Why do humans keep inviting monsters to their campfires, movie nights, and bedtime stories? In this episode of Monstrum, PBS’s Dr. Emily Zarka explains why creatures like vampires, werewolves, and Baba Yaga aren’t just here to give us nightmares, they’re cultural mirrors with fur, fangs, and way too many moral lessons. From Krampus smacking naughty kids to La Llorona enforcing curfews, every monster says more about us than about what goes bump in the night. Turns out, the real horror was self-awareness all along.

[Via Neatorama]