I feel it deep within
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster!
It's just beneath the skin
I must confess that I feel like a monster!
— Skillet, "Monster"
I don't know what stressed me first, or how the pressure was fed
But I know just what it feels like to have a voice in the back of my head
It's like a face that I hold inside
Face that awakes when I close my eyes
Face that watches every time I lie
Face that laughs every time I fall
But I know just what it feels like to have a voice in the back of my head
It's like a face that I hold inside
Face that awakes when I close my eyes
Face that watches every time I lie
Face that laughs every time I fall
— Linkin Park, "Papercut"
So what if you can see the darkest side of me?
No one will ever change this animal I have become!
No one will ever change this animal I have become!
— Three Days Grace, "Animal I Have Become"
Over and over again, I relive the moment
I'm bearing the burden within, open wounds hidden under my skin
Pain as real as a cut that bleeds
The face I see every time I try to speak is staring at me, crying
I'm bearing the burden within, open wounds hidden under my skin
Pain as real as a cut that bleeds
The face I see every time I try to speak is staring at me, crying
— Dream Theater, "The Enemy Inside"
It waits for the day I will let it out
To give it a reason, to give it its might
I fear who I am becoming
I feel that I'm losing the struggle within
I can no longer restrain it
My strength, it is fading
I have to give in
To give it a reason, to give it its might
I fear who I am becoming
I feel that I'm losing the struggle within
I can no longer restrain it
My strength, it is fading
I have to give in
— Within Temptation, "It's the Fear"
"...you're the voice in there, aren't you? Just beneath the surface, buried under all that goodness. Fully conscious, fully aware, but trapped. Unable to move or speak, powerless to act on your desires. So thirsty, so helpless. It must be agony."
— Jasmine to Angelus, Angel
"Stay away!! There's no telling what I'm going to do next!"
— Inuyasha to Kagome, after transforming into a full demon for the first time, Inuyasha
I'm only a man with a candle to guide me
I'm taking a stand to escape what's inside me
A monster, a monster
I've turned into a monster
A monster, a monster
And it keeps getting stronger
I'm taking a stand to escape what's inside me
A monster, a monster
I've turned into a monster
A monster, a monster
And it keeps getting stronger
— Imagine Dragons, "Monster"
I want to resist — but I can't hold it back
The beast is unleashed — it's got to attack
Again and again the force is too strong
It's breaching the chains
The beast is unleashed — it's got to attack
Again and again the force is too strong
It's breaching the chains
— Accept, "The Beast Inside"
Looking inside of me
I think I can see
Something that makes me feel so cold
Something that may be real
You don’t know how it makes me feel
Wondering when it will emerge
From the darkness...
I think I can see
Something that makes me feel so cold
Something that may be real
You don’t know how it makes me feel
Wondering when it will emerge
From the darkness...
— Sam, "The Beast Inside Of Me"
Wooh oh oooh, this is World War Me
Wooh oh oooh, I will never find peace
I look into the mirror and I hate what I've become
'Cause I'm the only casualty from damage that I've done
I'm the only enemy, in World War Me
Wooh oh oooh, I will never find peace
I look into the mirror and I hate what I've become
'Cause I'm the only casualty from damage that I've done
I'm the only enemy, in World War Me
— Theory of a Deadman, "World War Me"
Weaver: I feel... afraid, because I'm starting to think that maybe my power isn't entirely under my control. There's a monster taking up real estate in my brain, deciding to use my power when I don't want to, and I'm pretty sure it's been getting more effective over time.
Dr. Yamada: Is this monster metaphorical?
Weaver: That's a very good question. Is it just me? Or is it my 'passenger', some inscrutable life form from a parallel universe that decided to give me powers, currently helping me manage those powers so my brain doesn't overheat? Or is there even a distinction? Did my trigger event fuse us to the point that the line is blurred beyond recognition?
Yamada: I can see where the idea would be frightening. I've heard of some of these things, though the particulars and names differed. We don't know enough about them, about powers, even, and the unknown is daunting, especially when it affects you as deeply as your power seems to affect you. This lack of control, it—
Weaver: If I tell you I'm dangerous, that I'm going to hurt someone, intentionally or by accident, are you obligated to report it?
Yamada: Yes, if the risk is grave. Forgive me for asking, but are you going to hurt someone? Accidentally or otherwise?
Weaver: No. But it makes me wonder if something like that is a possibility.
Dr. Yamada: Is this monster metaphorical?
