Gargoyles from the Notre Dame de Paris
Gargoyles are carved, grotesque statues that were originally designed in order to siphon water off the rooftops of buildings. They are heavily used in architecture as a way to decorate gutters and aqueducts. They are featured mostly on medieval cathedrals and town halls. They are considered to ward away evil spirits.
Popular Culture
Television
- A gargoyle was featured in the What's New, Scooby-Doo? episode Ready to Scare.
- Gargoyles were one of three races depicted in the cartoon series Gargoyles as creatures that slept as stone during the day and come to life at night. In the series, the gargoyles possessed great strength, wings that enabled them to glide on wind currents, eyes that glowed when either enraged or excited, and could enter a regenerative stone sleep at dawn and reawaken at dusk. Any minor injuries sustained from prior to stone sleep is healed at the setting of the sun. In addition, gargoyle beasts were seen, a type of gargoyle dog with similar abilities as the gargoyles, but lacking wings.
- A gargoyle creature was shown in a season 3 episode of Sleepy Hollow.
- Gargoyles (American Dragon: Jake Long)
- Scorpan (My Little Pony Friendship is Magic)
- Muck, Gunk and Grime (Sofia the First)
Film
- Gargoyles appear as supernatural guardians against demons in the film I, Frankenstein. They are able to shift between a human and gargoyle form, and when killed their souls rise up to heaven in a beam of white light.
- Three gargoyles are Quasimodo's best friends in the film The Hunchback of Notredame. They appear as statues with no legs, and are able to fly.
Video Games
- Gargoyles are enemies and presumably real monsters in Scooby-Doo! First Frights.