Grue (monster)

Grue (monster)

A grue is a fictional predator that dwells in the dark. The word was first used in modern times as a fictional predator in Jack Vance's Dying Earth universe (described as being part "ocular bat", part "unusual hoon" and part man).

Dave Lebling introduced a similar monster, whose name was borrowed from Vance's grues, into the interactive fiction computer game Zork, published by Infocom. Zork's grues fear light and devour adventurers, making it impossible to explore the game's dark areas without a light source. The grue subsequently appeared in other Infocom games.

Due to Zork's prominent position in hacker history and lore, its grues have served as models for monsters in many subsequent games, such as roguelike games and MUDs.