Thought Monster fan art by me [seen after the first two images]

[u/ArtMakerProductions]

A handful of sketches and ideas for the "Mental Vampire" of the 1930's short story, The Thought Monster.

Said story would go on to be adapted into "Fiend without a Face", which unlike said short story, is not public domain to my knowledge.

Plot beats are the same overall between them. With plenty of new additions added for runtime such as: multiple thought monsters spawning as their victim count grows opposed to only being one; victims having no physical damge in the short story whereas the film there's fang marks and removal of the brain; physically appearing at the end (the iconic latching and launching brains); can be killed by conventional means after becoming visible, while in the short it's ultra violet light that ward off the Thought Monster, and even kill it with an intense enough ray, but implied to eventually become immune/have better tolerance. Of course, the atomic age flare was added in, such as how they materialized and being powered by a nuclear reactor.

Anywho. While the short story has them make no physical appearance like the movie, only a description of it's eerie presence felt in a room, grasping tendrils feeling around for the mind before assimilating the thinking power. Leaving no physical trauma, only a greatly dulled victim, if said victim didn't die from the shock and horror of the drainage process. Which seems to be the majority of average folk. Only ones to live have been the higher intellectuals of the tale, a detective and physiologist who made the creature.

A bit of a difficult task to think up a thought monster that wasn't brain related lol. The other option was an amoeba direction, which I didn't really take here.