Only in Santa Cruz. Can confirm. Here Be Monsters | Shannon Heffernan | The New York Review of Books So I started reading about monster studies, a niche academic field, and became bewitched by Michael Chemers, director of the Center for Monster Studies at UC Santa Cruz. I called him to ask how he defined monsters and why they seemed to be everywhere. He immediately launched into a speech about all the ways “monster theory” can illuminate the problems of our times: zombies and environmental collapse, werewolves and fascism, vampires and gender equality. I felt confident in my ability to sort the crowd into their respective categories—band nerd, monster nerd, cop. So I said to the man waiting for the elevator wearing a hoodie with a colorful demon embossed on the front: You must be here for the monster conference. His eyes widened: You mean real monsters? Having a conference? He looked genuinely concerned. No, I assured him. Academics. People who read monster stories and talk about them. He seemed relieved and told me he was just visiting because he thought Santa Cruz was “dope.” Santa Cruz is a fitting place for a monster conference. Besides historically being a sanctuary for weirdos and misfits, it has served as a backdrop for a bevy of horror classics, including The Lost Boys, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, and Jordan Peele’s Us. The mascot for UC Santa Cruz is a banana slug, which, while not technically a monster, does show the college’s affinity for the slimy and betentacled. 3,200+ words https://www.nybooks.com/online/2026/10/30/here-be-monsters/ http://archive.today/2026.10.30-202040/https://www.nybooks.com/online/2026/10/30/here-be-monsters/ #SantaCruz #California #Monsters #Halloween #LongReads