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

Iconic Monster hunters are not just relics of a bygone era. I grew up with stories of Solomon Kane and Van Helsing, but in Junior High, my friends adored Buffy the Vampire Slayer. (Not gonna pretend I never watched an episode, but not nearly with as much fan appreciation as some of my good friends). Nowadays, I’m watching Geralt of Rivia not take down vampires but as a professional Witcher he exterminates the monster of the week, and in our down time at work, my partner got us watching Shadowhunters. Well, like most TV shows she watches the first season and I’m in for the ride for season 2…

Nietzsche’s quote refers to men, not those bestowed to fight monsters and are given supernatural powers. The quote is essentially to remind us that just because we have good intentions doesn’t mean that our actions will always be justified. I could go on about crooked cops or veterans who develop a taste for killing, but my own industry, paramedicine, has compassion fatigue and a lot of us cope with dark humour.

That being said, one thing I noted when thinking about the question, does indeed take me back Junior High and High School – the Brooding Hero. Now, not all heroes brood and not all heroes deal with the supernatural. For the sake of this very short article, let’s discuss about what I consider the three categories of monster hunters, but this could extend to superheroes and villains as well as I think fantasy as a genre.

The first category of monster hunter’s I’m going to put as tied directly to the dark or hidden world, and are usually physically marked in some way. Marvel’s Blade, are born into the hidden world and can never be normal by virtue of what they are. Blade, for instance, is a Dhampyr, as are characters such as Alucard (in most iterations. Upon doing research, he had his start as a vampire in a 1943 film, but he’s most known for standing against his father and assisting the Vampire Hunting Bellmont family). Characters like Geralt of Rivia are modified to improve their senses and strength to even stand up to monsters, so characters like Witchers or King’s Father Callahan were once regular people, but normal is forever lost to them. Typically, these sorts of characters are the most hated and feared of the monster hunters, because they’re the most like the creatures they’re fighting, or at least trying to balance the duality of supernatural and humanity.

I’ll put characters like Buffy and Claire’s Clary into the next category – they’re the ones who are chosen because of a bloodline or because of a prophecy and were chosen, and on the surface, can fit in with the rest of us, or at least pass by unnoticed. They may have incredible powers or something that allows them to stand up to the monsters. In one of the episodes of Shadowhunters I watched, Clary waxed how she wanted to go back to normal and paint, and I’m sure watching snippets at my friend’s house Buffy was the same way (I remember the episode where she got a job at a fast food joint. I thought being a guardian of the ether was a full time gig, let alone High School). This might be because they can fit in or had some semblance of a normal life, but keep getting thrust back to keep the normals ‘safe’. Like the first category, they tend to be balancing a duality of their supernatural nature, trying to be human but unable to explain it to everyone around them.

The final category are those who lack supernatural abilities per say. They’re often aided by their knowledge or mystical items for protection, able to stand up to the creatures from the abyss because they know enough about what monster they’re facing to take precautions and fight with knowledge and or mysticism. I’ll put Stoker’s Van Helsing in this category, as well as Howard’s Solomon Kane, but I’ll go as so far as to put characters like King’s Roland Deschain. That’s not to say that they aren’t supernaturally impressive in some way – Roland is a Gunslinger and his skills are legendary, and Kane is given a staff that protects him from evil. Are they part of a family trained from birth, do they belong to a religious order? Ironically, perhaps these characters don’t brood, they’re firmly in the trenches and are aware they’re one adventure away from rotting in a ditch forgotten. The first two categories are pretty firm as to why the characters even belong in the supernatural – they’re part of it. Mortals who chose this lifestyle are often tainted by darkness early in life, or they have some sort of uncanny skill that makes them ideal for fighting. In many stories, these same heroes who are seeking to do good are seen as the true monsters, such as in Matheson’s I am Legend (you’ll have to read the story. They changed the ending for the 2007 film with Will Smith).

What do you think of my categories? Could I subdivide further? Do you have any favourite vampire or monster hunters not mentioned here?

Every decade, Marie must leave her home and everything she loves to start anew. She can’t risk the locals learning the truth of her immortality, much less her vampiric need of feeding off fear. Fortunately for Marie, fear comes easily and she spends her endless days mourning the loss of her beloved.

When she is summoned to the leaders of the masquerade, she is persuaded to assist them in uncovering a mystery of powers possibly more ancient then their own order.

As a rare daywalker of exquisite beauty, there is no society Marie cannot infiltrate. Having spent the last few centuries growing into her abilities, she expects to learn of the old powers, and return to her lonely eternity of mourning.

She doesn’t expect to fall in love.

Enjoy an Excerpt

“Where is this fool taking us?” one of Raoul’s men asked.

I realized then that they hadn’t been paying attention.

“Driver!” He reached his arm outside the open window to rap and get his attention, but I could smell the hiss of venom and knew it was intentional.

The horses ran quicker, and I could hear more coming up. They sought to isolate us and do their deed in the woods. Interesting choice, as there was no need to restrain ourselves without potential witnesses.

One of Raoul’s guards kicked open the door. He glided out. His gift included some manipulation of his form, and like a shadow he leapt onto the path, while his fellow went to climb up on the stagecoach.

Raoul glanced at me. “You’ll be safest in here.”

“Do not leave your men, guardian mine.”

His gaze darted from mine as I recognized the smell of flesh turning to ash, and light pierced the chest of the fellow on the roof of the coach. He exploded into dust before he could scream. The stench of sulphur was undeniable, even without our honed senses. The other fellow met a similar end a moment later.

Unfazed by the strange tool on a chain, Raoul unsheathed a rapier from his cane and struck the driver in the leg. The man was young. He met a knife at the rapier for the second strike, but the riders coming up were too late. Raoul knocked aside the gun and slashed the driver’s face before he pierced his heart. I bounced along uncomfortably as the driver was pushed forward and went under the back left wheel.

The horses squealed and ran faster. Raoul reached for the reins, but a rider came up from beside the carriage, then put her pistol in through the open window at me. I grabbed the weapon with such force I nearly knocked her off her horse and into the carriage’s paneling.

About the Author: L.T. Getty is a science fiction and fantasy writer who hails from the Canadian Prairies. When she’s not writing, you can likely find her driving an ambulance and dreaming about travel.