mentioned above, just keep in mind that without all that scary stuff, we wouldn’t get to watch Sam and Dean sending these nasties packing. Case in point:

What about you? What do you think is the scariest monster on Supernatural? What’s your favorite Sam or Dean monster fighting moment?

Lisa Paitz Spindler is a science fiction author, web designer, blogger, and pop culture geek. Her debut space opera novella, THE SPIRAL PATH, will be released March 28, 2011, from Carina Press. In addition to some fun science underpinnings and a moving love story, readers will find a bonus deliciously creepy character buried deep in a mysterious wormhole.

She also contributes book reviews and television recaps to SF Signal and maintains the Danger Gal Blog hosted by her alter ego, Danger Gal, whose stiletto heels are licensed weapons and whose ninja stars travel faster than light. Lisa can also be found on Twitter and Facebook.
Buy THE SPIRAL PATH now: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Carina Press

As part of her Out Of This World Blog Tour, Lisa is giving away a copy of THE SPIRAL PATH and this Retro Saturn T-shirt to one lucky reader. Everyone who enters will receive a door prize: THE SPIRAL PATH electronic trading cards depicting the four main characters in the story.
Click here to enter.

On Sunday, April 3 Lisa will draw the winning name.

Guest Blogger Lisa Paitz Spindler

Tomorrow we are honored to have a special guest! Lisa Paitz Spindler (who is celebrating her release this week of her book The Spiral Path from Carina Press) will talk about The Creepiest Supernatural Monsters EVAH! Be sure to come by!

Natalie's Recap-That's-Not-Really-a-Recap of "Fallen Idols"

Many fans of Supernatural had issues with the first four episodes of this season. They felt it was too dark, too depressing, that everything they'd loved about the first four seasons was gone. I never felt that way, so I can't speak for those who did. But I hope this week's show was at least a few steps toward bringing back that love.

For me, after the intensity and suspense of the last several episodes, I felt like something was missing. I'm not sure the simple plots of these stand-alone episodes can satisfy me anymore. On the other hand, it had a classic feel and self-contained story, with lots of humor and brotherly back-and-forth. They even had the Impala-road shot from "Monster Movie," the road (maybe even the actual shot, with some trees added and the sign removed) from "Phantom Traveler," and the parking lot from "It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester" (and maybe that was also the hotel from "Something Wicked," but I'm not positive about that one). And any remaining tensions and push-pull between our boys seems to have been taken care of by the end.

But I'm getting ahead of myself.

My apologies to Kripke and all other car geeks for not knowing what "Little Bastard" was. I knew, however, that Dean would explain it, and guess what! He does!

We had an obligatory discussion setting up how they can get away with a traditional hunt in the midst of the apocalypse. Can't find the Colt, timeline established (three weeks of searching), get back into it slow, Dean still doesn't trust Sam but relents and says they both need a fresh start, so Sam can give in rather than keep butting heads. Okey-dokey.

So this monster-of-the-week-style ep mixes it up a bit. The pre-show hype re: Paris Hilton always referred to her as a demon. Deliberate misdirection? Apparently, because first they think it's ghosts. Celebrity ghosts, to be specific, and they're killing fans of those celebrities. Why here? A local wax museum (with really good wax figures, BTW, I wonder if they made them or borrowed them?) has actual effects of the actual celebrities. Remains!

Dean was pretty clumsy in his interrogation, and it wasn't the first time. Would you believe I'm not sure if that's an aberration or not? I mean, yeah, it's a given that Sam has always been better at drawing people out and Dean's not known for his subtlety. But the museum curator's looks at him were quite amusing. As was his wearing of the Fonzie jacket. :)

Eventually they figure out that it's not a ghost, and they didn't kill it when they evaporated Ghandi. Quite telling, beyond Dean's brotherly ribbing, that Sam is a fan of Ghandi. And very in keeping with who we all thought Sam was, back when we were saying stuff like "No way! Sam's too good! You can never convince me that he'd go bad!" Maybe that was just me.

Anyway. They learn Paris Hilton has taken a teenage fan, which helps them figure out--as, "as far as we know," Paris isn't dead--what they're actually dealing with. I'm not sure why Sam decided to cut open a body. I was too distracted by his scrubs. Yummmmmm.

Where was I? Oh, yeah. Why did Sam go digging in the body cavity? Who knows, but he found The Clue, the one that leads them to a pagan god (they used that screenshot on his laptop in "A Very Supernatural Christmas," too) who drank his victim's blood, and cue the annoyed fans for the pagan-god-bashing. *sigh*

That reminds me. In the beginning, when the blood poured down over the car name, I thought, "Nice effect, but not realistic. That's too much blood." But it was a clue! I felt both smug for noticing and chagrined for criticizing. :)


Some random comments:

Jared was totally making his Blue Steel face when he was doing stuff in the trunk. I wish they'd used a different shot--it's too jarring, takes us out of the show, and makes him look silly. I'm very tired of seeing it, after the overuse in the outtakes. I think, if I were a crew member, I'd have threatened him with face-slapping every time he did it. If I weren't too scared/star-struck to speak to him, that is.

I loved the Spanish conversation, and how I could follow it without knowing any Spanish at all, and therefore believe Sam could do it with his "freshman Spanish" despite how many years have passed since he took the class. :)

Research squared! Yes, Dean ditches Sam to go bar-hopping, but I love the little detail of them both having laptops now, obviously related to the rift because Dean didn't have his geek research brother with him anymore and had to do his own (which we know he's capable of doing, ref. "Wishful Thinking"). I also loved that, apparently, Sam is a Mac and Dean is a PC.