Weaver: That's a very good question. Is it just me? Or is it my 'passenger', some inscrutable life form from a parallel universe that decided to give me powers, currently helping me manage those powers so my brain doesn't overheat? Or is there even a distinction? Did my trigger event fuse us to the point that the line is blurred beyond recognition?
Yamada: I can see where the idea would be frightening. I've heard of some of these things, though the particulars and names differed. We don't know enough about them, about powers, even, and the unknown is daunting, especially when it affects you as deeply as your power seems to affect you. This lack of control, it—
Weaver: If I tell you I'm dangerous, that I'm going to hurt someone, intentionally or by accident, are you obligated to report it?
Yamada: Yes, if the risk is grave. Forgive me for asking, but are you going to hurt someone? Accidentally or otherwise?
Weaver: No. But it makes me wonder if something like that is a possibility.
— Worm
"I won't trouble you again... until I need to. There's an exit to your left which will no doubt take you back to the surface of this commerce planet. I leave you to your shipmates, John. But rest assured, I'll be with you always. Keeping you safe."
— Harvey, Farscape
Prince: Your words are empty, have always been empty. You are just a desperate, selfish spirit!
Dark Prince: If I am selfish, Prince, it is because you are. If I am ruthless and reckless and lacking in morals, it is because you are! I did not spin myself out of the ether! I was not conjured by some mad Vizier! I. Am. You!
Dark Prince: If I am selfish, Prince, it is because you are. If I am ruthless and reckless and lacking in morals, it is because you are! I did not spin myself out of the ether! I was not conjured by some mad Vizier! I. Am. You!
"Think I can taste your fear
Now that my time is near
I'm in your blood, I'm so alive
I only wish you'd let me drive
It won't be long till I make you kill
Who'll be laughing then?"
Now that my time is near
I'm in your blood, I'm so alive
I only wish you'd let me drive
It won't be long till I make you kill
Who'll be laughing then?"
— The Joker, Batman: Arkham Knight
"I am the evil part of your brain. You can't beat me. Because you are the one who forced me into being..."
— Ness's Nightmare, EarthBound (1994)
Starfire: Listen. When Luthor flew off — I was pretty out of it, but I thought you went after him.
Supergirl: I did. In a way. But it wasn't me. And it's not a good thing.
Starfire: What? Like an evil twin?
Supergirl: I... don't know. More like it was part of me.
Starfire: I have a sister. They call her Blackfire. I feel like I'm responsible for every bad thing she does.
Supergirl: Yeah, well, in this case... I think I am.
Starfire: Do you know where this... "she" is?
Supergirl: I do. She's been in my head... Maybe... All my life.
Starfire: And now? How do you feel having her out?
Supergirl: The truth...? Relieved.
Supergirl: I did. In a way. But it wasn't me. And it's not a good thing.
Starfire: What? Like an evil twin?
Supergirl: I... don't know. More like it was part of me.
Starfire: I have a sister. They call her Blackfire. I feel like I'm responsible for every bad thing she does.
Supergirl: Yeah, well, in this case... I think I am.
Starfire: Do you know where this... "she" is?
Supergirl: I do. She's been in my head... Maybe... All my life.
Starfire: And now? How do you feel having her out?
Supergirl: The truth...? Relieved.
— Supergirl (2005), "Girl Power"
Brian Newman: When I was a kid, I had this imaginary friend called Big Winner. He was like my shadow come to life. He was the one who fixed things for me... whether I wanted them fixed or not. He seemed very real to me... for a long time. And the older I got, the worse he became.
Dr. Mahorta: The anomaly in your brain is connected to an overdeveloped amygdala, a more primitive part of the mind. The part of you that can distort reality — this Big Winner — is undoubtedly very Id-like. Impulsive. Childish. A sort of negative image of yourself. You seem like a decent, thoughtful guy... which means your Big Winner isn't, unfortunately. But he's not going to win this time, Brian. You are.
Brian: I hope you're right... for both our sakes.
Dr. Mahorta: The anomaly in your brain is connected to an overdeveloped amygdala, a more primitive part of the mind. The part of you that can distort reality — this Big Winner — is undoubtedly very Id-like. Impulsive. Childish. A sort of negative image of yourself. You seem like a decent, thoughtful guy... which means your Big Winner isn't, unfortunately. But he's not going to win this time, Brian. You are.
Brian: I hope you're right... for both our sakes.
— Tales from the Darkside: Black Box
Kilgrave: Extortion, forgery, and now murder. Is there no crime Jessica Jones won't commit to get what she wants?
