From
TES issue 27 (May 2004)
Series 1/2.
Level 1/2.
SHADOW MONSTERS
A lot of the scariness in the early series was brought about by fear of the unknown. Confined entirely to the cavernous depths of the
Dungeon, you could never be sure what was lurking in the shadows.
When the quest started to venture outside
Knightmare Castle, even as early as series 3, something of the status of the Dungeon's fearful depths was taken away, as it was clear that they were no longer effectively limitless. Thus the shadow monsters take their place only in series 1 and 2, when the unknown was often much scarier than the known.
Wherever a
dungeoneer encountered one of the Dungeon's deeper, darker recesses, shadow monsters were not far off, ready to do whatever it is they liked to do to dungeoneers. What did they do? We don't know. What did they look like? We don't know. And it is this mystery that makes the shadow monsters so scary.
You may be asking yourself what exactly I mean by the term shadow monster, and the answer is that I'm not really sure. I am sure, however, that there were creatures lurking in those early Dungeon rooms that not even
Tim Child could really categorise. Some made squeaking, scratching noises, like whatever it was that finished off the first dungeoneer,
David [
Team 1 of Series 1]:
"This darkness is caused by something that doesn't like intruders; even now it's making its dislike felt" -
Treguard.
Some shadow monsters lurked in the [
Great Corridor of the Catacomb], menacing dungeoneers into making a quick exit. I am thinking here particularly of a monster with red eyes from series 1, which appeared to be made of moving darkness. Although it posed no real threat, unlike its scratching compatriot, it was a spooky unknown enemy, particularly for little four-year-old me clinging to the edge of our old, brown sofa with fear.
If you like large, frightening monsters with big claws and twelve heads then I guess you're probably not a fan of the shadow monsters. If like me, however, you find the unknown far scarier than the tangible, shadow monsters might be just your
cup of
tea.
Fear Factor: 8 The unknown can be very frightening.
Killer Instinct: 6 They polished off a couple of very early dungeoneers.
Gore Factor: 5 The one with the red eyes was nasty.
Humanity: 4 Who knows?
