Slime | |
---|---|
Other Names |
Slimes, Ooze, Blobs, Goo, Jellies |
First Appearance |
“The Odyle,” The Blue Book Magazine (June 1907) |
Original Publisher |
Story‐Press Corp. |
Created by |
Charles Edmonds Walk |
Origin[]
Slimes, also known as Ooze, Blobs, Goo, and other names, are common monsters found throughout fantasy, science fiction, and horror fiction. They are commonly depicted as shapeshifting, gelatinous, amorphous creatures that prey on other creatures.
Slimes have been used as antagonists throughout fiction, usually as either wild monsters or laboratory experiments. While most of the time they serve as minor antagonists, they can occasionally serve as major antagonists.
Examples of slime creatures from literature include Shoggoth from At the Mountains of Madness (1936) by H. P. Lovecraft, The Malignant Entity (1926) from Amazing Stories, The Ooze (1923) from Weird Tales, The Odyle (1907) from Blue Book.
Though not common in myth or religion, the Nuppeppo from Japanese folklore were fat, slime-like monsters that smell of rotting flesh and wander graveyards and temples. The legend states that those able to kill one and eat its foul-smelling flesh gain everlasting youth.
Public Domain Literary Appearances[]
- The Odyle, by Charles Edmonds Walk (June 1907)
- The Ooze (1923)
- The Malignant Entity (1926)
- At the Mountains of Madness (1936)
Notes[]
- Many Pokemon are inspired by slimes including Ditto, Grimer, Muk, Meltan, Melmetal, Gulpin, Swalot, Goomy, and more.