Such gargoyles also entered science fiction, such as in the Doctor Who episode The Daemons (1971). In the novelette Conjure Wife (1943) by Fritz Lieber, a dragon sculpture is animated by a witch and sent to kill an archaeology professor.

The notion of gargoyles as supernatural constructs brought to life by evil was introduced in Maker of Gargoyles (1932), a short pulp fiction story by Clark Ashton Smith where Reynard, a medieval stonemason, unconsciously infuses his hate and lust into two gargoyles that attack the town of Vyones and later kill him when he attempts to destroy them. They can also be depicted as vessels for demonic possession or as a living species resembling statues. Like golems, they are usually made of magically animated or transformed stone, but have animal or chimera traits and are often guardians of a place such as a cathedral or castle. While they were believed in mythology to frighten away evil spirits, the idea of such statues physically coming to life is a more recent notion.

The gargoyle is a fantasy and horror monster inspired by the gargoyle architectural element. A gargoyle monster as depicted in the tabletop RPG Dungeons & Dragons.

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