The Abject

On CrimeReads, Laura Elliott talks about monsters and how they are created in horror fiction. 

I like her view of monsters being an offshoot of the Uncanny that branches into what she calls "the abject".

This construction of monstrosity relies on the notion of the abject, which literary scholar Julie Kristeva defines as something that moves beyond the simply uncanny, into something which disrupts the established order and so threatens a sense of identity and meaning. The abject is the thing that jeopardises the borders of self and society. It challenges the boundary between what is Us and Not Us, forcing who we are into battle against something that we are not.

The building of a monster operates at the border, and it is, above all else, revealing. The monster asks not just what are you afraid of, but who and why?

It's a rich article that also includes insights into how the abject is incorporated in Bram Stoker's Dracula , Charlotte Perkins Gilman's "The Yellow Wallpaper", and River Solomon's Model Home .  It's worth your time.