Giving Day at UCSC ended and we raised just over $4,000. Thanks donors! You can still give to support the 2026 Festival of Monsters! Learn more.
We take monsters seriously
“It is true, we shall be monsters, cut off from all the world; but on that account we shall be more attached to one another.”
— Mary Shelley, Frankenstein,
or, the Modern Prometheus
Monsters play a role in the representation of some of the most challenging problems facing our world: matters of race and religion, social justice, and environmental threats. The Center for Monster Studies at UC Santa Cruz aims to explore the role of monsters in culture and humanities.
2025 Festival of Monsters in Photos
The 2025 Festival of Monsters has come to a close, but the we managed to capture some of our monsters on (digital) film! Check out our 2025 Festival Gallery. Also, keep checking back, videos of the 2025 Festival of Monsters panels and keynotes will go up on our YouTube channel sometime in November/December.