Gary Larson’s The Far Side is filled with strange animals, unsettling creatures and monsters that seem to lurk in every shadow. The cartoonist’s lifelong fear of the dark and of monsters—heightened by pranks from his older brother—became a foundation for jokes that turn anxiety into absurdity.
Across these comics, monsters are not always terrifying. Some have professional routines, others are afraid themselves, and a few behave more like familiar neighbors than supernatural threats. Ranked below are ten of the funniest monster-focused ideas highlighted in The Far Side.
10. Monsters Defend Their Territory
Two monsters hide behind the same door while a woman passes by. One tells the other to move along, explaining that he has worked the neighborhood for years. The joke imagines monsters as territorial professionals, with assigned areas and possible disputes over the best places to scare people.
9. Not All Monsters Are Scary
A couple discovers a monster in the kitchen helping himself to cake. Although his appearance is frightening, the husband reassures his wife that the creature is simply Kevin. Wearing a lab coat and carefully holding his glass of milk, Kevin looks more like a polite guest than a threat, turning a frightening encounter into an awkwardly familiar moment.
8. Something Goes Bump in the Night
One monster begins his nightly task of frightening people but accidentally hits his head on a door. The resulting lump gives a literal interpretation to the phrase “things that go bump in the night.” Larson’s gag makes the monster’s work look both hazardous and surprisingly similar to an ordinary person stumbling around in the dark.
7. Don’t Look Above the Bed
Two monsters hide under a child’s bed, only to become frightened by the possibility that something is sitting on top of it. The cartoon reverses one of the most familiar childhood fears and suggests that monsters may be just as vulnerable to imagination and uncertainty as the children they frighten.
6. Monsters Are Everywhere
In one unexpected scenario, a tentacled monster appears while someone is taking a bath and uses a scrubber to wash the person’s back. The bather’s expression of shock supplies much of the humor, while the unexplained situation leaves open whether the creature is dangerous, helpful or simply an extremely unusual housemate.
5. Parents Can Be the Worst Monsters
A 1987 cartoon draws on Larson’s childhood fear of basements. A father activates a mechanism that slams against the basement door, then tells his frightened son that the basement monster heard him crying and will only leave if he stays quiet. The father’s tactic is especially cruel because the child has spilled his ice cream, offering a mundane reason for his distress and a darkly comic example of adults creating monsters to control children.
4. Imagination Is Scarier Than Any Monster
After waking up to get cookies, a child named Todd sees crocodiles waiting at the bottom of the stairs. The caption presents the scene as a nightly conflict between Todd’s stomach and his imagination. The possibility that Todd faces this decision every night makes the familiar fear of moving through a dark house even more amusing.
3. Monsters Are Clever
A monster hides behind a door after frightening a child, wearing a bag over its head. When the child tells his mother what happened, she dismisses the story because he cannot describe the creature. The monster’s disguise therefore works perfectly, giving the classic “adults do not believe children about monsters” scenario a calculated twist.
2. The Monster in Ricky’s Closet
Ricky’s closet contains monster magazines and a bag of potato chips, suggesting that a creature has made itself comfortable there. The caption says the monster is not in the closet “for the time being,” implying that its return is certain. Ricky’s lack of visible panic raises another possibility: perhaps the monster is not an enemy at all, but a strangely accepted presence in his life.
1. The Monster Snorkel
One cartoon imagines an invention that allows children to breathe beneath their blankets without exposing themselves to monsters. The monster snorkel turns a familiar childhood strategy—hiding completely under the covers—into a practical piece of equipment.
The idea connects directly to Larson’s own fear of monsters. After becoming frightened by a story told by his brother, the young Larson reportedly tried to remain completely covered by his blanket, nearly suffocating himself. The cartoon transforms that childhood experience into an absurd solution, making the monster snorkel one of The Far Side’s most recognizable and relatable inventions.
Sources: Comic Book Resources.