The Monster

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Mr. Eko looking at The Monster.

The Monster is one of the central mysteries on the Island. Although its nature is still unknown, it has appeared as a freely-moving cloud of black smoke, sometimes attacking people and at other times sparing them. The Monster produces a variety of loud noises and frequently rustles foliage and uproots trees as it moves. It also sometimes produces brief flashes of bright light, and appears to be able to project images from a person's past. It has been encountered by the survivors many times, beginning as an unseen threat in "Pilot, Part 1", although it wasn't until "Exodus, Part 2" that it was actually seen by the audience.

Encounters

For unconfirmed or speculated encounters, see The Monster/Theories.

"Pilot, Part 1"

The pilot is taken by the Monster

The Monster's existence was first made known to the survivors on the first night after the crash of Flight 815, when loud, machine-like sounds were heard coming from the jungle and trees were seen being knocked over. Rose commented that it sounded familiar.

The next day, attempting to retrieve the transceiver, Jack, Kate and Charlie ventured into the jungle to inspect the cockpit of the plane. The pilot was found to be alive, but he was abruptly pulled out of the front of the plane by the Monster, and was later found high up in a tree, dead and bloodied. It then pursued Jack, Kate, and Charlie through the jungle, but stopped at the same time that the rain did. The Monster was also heard by Rose and Claire from the beach at about the same time, with Claire commenting, "There it is again."

"Walkabout"

Locke gazing up at the Monster

Three days later, Locke was in the jungle hunting for boars when he got his first closeup look at the Monster. As it approached him from above, Locke was unharmed as he stood facing it in amazement (the shot is from the Monster's perspective, looking down at Locke). He initially told Michael that he did not see it, but later told Jack, "I've looked into the eye of this Island... and what I saw was beautiful." When Locke later told Eko of this experience, he said he saw a beautiful bright light; however, Eko said that is not what he saw. ("The Cost of Living")

The chattering and electrical sounds that accompany this confrontation are later heard consistently whenever the Monster appears.

"Arzt & Crafts"

Following Jack's discovery of the caves in White Rabbit, Arzt attempted to dissuade Hurley, Sun, Jin, and Michael from moving there. As Arzt told them about seeing Jack chase after his father, they heard the Monster's roar in the jungle, prompting Arzt to change his mind and move to the caves.

"Hearts and Minds"

Boone cradling Shannon after she was "attacked" by the Monster in the hallucination.

Nearly three weeks after Locke's encounter, the Monster appeared to Boone in a hallucination brought on by a drug that Locke applied to his head. In Boone's dream, the Monster chased after him and his sister Shannon. The two escaped its first attack safely, but the Monster eventually returned to attack them again. This time it caught Shannon, who was lagging behind Boone, and lifted her off of the ground. Boone, already a distance away from Shannon and the Monster, was unable to do anything but watch in horror. Boone later found Shannon dead, mutilated, and covered in her own blood.

The Monster's actions in Boone's dream appeared to be consistent with its behavior outside of this dream, even though Boone had never encountered the Monster previously; Shannon's wounds in Boone's dream even resembled those of the pilot. According to a deleted scene, Charlie told a number of survivors about the Monster killing the pilot, so Boone may have heard these details from Charlie. However, Boone's vision of Shannon is very similar to Eko's experience in "The Cost of Living", which makes Boone's encounter with the Monster remain ambiguous.

"Exodus, Part 1"

Nearly three weeks later, on their way to the Black Rock, a group comprised of Rousseau, Jack, Locke, Hurley, Kate, and Arzt were chased by the Monster in the Dark Territory. They hid behind some large trees where Rousseau declared they were "safe". Jack asked Rousseau what chased them and she referred to it as a "security system". Jack asked her what it does, and she told him, "Its purpose is that of any security system: to protect something." Kate then asked what it protects and Rousseau replied, "The Island."

"Exodus, Part 2"

The Monster disappearing after being dynamited.

Later, in episode "Exodus, Part 2", while carrying the dynamite intended to blow open the Hatch through the Dark Territory, the group was chased again. This was the first time the Monster was actually seen. It first appeared as a small wisp of smoke witnessed by both Jack and Kate, moving swiftly through the trees at a short distance from them. This was followed by the usual noises and explosions from the ground and the uprooting trees.

