80 Monster Quotes About Real and Imaginary Evils

By Danielle Dahl | Updated September 8, 2022

These monster quotes will open up your eyes to the thoughts of the people who created some of the most famous literary monsters of our time.

The definition of a “monster” is one we are all probably familiar with a strange or horrible imaginary creature that is often extremely or unusually large.

Think Shrek, Godzilla, or Sulley from Monster’s Inc.

Then there is Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, which personifies the definition of the word “monster.”

They are not the only authors familiar with monsters whose words made an appearance on this list of monster quotes.

Stephen King and Edgar Allan Poe, both no strangers to monsters, also had quite a few to add.

Each of these authors makes an interesting point.

Are monsters really imaginary?

Or are they the horrible people in the world or the demons we battle within ourselves?

Keep reading to find out just what makes a monster.

Don’t forget to check out these Monsters Inc quotes from the hit Disney movie.

Monster quotes from Stephen King and other writers

1. “Sometimes human places create inhuman monsters.” ― Stephen King

2. “Oh, monsters are scared, said Lettie. That’s why they’re monsters.” ― Neil Gaiman

3. “Monsters are real, and ghosts are real, too. They live inside us, and sometimes, they win.” ― Stephen King

You will also enjoy our article on Frankenstein quotes.

4. “The scariest monsters are the ones that lurk within our souls.” ― Edgar Allan Poe

5. “I believe there are monsters born in the world to human parents.” ― John Steinbeck

6. “There are no heroes. In life, the monsters win.” ― George R. R. Martin

7. “It’s men you should be afraid of, not monsters.” ― Niccolo Ammaniti

8. “Eddie discovered one of his childhood’s great truths. Grownups are the real monsters, he thought.” ― Stephen King

9. “Heroes need monsters to establish their heroic credentials.” ― Margaret Atwood

10. “Monsters come in all shapes and sizes.” ― Neil Gaiman

You will also enjoy our article on Monsters Inc. quotes.

Monster quotes from the authors of Frankenstein and Dracula

11. “The world seems full of good men – even if there are monsters in it.” ― Bram Stoker

12. “It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account, we shall be more attached to one another.” ― Mary Shelley

13. “Beware; for I am fearless, and therefore powerful.” ― Mary Shelley

14. “I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one, I will indulge the other.” ― Mary Shelley

15. “What terrified me will terrify others, and I need only describe the specter which had haunted my midnight pillow.” ― Mary Shelley

16. “How blessed are some people whose lives have no fears, no dreads; to whom sleep is a blessing that comes nightly and brings nothing but sweet dreams.” ― Bram Stoker

17. “Whether it is the old lady’s fear, or the many ghostly traditions of this place, or the crucifix itself, I do not know, but I am not feeling nearly as easy in my mind as usual.” ― Bram Stoker

18. “No man knows till he has suffered from the night how sweet and dear to his heart and eye the morning can be.” ― Bram Stoker

19. “The last I saw of Count Dracula was his kissing his hand to me; with a red light of triumph in his eyes, and with a smile that Judas in hell might be proud of.” ― Bram Stoker

20. “I ought to be thy Adam, but I am rather the fallen angel.” ― Mary Shelley

Insightful monster quotes that are perfect for Instagram

21. “Adversity makes men, and prosperity makes monsters.” ― Victor Hugo

22. “Monsters are the patron saints of imperfection.” ― Guillermo del Toro

23. “You get to choose what monsters you want to slay.” ― Carrie Fisher

24. “There are very few monsters who warrant the fear we have of them.” ― Andre Gide

25. “Everyone carries around his own monsters.” ― Richard Pryor

26. “I’ve done enough running from monsters. It’s time to do some chasing.” ― Noah Schnapp

27. “It’s ironic, but until you can free those final monsters within the jungle of yourself, your life, your soul is up for grabs.” ― Rona Barrett

28. “We create monsters and then we can’t control them.” ― Joel Coen

29. “Well, the first thing is that I love monsters, I identify with monsters.” ― Guillermo del Toro

30. “The ego is a fascinating monster.” ― Alanis Morissette

Revealing monster quotes about humanity

31. “The scariest monsters are human beings and what we will do to each other.” ― Jared Harris

32. “Everyone has monsters and demons within themselves. They’re metaphors for the human condition.” ― Mark Pellegrino

33. “If you battle monsters, you don’t always become a monster. But you aren’t entirely human anymore, either.” ― Jonathan Maberry

34. “There’s monsters in all of us, but there’s also vulnerability.” ― Finn Wittrock

35. “The best monsters are our anxieties given form. They make sense on the level of a dream – or a nightmare.” ― Victor LaValle

