If you’re looking for a fantasy monster for your next novel, short story, or RPG setting, consider the ogre.
Ogres are usually depicted as hulking giants, brutish man-like beings that often have a taste for human flesh. They’re archetypal figures, monstrous wild-men, titans, frost giants who battle gods and heroes alike.
Of late I’ve been writing my own concept of ogres in my sword-and-sandal fantasy novel. As it turns out, a big part of the fun with ogres lies in taking the core aspect of the myth and putting your own spin on it.
What is an Ogre, Anyway?
Popular depictions of ogres vary around the world, but it’s impossible not to pick up on a couple of basic themes: ogres are large, physically powerful man-like beings, and they also tend to have an appetite for man-flesh.
The word ogre comes to English from French, and it is understood to mean “man-eating giant of fairy tales and popular legends.” It may come from Orcus, a Roman underworld deity thought to have Etruscan roots.
Think of the giant in the story of Jack and the Beanstalk, and his signature line: “I’ll grind your bones to make my bread.”
This said, rather than trying to identify a discrete category of mythological beings we can call “ogres,” it’s best to see the Archetypal Ogre as a being that may show up in different mythological traditions under many different names.
A Few Ogreish Myths and Legends
In the Anglo-Saxon epic Beowulf, the monster Grendel terrorizes the mead-hall of Heorot, built by King Hrothgar, killing and eating the warriors until Beowulf kills him. Grendel seems to be manlike but monstrous, and he makes his home in the fens.
For another example, consider the Greek god Cronus (Saturn to the Romans), a titan who overthrew his father Ouranos and devoured his own sons rather than risk them overthrowing him.
But when Cronus’ sister/wife Rhea gave birth to Zeus, she handed Cronus the Omphalos Stone wrapped in swaddling clothes. Cronus swallowed the stone with no questions, and baby Zeus lived to grow up and overthrow his father.
Cronus is a titan, a father of gods. His power, his cannibalism, and his antagonism to the heroic figure of his own son Zeus all evoke aspects of the Archetypal Ogre.
Another Indo-European mythological tradition that features ogre-like beings is that of the Norse. In Norse mythology, the snowy world of Jotunheim, a realm of wilderness, is the home of the so-called frost giants.
The frost giants are famously opposed by the hammer-wielding Thor, a conflict that will culminate in the great apocalyptic battle of Ragnarök.
Perhaps the most famous ogre-like figure in relatively recent literature is Frankenstein’s monster. Although the entity is the creation of Dr. Frankenstein, who sows it together from corpses, it is man-like, monstrous, and learns to kill human beings (albeit for revenge rather than to eat them).
There are countless other ogre-like figures in myths and legends around the world. For example, African cultures have ogre stories too.
And I suppose no ogre-themed blog post would be complete without mentioning Shrek.
Now that we have some idea of what an ogre is, what can you do with them?
Ogres as Monsters and Wild-Men
Ogres can make for excellent monsters for your protagonist or D&D party to overcome. They might be a little basic to be true villains, although Frankenstein’s monster proved to be a soulful antagonist (and arguably much more human than his creator).
Personally, I’ve had fun with the idea of ogres as wild-men: large, monstrous human-like beings, a bit like the Woodwose… but with magic.
I’m fascinated by human evolution, and I wanted to play with the idea of a highly archaic human species that managed to survive alongside our own species.
My ogres are about nine feet tall, with broadly human-like features that also have a wild, beast-like aspect. They have magic that enhances their strength, speed, and ability to jump, making them terrifying foes. They can even tap a magical atmospheric effect for enhanced speed and recovery from any wounds they have taken.
On top of that, they can project illusions to disguise themselves as part of the landscape: a boulder, some bushes, a part of a hillside. This makes them fiendishly difficult to spot when they wish to be hidden.
My fantasy setting is very loosely inspired by the Iron Age Middle East, and I used Iranian influences in many of my names, so my protagonist and his people have the ability to hunt ogres using horses, specially-bred ogre-hounds, and iron-tipped weapons as well as speed- and strength-enhancing magic.
I think what fascinates me the most about ogres is what they say about human nature. There’s something in us that seems to be simultaneously fascinated with, and repulsed by, the more beast-like and wild aspects of our own nature.
So, if you’re in search of a time-honored monster for your fantasy story or RPG setting, one you can always tinker with and reinvent to your liking, why not consider the ogre?
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