After his past encounter with the Monster in "Walkabout", Locke was confident he would not be harmed and decided to approach it instead of running. This time, however, the Monster did attack him and knocked him to the ground. After looking up in horror, Locke got up and started running frantically. He was then "grabbed" by the Monster and dragged across the ground by his left foot. In the meantime, Jack had returned and was able to grab Locke by the arms. Locke was then pulled into a hole in the ground, but Jack locked onto Locke's arms to prevent him from falling in. The black smoke was visible around Locke's ankle in two shots before he was pulled into the hole. Locke told Jack that everything would be all right and to let him go. But Jack refused, ordering Kate to get the dynamite from his backpack and throw it down the hole. When she did so, there was a large explosion and Locke was released.

The cloud of smoke was then seen "rushing away" from the group. In the same scene, it is possible to glimpse in the smoke, when freeze framed, what appears to be an image of the Other twins who were on board The Others' boat used in the kidnapping of Walt. Later, in the Season 2 premiere, "Man of Science, Man of Faith", Locke describes what he saw as "a column of black smoke". Compared to other encounters, the monster seems smaller in size in this episode. In "The 23rd Psalm", "The Cost of Living", and "Left Behind" it is shown to be much larger.

"The 23rd Psalm"

Mr. Eko and the Monster.

In episode "The 23rd Psalm", Charlie and Mr. Eko encountered the Monster. Eko first saw the Monster briefly as a quickly passing wisp of black smoke - with a very similar camera angle as that in "Exodus, Part 2". Later, while Charlie was in a tree, a variety of noises were heard surrounding Eko, as he circled around curiously. The most familiar horn noise was then heard and the Monster appeared, uprooting trees in its wake. Then we see a camera shot zooming into Eko's face, most likely the point of view of the creature. Charlie was alarmed at the sight and urged Eko to run, but Eko stood his ground.

Another view of the Monster.

The Monster quickly approached Eko, who displayed little more than dauntlessness. As the Monster hovered before Eko, several images from Eko's past flashed within it. The Monster then narrowed and shrank itself dramatically as it receded into the ground. Charlie described it as "a creature made of swirling black smoke".

"The Cost of Living"

The Monster grabbing Mr. Eko

In "The Cost of Living", the Monster once again manifested as Yemi. It appeared before Mr. Eko several times, and told him that it was time for him to be judged. While Eko made his way to the Beechcraft (and Yemi's resting place), the Monster could be seen as wisps of smoke, circling Eko like a shark. It followed Eko quietly, as if stalking him. To test Eko, it manifested as figures from Eko's past, who exclaimed that it was time for him to be judged.

When Eko rested at a riverbank, it crept up over his shoulder. It seemed about to envelope him when Eko saw it's reflection in the water and stood up sharply. It pulled back into the Jungle just as Locke burst out of the foliage, looking for Eko.

It was not seen again until the end of the episode, after Eko had refused to ask someone or something in the guise of his brother Yemi for forgiveness. Following the figure into the jungle, Eko was met by the Monster, which notably expanded to over 40ft in height. It seized him with tentacle-like appendange, and it slammed Eko around the woods. (Interestingly, the path in which it moves Eko is the shape of a cross. It first went up, then sideways to one tree, sideways again to another tree, and finally up, before slamming Eko into the ground.) Moments later Eko died from the encounter. The Monster disappeared when its siren drew Locke and the other survivors over. It is unknown whether the appearance of Yemi was somehow related to the smoke, or whether he was some kind of manifestation of it.

"Left Behind"

File:Monster sonic barrier.jpg

The Monster being repelled by the sonic barrier in "Left Behind"

In "Left Behind", Kate and Juliet are handcuffed together in the jungle. The moment Kate hurts Juliet (during a fight) the Monster approaches them. Juliet pretends not to know anything about the Monster, and the two hide from it. However, it soon catches up to them and we see the Monster's point of view as it looks upon Juliet and Kate, and 4 bright flashes of light appear before it retreats.

It appears again the next day as three small clouds of smoke. They then quickly join together to form one large mass and begin chasing Juliet and Kate. Juliet pulls the handcuff key out of her pocket (where she had been hiding it from Kate) and unlocks the cuffs. She runs within the currently deactivated sonar fence and urges Kate to join her. After she does so, Juliet then activates the sonar fence via an electronic keypad. The Monster tries to follow, but is repelled by the sonar fence as if it hit an invisible wall, it then retreats back into the jungle in three different clouds. The fence might have caused some kind of pain to the Monster, as it screeched when it was turning back. Alternatively, it may have screeched because it couldn't fulfill what it was trying to do, and was screeching in frustration. Juliet then comments "We don't know what it is, but we know that it doesn't like our fences."

