Gargoyles - Strange and Creepy or Loveable?

I think everybody (wether they admit it or not) has a weird or quirky interest. For me, it gargoyles. My love for these strange and often creepy little creature began when I spent a couple of weeks in Portugal and Spain when I was sixteen. These two countries are FULL of amazing castles and churches, that are adorned with these wonderful little stone beasts. 

As much as I love them, you do have to wonder, why there are stone creatures all over the castles and churches. Well, historically Gargoyles where used as ornamental water drains, but a much more exciting theory is that they where intended to scare away evil spirits. This was the most common explanation that I can across during my time in Europe, and my personal favourite.

There are several other theories, such as the idea the gargoyles are depictions of the evil spirits that the Christian Church had 'triumphed' over, or that they are in fact devils, frozen in stone as the fled the church. 

But Gargoyles aren't limited to just one form. While I travelled around the two countries, I saw a whole variety of different Gargoyles. I saw lions head, alligators, ghost looking creatures, dogs, demons, snakes and heaps more! Not surprisingly, I ended up with quite a collected of Gargoyle photos....

These aren't even half of them. I love looking through all of them, and the way that each picture reminds me of a part of my trip. I hope in time that I will be able to travel some more, and expand my collection of Gargoyle pictures (Notre Dame anyone?). 

What's your quirky interested? Do you have a thing for Gargoyles too, or do they creep you out a bit?