Okay, now, show of hands: When Dean tells Paris he's not her BFF, so she can't drink his blood, she says she can read his mind and knows Daddy's his hero. How many of you held your breath, hoping for the best kept secret surprise in the history of fandom? *raises hand* Alas, Jeffrey Dean Morgan did not magically appear for a 30-second showdown. *sigh*

I laughed a lot in this ep, but danged if I can remember any of the funny lines, except Dean's crack about not seeing House of Wax, and Sam's reaction to that.

The show ended with "Superstition," which meant it left me bubbling with happiness.

Okay, so let's talk about the most important thing. No, second most. Where Dean Stops Being a Dick, Sammy is the Mature One, and The Boys Are Really Back Together.

First, Dean levels a truly dark look at Sam when he mentions the apocalypse. Then Sam overhears Dean saying something about "we know who's fault that is, I'm sorry, but it's true." Sam of course thinks Dean's referring to him, but he could just as easily be talking about himself. Or both of them, as they are equally to blame. Then Sam says look, this isn't working, it wasn't working before, we need to be partners, not boss and baby brother. *cheers* It didn't even break my heart when he said he went with Ruby to get away from Dean--his frustration has been evident since the last few episodes of season 3, when he kept trying to assert his plans and ideas and Dean just kept cutting him off.

Finally, at the end, we get Dean admitting they were both at fault but neither knew it. He's sincere when he says "who would have ever thought killing Lilith would be a bad thing?" I'm pretty sure we saw Sam driving the Impala already this season (though I could be wrong), so the handing over of the keys didn't have the impact for me that it had for many other people. Still, it feels like we're finally where we were meant to be. I'm sure the boys will still have some struggles. Dean's not going to get over the habit of being "in charge" that easily, and Sam may have grown up, but his own habits are just as ingrained. It will be great fun to see how they manage this.

Which brings me to the most important point of discussion: SOON.

SPOILERS BASED ON PROMO SNIPPETS AND EPISODE TITLES



I won't list all the awesome things we saw in the extended promo, like Sam getting hit in the balls *pauses to wait for inevitable offers to nurse his injuries* on a Japanese game show, Dean's perfect 50s sitcom smile, the oh-so-sexy CSI sunglasses, the shock and horror of the half-demon baby and Castiel's intentions toward the child, the awesomeness of the upcoming guest stars (the demon-baby mom is from Eureka, the guy who wins years of his life from Dean in poker is most recently from Kyle XY)...and all that stuff.

The question is, WHY did we get a SOON? Number One (my oldest daughter) and I both cried "No!" when we saw it, and all the people I chat with after the show thought it meant hiatus. I mean, historically, that's when we get it. But also historically, they usually go 10 or 11 episodes before they start breaking it up with reruns.

Luckily, my DVR lists "I Believe the Children Are Our Future" as next Thursday's episode, as does IMDb. The other two eps on IMDb are "The Curious Case of Dean Winchester" and "Changing Channels," which certainly looked like the scenes we got in SOON, right? The Buddy TV recapper said it must have been a short episode, and it definitely was, so that explanation rests much easier with me than my friend's comment that we started earlier in the season than we normally do.

No matter what, "SOON" definitely got me excited for what's coming!

Okay, your turn! What important bits did I miss? Did you like or dislike this ep? Meh or yeah! ? Good break from the hard stuff, or a let-down? Comment away!

~~~~
Images all courtesy The CW

Classic Episode Review--Faith

I’ve been watching the first three seasons of SPN again and my favorites are still my favorites. And one I watch again and again is “Faith.”




The episode opens with the boys on a hunt for a monster that can only be killed by electricity. Children are in danger, and the boys find them in the basement of a house. Sam escorts them to safety while Dean stays behind to zap the monster. Unfortunately, he’s standing in a puddle and electrocutes himself, damaging his heart.

In the hospital, the doctor tells a distraught Sam that Dean can’t be helped and he’s going to die. Dean, of course, is cracking wise about daytime TV and fabric softener teddy bears, while Sam is frantic to find a way to save him.



Dean leaves the hospital AMA and shows up at the motel, declaring he’s not dying in a hospital where the nurses aren’t even hot. Sam has found a specialist, he says, and takes Dean to a muddy field in the middle of nowhere where an evangelist has set up a tent for faith healing services. Dean swears that Sam has lost his mind but agrees to appease his little brother. He meets Layla outside the tent, and manages to flirt despite being deathly ill.

Against all odds, Dean is called to be healed. He resists, but Sam convinces him. When the preacher lays his hands on Dean, Dean sees a man in a suit standing nearby. Instantly he feels better, but is disturbed by the miracle, especially when he learns Sam didn’t see the suited dude. Then the doctor who checks Dean out and gives him a clean bill of health happens to mention that a healthy young man died of a heart attack the day before. Dean convinces Sam to check it out and they learn that somehow lives are being swapped for lives. It turns out the preacher’s wife has managed to control a reaper. Worse, she is choosing who lives and dies based on their beliefs.

What I love about this episode, besides Sam’s desperation to save his brother, is Dean’s dilemma. He becomes attached to Layla, who has faith and is suffering from a brain tumor. Once he learns about the reaper, he can’t allow Layla to be healed, no matter how he cares for her. He can’t let the preacher’s wife take another life in exchange for Layla’s. I really love how this choice tears Dean up, especially when her mother asks why he deserves to be healed and Layla doesn’t, playing on Dean’s already low sense of self-worth.

In the end, they can’t save everyone. They destroy the bond to the reaper just as Layla is about to be healed. But she comes to Dean in one of the most poignant scenes in the series. She’s so serene, he can’t help but offer the only thing he has left.




Where is this episode in your list of favorites? What were your favorite bits?