36. “Whoever fights monsters should see to it that in the process, he does not become a monster. And if you gaze long enough into an abyss, the abyss will gaze back into you.” ― Friedrich Nietzsche

37. “As movie monsters go, zombies are the most human. They were human at one time. So we are confronted with ourselves in a way, which is much more frightening and disturbing.” ― George A. Romero

38. “I am able to play monsters well. I understand monsters. I understand madmen.” ― Anthony Hopkins

39. “My three years in politics was very instructive about the way in which the appetite for political power can destroy a human mind, destroy principles and values, and transform people into little monsters.” ― Mario Vargas Llosa

40. “Monsters almost always are culture’s way of working out their fears and are thus inherently incredibly interesting and powerful.” ― Catherynne M. Valente

Short monster quotes

41. “Monsters aren’t as scary if you start shining lights on them.” ― Wyatt Cenac

42. “Not all the monsters have fangs.” ― J. A. London

43. “The dream of reason produces monsters.” ― Francisco Goya

44. “Monsters die out when the collective imagination no longer needs them.” ― Glen Duncan

45. “Where there is a monster, there is a miracle.” ― Ogden Nash

46. “Monsters don’t get happy endings.” ― Paula Stokes

47. “The monsters are in your own head.” ― Paula Cole

48. “Ignorance is the womb of monsters.” ― Henry Ward Beecher

49. “Imagination creates some big monsters.” ― Olivier Martinez

50. “Real monsters eat you from the inside out.” ― Dia Reeves

Notable Monster Quotes You Can Apply In Real Life

51. “The real world is where the monsters are.” — Rick Riordan

52.” Monsters will always exist. There’s one inside each of us. But an angel lives there, too.” — Jacqueline Novogratz

53. “No one’s the monster in their own story. Monsters are just a matter of perspective.” — C.A. Fletcher

54. “Know that all my monsters are really smiling, in their hearts. Well, they would be if they had hearts.” — Daniel Reeder

55. “The monsters of the mind are far worse than those that actually exist. Fear, doubt, and hate have hamstrung more people than beasts ever have.” — Christopher Paolini

56. “We make our own monsters, then fear them for what they show us about ourselves.” — Mike Carey

57. Man is armed with craft and courage, which, untamed by justice, he will most wickedly pervert, and become at once the most impious and the fiercest of monsters” .— Aristotle

58. “In a world of monsters, you had to be a ghost to survive.” — Rob Thurman

59. Every monster was a man first. — Edward Albee

60. We are a race prone to monsters … and when we produce one we worship it. — Iain M Banks

I Am A Monster Quotes

61. “Scary monsters do not have plaque!” ‒ Mike Wazowski

62. “They all want me. I’m a monster.” ‒ Becky G.

63. “I’m a monster, I’m a genius. Man, I’m working so hard.” ‒ Lucha and Godmode

64. “We’re monsters, Liv. We eat people.” ‒ Lowell

65. “I’m a monster inside and out.” ‒ Wade Wilson

66. “My own mother thought I was a monster… She was right, of course, but it still hurt.” ‒ Princess Azula

67. “I’m a very neat monster.” ‒ Jeff Lindsay

68. “I’m a monster, said the shadow of the Marquess suddenly. Everyone says so.” ‒ Catherynne M. Valente

69. “I do not sleep because I am not only afraid of the monsters at my door, but also of the monsters my own mind can conjure. The ones that live within.” ‒ Samantha Shannon

70. “The monsters of our childhood do not fade away, neither are they ever wholly monstrous.” ‒ John Le Carre

Scary Monster Quotes To Make You Feel Thrilled

71. “People often believed they were safer in the light, thinking monsters only came out at night.” — CJ Roberts

72. “I love all of mythology and rules pertaining to all of the monsters, but I like to go the extra step.” — Stephen Sommers

73. “I am not the same man you found that day! The monster you’ve created has returned, to kill you!” — Matthew Woodring Stover

74. “Nothing is poetical if plain daylight is not poetical; and no monster should amaze us if the normal man does not amaze.” — Gilbert K. Chesterton

75. “I wanted to meet the monster. Why go down if you can go up?” — Ellen Hopkins

76. “I don’t think of myself as an evil monster and I hope I’m not.” — Chester Brown

77. “There will always be that dreadful monster prejudice to do extra battle against because of their color.” — Major Taylor

78. “Fantasy, abandoned by reason, produces impossible monsters; united with it, she is the mother of the arts and the origin of marvels.” — Francisco Goya

79. “We were all monsters and bastards, and we were all beautiful.” — Rachel Hartman

80. “The monstrous act by definition demands a monster.” — Rick Yancey