Monster of the Day #814

So, the Octo is metaphorical? How lame…

I wonder how many little kids bought this (or bugged their parents to buy it for them) thinking it was about a giant octopus.

You can probably thank Frank Norris:

“The Octopus: A Story of California is a 1901 novel by Frank Norris and was meant to be the first part of an uncompleted trilogy, The Epic of the Wheat. It describes the wheat industry in California, and the conflicts between wheat growers and a railway company. Norris was inspired to write the novel by the Southern Pacific Railroad and the Mussel Slough Tragedy. In the novel he depicts the tensions between the railroad, the ranchers and the ranchers’ League. The book emphasized the control of “forces”—such as growing wheat and the power of railroad monopolies—over individuals. Some editions of the work give the subtitle as alternately, A California Story.”

in the other hand, it could be that an octopus’s body looks like a big head that with a giant, throbbing brain which gives it a more “evil” look than a squid which just looks like a missile with tentacles.

‘Senor Lobo’ by Earl Stanley Gardner.
Now if only we could hear that read by The Horror Host Mr. Lobo.

That cover image and pulp mag title make me wonder what a Lovecraft detective noir story would look like. John Carter, private dick, versus Crime Boss Cthulhu?

Check out Kim Thompson’s tale The Big Fish (Philip Marlowe meets Lovecraft) as found in Tales of the Cthulhu Mythos,and check out the film Cast a Deadly Spell.

Hey, how come city destruction was not given to me as a use for that degree?!? Damn my useless guidance counselor!