SOURCES:
THE WAR OF THE WORLDS by H. G. Wells
 

DESCRIPTION: “A big greyish rounded bulk, the size, perhaps, of a bear, was rising slowly and painfully out of the cylinder.. it glistened like wet leather. Two large dark-colored eyes were regarding me steadfastly. The mass that framed them, the head of the thing, was rounded, and had, one might say, a face. There was a mouth under the eyes, the lipless brim of which quivered and panted, and dropped saliva. The whole creature heaved and pulsated convulsively. A lank tentacular appendage gripped the edge of the cylinder, another swayed in the air...” (The War of the Worlds by H. G. Wells)

NOTES: The Martians of Wells' novel are octopoid because they have grown their brains at the expense of their bodies. They are creatures of intellect, not even possessing stomachs. They inject their sustinance (human blood) directly into their veins.

HISTORY: Such an important monster, inspiring a thousand alien invasions after it. Wells two stories using Martians, though the novel is by far the most famous. In "The Crystal Egg" humans see scenes on the planet Mars and watch the Martains, not squidgies, but flying creatures.

The new Tom Cruise/Steven Spielberg version of The War of the Worlds does a great job of blending the Martians from the old film and the book. It features the tripods but it also has the three-fingered baddies from George Pal's film.

From the Musical album version

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