Another aspect of living and travelling in France that I particularly enjoy is the prospect of discovering gargoyles perched overhead in a multitude of places, which demonstrate a wide variety of styles and hideously beautiful forms. Is that a contradiction in terms ? There is sometimes a fine line between beauty and the beast. Quite a long time ago, after seeing some of my photos, my brother gave me a copy of a pertinent book titled "Nightmares In The Sky" with text by Stephen King and photographs by f-stop Fitzgerald. It remains a treasured piece in my "Phillips Collection". Centuries ago when literacy rates were in the single digits, images served powerful purposes. It is no coincidence that gargoyles are most prevalent on ancient churches. . . they served to terrify the common people into adhering to religious teachings, or there would be hell to pay, with beasts like these likely to be preying upon a sinner's flesh. Today we have other kinds of nightmares to terrify us common folk. . . like fears of financial meltdown . . . 
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This terrible lizard tensed to strike out with his giant jaws to gobble up the horrified rabbit who seems ready to leap away but is paralyzed with fear is one of the finest examples of the gargoyle artform I've found to date. So as you wander medieval cities and towns, keep your eyes peeled, and watch your back ! ! !
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