Eel Drawn wrote:

* The fun of imagining our world holds mysteries and strange realities most people can scarcely imagine;

* The artistry of well-executed make-up, animation, acting, direction, photography, etc.;

* Having a good excuse to stay up late and eat junk food.


For me, real animals were already interesting. The long-lost prehistoric animals of the mysterious ancient past were fascinating.  Creatively "made-up" imaginary animals (alias "monsters") were even more so.