S15E5 - Chimera: The Mix-and-Match Monsters

From those that go bump in the night to ones that offer hope, mythical creatures and monsters are abound in fiction. You can find them in anything from horror to science fiction and fantasy. But where do our ideas for creatures to scare or inspire come from? Throughout October, Writing Roots will be delving into the myths of monsters across the world to help bring inspiration for anyone seeking to write a classic creature or one with a bit of a twist.

The oldest monsters in the world are mashed-up combinations of creatures familiar to mankind. The Löwenmensch, a figurine that was half-lion, half-man, is the oldest known record of what humans considered monstrous. Since then, stories have been riddled with the mix-and-match creatures that have become known as Chimera. In this episode, Leigh and Ley explore different combinations that haunted stories around the world.

First aired October 15, 2020.