Jessica: Main Street. Birch Street. Higgins Drive—
Kilgrave: Cobalt Lane. I know all the quaint side-streets of your mind, Jessica. Every dark little alley.
Jessica: ...I just need sleep...
Kilgrave: I'll be in your dreams, too. I'm inside you forever...
Jessica: Main Street. Birch Street. Higgins Drive—
Kilgrave: Cobalt Lane. I know all the quaint side-streets of your mind, Jessica. Every dark little alley.
Jessica: ...I just need sleep...
Kilgrave: I'll be in your dreams, too. I'm inside you forever...
"No matter how much you run, you'll never escape yourself."
I have always known you
You have always been there in my mind
But now I understand you
And I will not be part of your designs
You have always been there in my mind
But now I understand you
And I will not be part of your designs
— The Oh Hellos, "Dear Wormwood"
"I am what you don't like about yourself, the dark thoughts that drive you back here, but you already know that...
We now find ourselves battling for control inside of you yet again."
We now find ourselves battling for control inside of you yet again."
— Gamma, Retaken Sanity
The most fearsome monsters are to be found in the darkness of our own minds.
— Juna, RuneScape.
You can't win, Hulk. You're just a frightened child. You're a fractured part of Bruce's psyche, a little boy crying out to be loved. You're afraid of me, and you should be, because I'm going to erase you from his mind.
—Devil Hulk, The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction
Warhammer 40,000
"What foes are we to meet in battle that we have not vanquished in the shadows of the human soul? What Daemons scream that have not cried to us from the dark places of the mind? What fear have we of death who know there is immortality in the great and noble deeds of men?"
— The First Book of Indoctrinations
"There is no foe more rank or malefic than the traitor. We rightly abhor the traitor that leads the enemy to our gate. We revile him for the annihilation of worlds and the murder of innocents. We each loathe him for the harm that he does to us. The scars that we bear remind us to keep our hatred bitter.
What hatred have we for the traitor within? No, I mean not the traitor that hides amongst us. For it is our very flesh that is the greatest of traitors, the betrayer who corrupts and weakens us more than any other foe. It is the enemy within that we harbor unknowingly. His name is mutant, witch and deviant. He is the foe that will destroy us as no other can. He leads us before a hellish throne to dance enfeebled and imbecilic for the lewd pleasures of dark gods.
Burn the mutant and the heretic that shelters him! Burn the witch and those that worship him! Burn the deviant and those tainted by him! Let their deaths purify us so that in dying their bodies serve mankind as in life they never could.
All men, women, and children throughout the Imperium carry within them the twin seeds of our defeat. The unstable gene is a mutant beast waiting to erupt; the unstable thought a Heretic Apparent. The Mutant bears his Heresy on the outside; the Traitor hides his in his soul. Trust no one! Fear all! Any one of your fellows may carry the Mark. The Will of the Emperor alone cannot protect you. You must be strong! You must join the crusade and take your place in the unceasing struggle!
Against whom will the battle at the end of time be fought?
Know only that it will not be against enemies from without."
What hatred have we for the traitor within? No, I mean not the traitor that hides amongst us. For it is our very flesh that is the greatest of traitors, the betrayer who corrupts and weakens us more than any other foe. It is the enemy within that we harbor unknowingly. His name is mutant, witch and deviant. He is the foe that will destroy us as no other can. He leads us before a hellish throne to dance enfeebled and imbecilic for the lewd pleasures of dark gods.
Burn the mutant and the heretic that shelters him! Burn the witch and those that worship him! Burn the deviant and those tainted by him! Let their deaths purify us so that in dying their bodies serve mankind as in life they never could.
All men, women, and children throughout the Imperium carry within them the twin seeds of our defeat. The unstable gene is a mutant beast waiting to erupt; the unstable thought a Heretic Apparent. The Mutant bears his Heresy on the outside; the Traitor hides his in his soul. Trust no one! Fear all! Any one of your fellows may carry the Mark. The Will of the Emperor alone cannot protect you. You must be strong! You must join the crusade and take your place in the unceasing struggle!
Against whom will the battle at the end of time be fought?
Know only that it will not be against enemies from without."
— The Catechisms Martial
"Only in the deepest self is the truth of what you can be, and without a doubt, the truth is terrible to bear."
— The Book of the Astronomican
"Every day I hold this monster inside me at bay — Do you understand what he would do if I let him loose? He would incinerate the flesh of every man, woman and child on this Earth and laugh about it!"
