A few days ago Grammarly (the grammar checker people) sent me an email asking if I’d like to take a Halloween quiz to see what literary monster I am.

I’ll admit that I put this off for a couple of days. Another quiz — and a Halloween quiz at that? My expectations were pretty low.

But when I took the quiz, the questions and the variety of their answers left me pleasantly surprised. The “literary” in “literary monster” is definitely highlighted, and I was left with the impression that vampire/werewolf/Frankenstein’s monster aren’t the only possible results.

(Or, if those are the only results, there’s at least some nuance, as you can see in my results.)

Plus, I’d never even heard of the epic poem referred to in my answer – so after the quiz my pleasant surprise quickly turned into bookish delight.

With that said, I got the werewolf. Here’s what the results have to say and the accompanying image:

“Though the werewolf is a mythological creature who has appeared in tales for hundreds, if not thousands of years, you are most closely matched with the thirteenth century version from the epic poem “Guillaume de Palerne.” Here, the werewolf is a terrifying prince-turned-monster created by the sorcery of his own stepmother. But the werewolf’s loyalties remain with his family—he protects his cousin and his cousin’s beloved as they hide from persecution in a forest. Ultimately, the wolf-man takes revenge on his stepmother and breaks the curse.”

Pretty cool stuff!