The Nature of Monsters
Monsters come in all shapes and sizes. Sometimes it's the very people who are supposed to be protecting us. A cop, a parent... the splatter guy. ~Dexter Morgan
It's hard to say what defines someone as a monster. The dividing line, if I were pushed to draw one, is that some of us really aren't monstrous... and some of us have decided to stop lying to ourselves. Most darksiders are among the last kind I mentioned, having come to terms with their true nature, embracing it so that they can live up to their full potential and thrive. A few even learn to wear their true face in front of everyone out in the open, brazen, unafraid, uncaring, regardless of the consequences. Some of them are strong enough in the right ways to do so, their strength - when pitted against the preferences and desires of others - allowing them to impose it, in all of its grotesque glory, on just about anyone they please with little thought to their own safety; and others are more inclined to be selective in their transparency, and freely embrace their more secretive nature.
The Latin word "monstrum", one that 'monster' is derived from, is a term that in many respects describes us well. To use the words of Suetonius, a Roman historian, it could fairly be said that we are "...contrary to nature - or exceed the nature - we are familiar with, like a snake with feet or a bird with four wings." Seneca, a philosopher of Rome, described it as "a visual and horrific revelation of the truth." Beyond this, the meaning of it speaks well to the misconceptions of self-deceivers and the ones that aren't monsters. To people such as this, we might seem abnormal, strange, morally reprehensible, a malfunction of nature. And in their eyes, it's understandable. Hence the need for either strength or subterfuge. It would be neglectful not to point out that both are desirable, but sometimes - and some people - don't always get what they want... or, for that matter, what they need to survive. Let alone thrive.
Light, dark, shades of grey, and all the colors of the rainbow, and which of these a person chooses to align himself with couldn't tell you definitively whether or not someone is a monster. That's true. It would be a waste of time to attempt cataloging and categorizing all the different kinds there are, and it would take more time and effort than it's worth to try telling you how to spot them. They come in all shapes and sizes. Because of that, you may never know whether it's true when I tell you: I'm a monster, and you probably are too. The first doesn't really matter of course, and in any case is a question you probably couldn't answer if you tried. But the second gem I offer is an assertion you can put to the test. If you've got the stomach for it, that is.