The Science of Monsters

Olivia Koski: “Well, the sharks with lasers things is actually completely feasible, so it would be fairly realistic for a villain or water witch (are there merwitches?) to train a fleet of dolphins to wear lasers on their heads. As for shooting lasers out of your eyes, sure. In principle you could rig up some glasses or a headpiece with lasers attached to them. But I definitely wouldn’t recommend that, just because your eyes are very sensitive and it’s generally best to keep lasers away from your eyes, even if your intention is to point them away from your eyes. But technology is getting better and better, and photonics are getting smaller and smaller. I’m just thinking now if it would ever be possible to embed a laser within a contact lens. It might be some day, but I’m not sure I would want to be the one to test it out. And the power level would probably not be nearly enough to cause any damage. I like this question, though!”

Kelly:“Is there an experiment that readers can safely do at home regarding lasers?”

Olivia Koski: “You really can’t be too careful with lasers, so I might say ‘no.’ But . . . as long as you don’t point them in your eyes or at airplanes, you can have a lot of fun with laser pointers, dollar store mirrors, and a fog machine or even steam from a humidifier for example.”

Meg:“Sounds like a fun Saturday night!”

Another power witches are said to possess is the ability to talk to or connect with animals. The idea of a witch’s “familiar” became popular during medieval times. Familiars were known to help witches in their practice of magic. Contemporary practitioners see pets, wildlife, or invisible spirit versions of familiars as their magical aids. Familiars have been portrayed in TV shows and movies about witches including Salem the cat in Chilling Adventures of Sabrina and rabbits in The Witch.

Some witches are known to have the power of clairvoyance. Does it exist? Clair meaning “clear” and voyance meaning “vision” is the alleged ability to gain information about an object, person, location, or physical event through an extra sense. Although scientists consider this ability to be pseudoscience, there are people who claim to have the ability. Some clairvoyants claim to see past events, the future, or other levels of perception that others cannot see. Throughout history those who claim to see the future have often been revered and respected. Nostradamus began publishing his predictions in 1550 and people still analyze and study them today. Edgar Cayce is a more contemporary example of a self-proclaimed clairvoyant. He was one of the founders of the New Age Movement in the early 1900s and influenced its teachings regarding karma, reincarnated souls, astrology, holistic medicine, and dream interpretation. Some famous clairvoyant characters in horror movies are Tangina from Poltergeist, Johnny Smith in The Dead Zone (1983), and Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring (2013) series.

Witches are known to use spells to make others act a certain way or fall in love with them. Are there such things as love potions? Mandrake, henbane, and verbena are ingredients used in love potions that can be traced back to Biblical times. Psychologists say there are scientific reasons we may feel attracted to or fall in love with someone quickly. It takes between ninety seconds and four minutes to feel an initial attraction, and this is first due to our observation of a person’s body language, the tone and speed of their voice, and what they say. There are also attraction messages being sent through scent. Pheromones are produced by humans, animals, plants, and even bacteria for a variety of reasons. They can be used to collaborate or fight sexual attraction and can even lead to initial feelings of unexplained love.

Love is at the center of Carrie. Carrie’s powers are otherworldly or witch-like but at the heart of the story is a terrorized girl who craves love from both her mother and her peers. This juxtaposition of the mundanity of being a teenager along with the heightened depiction of the supernatural is what propels Carrie into a haunting and memorable story. Many of us can relate to feeling shunned or bullied in high school. Nathan Payne, who directed Carrie: The Musical in 2019 said “Carrie stands the test of time and could be set in any era because its themes are universal. Everyone experiences being a teen differently, but bullying is so common and I think revenge fantasies are the dark secret that most people have at some point.” Carrie is given the power to seek revenge. And it is this revenge, taken too far, that ultimately kills her.