Locations

The Monster seems to have exhibited different behavior on different parts of the Island, but it is not known whether there are different Monsters, or a single Monster that sometimes operates differently. In the Dark Territory, it appeared to have foot steps, ("Exodus, Part 2") although it could be explained that it was slamming large objects to the ground in a similar way that it slammed Mr. Eko to the ground. ("The Cost of Living") In the area near the Pearl and jungle locations close to the Losties' beach camp, the Monster simply floated.

When it confronted Kate and Juliet, the Monster came together from various small clouds of smoke to create a larger single cloud, ("Left Behind") leaving open the possibility that it can separate and go to different parts of the Island.

Victims

• The Pilot in "Pilot, Part 1"
• Mr. Eko in "The Cost of Living"

Sounds

The Monster makes a variety of different noises that sound both mechanical and biological. Its mechanical sounds have been described as: whirring, clanking, ratcheting, and being similar to dot matrix printers or the release of air pressure. Its biological sounds have been described as: growling, chattering (mostly like a black-billed magpie), and roaring.

Rose, who is from the Bronx, NY, remarked that the sounds were familiar to her. Indeed, in the voice-over commentary for "The 23rd Psalm" on the Season 2 DVD, producer Bryan Burk confirms that one of the Monster's sound effects is the receipt printer from a NYC taxi cab. This was reaffirmed in the May 21, 2007 Official Lost Podcast, but it was clarified that the mythology of the Monster is unrelated to the cabs; it is just a matter of sound effects. This sound effect is heard in "Walkabout" right before the first commercial, when Locke punches some numbers into a counting machine, and in "Exodus, Part 2" as the Monster flies by Kate and Jack. It can also be heard in "Exposé" before Nikki gets bitten by the Medusa spider, as was confirmed on the Season 3 DVD commentary for that episode.

You can hear the sound of an NYC taxi receipt machine here.

Defenses against the Monster

In "Left Behind", the sonic fence is shown to prevent the Monster from crossing its boundary. In several episodes, hiding in the roots of a banyan tree seems to create a safeguard, even if the Monster can still see what it is chasing. In some cases, as with Eko and Locke, simply facing the Monster without fear seems to have kept it from harming them. However, this tactic did not work a second time for Locke, who was pulled toward a hole; and in Eko's fatal encounter, he stood facing the Monster, but it did not spare his life.

Cerberus

On the blast door map, several cryptic notations described a "system" named "Cerberus", and four instances of "CV". The producers of the show confirmed at Comic-Con 2007 that Radzinsky and Kelvin used the term "Cerberus" to refer to the Monster, and that "CV" stands for "Cerberus Vents". The Official Jigsaw Puzzles also revealed that the CV notations on the blast door map stand for Cerberus Vent. It is possible that by CV, Radzinsky and Kelvin were referring to underground vents used by the Monster, such as the hole into which Locke was pulled.

Trivia

General

• The original appearance of the Monster in "Pilot, Part 1" was a mindf*ck, and changed how the viewers and characters perceived the Island.
• The suggested appearance of the smoke monster swooping down and causing the turbine explosion was debunked.
• "Black Smoke" is a traditional Chinese nickname for opium.
• The howling sound is usually in concert pitch A.

