Electricity and the Hunter

Amongst the greatest achievements man has ever done is controlling directed electrons. It has provided us a limitless source of light to keep the night at bay through the use of light bulbs. However beyond powering flashlights, radios, and night vision devices electricity can be used as a weapon in the fight against monsters.

Undead:

While Vampires (Genus Nosferatu) are little more than corpses animated with a dark energy and lust for blood, they still retain a biology very similar to that of a human being. This holds true for zombies, ghouls, and many other “undead” creatures.

As a result these perversions of natural law still have nervous systems capable of transmitting electric signals through the body.

The way a normal human body works is that the our living essence, beating heart, and functioning brain run off of very small amounts of electricity generated by all the cells within our body. To twitch your finger the brain fires off a series of electrical charges to the exact nerve cells which in turn release another electrical neurotransmitter that moves the muscle and sends feedback to the brain.

Depending on the variety of the undead these same nerve cells are either still functioning through the transmission of small amounts of electricity; this is most true for those undead which still mostly resemble humanity, or dark magic is forcing these same actions without the chemical and electric stimuli.

What matters to the hunter however is that the nerve cells that send and receive the neurotransmitters still function. Using the same devices that work on humans, stun guns & tasers, a hunter is capable of triggering the remaining nerves within a corpse and prevents the natural electricity/magic from functioning.

This is a great equalizer, it doesn’t matter if the creature is ten times stronger and twice the speed of a hunter, if a monster can’t even control a finger then they lose many of their unnatural advantages. With this in mind tazers and stun guns make up an essential part of a monster hunter’s arsenal. While these tools won’t usually destroy a beast it will provide the hunter with time and opportunity.

In some cases electricity can be a weapon itself. While not undead, Leechmen (********), have a flammable venom that runs through their body. The spark caused by a stun will set this fluid alight and consume it; against electricity the Leechman’s crystallized skin is no defense.

Non-Corporeal Creatures:

There are many ethereal and non-corporeal creatures in existence within the Order Necromunidae, they are almost exclusively within the family (*********). These creatures do not have a normal substance and can be made out of ectoplasm, aether, or many other magical elements.

One thing that most of these being have in common is that their presence disturbs the fabric of reality and generates an electromagnetic field. Electricity can disrupt the makeup of these creatures and unravel the very fabric which allows them to form. In this regards stun guns can be an extremely potent weapon against attacks from ethereal attackers.

Editor’s Note: Unfortunately efforts to create electrified armor have been suspended after the tragic and spectacular accident that consumed our last volunteer. However the State of Texas Penal system has shown great interest in these vests.

The Living:

It goes without saying that thanks to the quirks of biology what is effective against humans is also effective against many species of monsters. While not all creatures share the common biology of humans, enough do that stun guns and tazers should be part of every monster hunter’s kit. The use of electricity on different species will be explored in later posts and used to update outdated taxonomy reports in the hunter’s guide.

Good luck and safe hunting.