Benjamin Williams, 3, sizes up an inflatable Godzilla as his father, Chris Williams, of Lawrence, helps him out of his jacket at Kansas University's Spooner Hall. They were attending What

Godzilla has been stomping around destroying cities since the 1950s and his popularity is just one sign that people love monsters.

But why?

“Monsters are universal,” said Bill Tsutsui, the associate dean for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences at Kansas University. “Every culture has them and while we’re afraid of them and scream and hide our heads under the blankets, we also keep coming back around and watching them.”

Tsutsui and Randi Hacker, the outreach coordinator for the Center of East Asian Studies, were hosts of a lecture Sunday called “What Makes A Monster? From Godzilla to Spore.”

The family-oriented program featured a roaring contest and the chance learn about favorite fiends.

“My favorite monster, because it’s funny but at the same time scary, would be Hello Kitty,” said 10-year-old Anastasia Wilds. “It’s small, but it’s really freaky. It doesn’t even have a mouth!”

7-year-old Niels Braaten likes the traditional scary beast Godzilla because of “his big white teeth … and the scary red eyes.” And Niels is not alone.

“People love Godzilla because he’s a simple character,” said Tsutsui. “He represents good things. He fights for what he believes in. He usually wins and we all love that.”

The kids also had the chance to create their own monster hands and feet.

“What makes a good monster hand is putting lots of eyes and lots of claws, because mostly monsters have claws,” said Anastasia.

Niels agrees. “Eyes, nails, skin. Maybe even noses or mouths.”

Tsutsui says the lure with monsters is the scare factor.

“We love to be frightened. We love to get that rush of adrenaline from seeing something scary, but knowing really it’s not for real,” he said. “It’s just fun. It’s liberating. Monsters do that. They really set your imagination free.”

While Tsutsui says monsters in folklore, like Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster, don’t exist, some of the younger monster lovers aren’t so sure.

“They find footprints of Sasquatch. Lots of people think it’s just on TV, but you never know,” said Anastasia. “Anything could happen.”

The lecture was part of the CLAS ACTS series hosted by the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.