Production notes

• Some have claimed that the Other twins can be seen in the Monster's smoke in the episode "Exodus, Part 2". But in a interview with Buddy.tv Damon Lindelof said he remembered that they hired the twin stuntmen to be guys on the others boat, but they were never meant to become important to the storyline at a future date. "We can tell you, sitting here now that twins have nothing to do whatsoever with the mythology of the show."
• Hurley and Paulo both questioned whether the Monster is a dinosaur. This is probably an inside joke referring to the fact that Lost is filmed on many of the same locations as Jurassic Park.
• There is an ongoing inside joke between the producers and writers (noted in the Season 1 DVD) that the Monster could "just be a pissed off giraffe". Hurley makes a reference to this in "Numbers".
• There is considerable discussion about what the Monster is and its relation to judgment of the characters (especially Eko) in the 11/06/06 podcast. Specifically, in regards to Eko's two encounters with it, writer and producer Carlton Cuse says, "Well then, Yemi might be a manifestation that the Island has generated. Perhaps an incarnation of the Monster?" to which Damon Lindelof replies, "All of the manifestations seem to have come from Eko's memory. So, could one assume that when they last faced off, that all those flashes that happened in the Monster cloud, that it was sort of 'downloading information' that it might want to use at a future date?"
• From a Lost Podcast on 5-29-06 [1]
  • "There's a good chance that you guys saw the Monster this year Season 2, but just didn't realize you were looking at the Monster."
  • Gregg Nations later stated that the appearance of the Monster was after the episode "The 23rd Psalm" and likely in the second half of the season. [2]
• The Lost producers posted a question to Yahoo! Answers asking people what their theories were of what the Monster was. The winning answer suggested that the Monster was a security system designed to separate the participants in DHARMA Initiative experiments, although the producers stated that "The answer we selected might be somewhat right, totally right -- or completely off-base".
  • They later stated they were impressed by how close some of the responses came. But anyone looking for information should be aware that there are over 8000 potential answers to go through.

The Lost Experience

• In what appears to have been a red herring, DJ Dan's podcast on June 14 (part of The Lost Experience) fielded a call of a scientist worrying about nanotechnology, miniature machines (nanites) that can carry out tasks. The caller suggested that with an electromagnetic field, they could work together to form a "storm cloud" that can actually think. This clearly seems to describe the Monster but the theory was already discredited by the producers in the July 31, 2006 podcast, and again in the first DJ Dan Live Broadcast.

Fan guesses about the monster

Recently, Damon Lindelof opened a question on Yahoo! Answers about what the monster was. The answer he and Carlton Cuse was given by ar233. The answer was:

"Best Answer - Chosen by Asker

I think the monster was originally a highly advanced security system designed to separate participants in the experimental Dharma hatches. I think it was an effect that was designed to frighten people (smoke, noise) if they strayed too far from their experiment location. (A bit Wizard of Oz like) However, the electromagnetic force has mutated it - in the same sense as Desmond experienced time travel and can now see the future after exposure - and made it malevolent and able to physically grab things in its force (Eko, the Pilot, Locke). So in theory it may be able to be deactivated, if they can find the control room for it (which would be another hatch somewhere yet undetected)"

Some of the other, more logical ones

TomK: "I think the monster is the result of a scientific experiment in artificial intelligence gone wrong. I don't believe that it is controlled by anyone on the Island because it seems to behave randomly and impulsively. It also seems to be immature and prone to temper tantrums (like when it killed the pilot and Mr. Eko). The monster is like a small child who doesn't understand the consequences of his or her actions."

A common theme amongst the answerers was "The personal fears or pains of characters."

Expanded Universe

• In the Lost Mobile Game there is a level where Kate says to take some dynamite and blow up the vent the Monster is coming out of, to stop the monster.

Unanswered questions

Unanswered questions
Do not answer the questions here. Keep the questions open-ended and neutral: do not suggest an answer. More details...

For fan theories about these unanswered questions, see: The Monster/Theories

• What is the Monster, and all of its components?
  • What are the bright flashes of light that Kate and Juliet saw? ("Left Behind")
  • What are the noises?
    • Why do they seem to change depending on how close or far away it is?
  • Is there more than one Monster?
• What are the abilities of the Monster?
  • Is it autonomous, or controlled by someone/something else?
  • What is the physical territory that the Monster can occupy?
    • Why couldn't it pass through/go over the security fence? ("Left Behind")
    • Why has it never been seen at the beach?
• What is the origin of the Monster?
• What is the purpose of the Monster, if there is one?
• What are the motives of the Monster, if it has motives?
  • Why did it kill Mr. Eko and the pilot?
  • Did it try to kill Jack, Kate and Charlie? If so, why?
• What was the hole the Monster was pulling Locke into? ("Exodus, Part 2")
• Why is it that Locke saw a bright light, but Eko did not?
• How much do the Others know about the Monster?

External links

• YouTube - Video of the Monster's appearance in "The 23rd Psalm".
• Yahoo Monster Question - Damon Lindelof's open question about what the Monster really is.
• BuddyTV - March 7, 2007 interview with Carlton Cuse and Damon Lindelof which discusses fan theories about the Monster's nature
• The Apollo II - A user page containing fan made history and information on the Monster.