| rdfs:comment | - In Real Life, gargoyles are statues of grotesque humans and animals designed to ward off evil spirits and channel rainwater from rooftops and spit it out, (hence gargling) away from the building to prevent damage from erosion. Most commonly found on large buildings such as cathedrals. Fiction, however, has decided that they'd make a great species, so they often appear in fantasy settings (Urban or otherwise) as a race of Winged Humanoids that have a penchant for perching on high terrain. Given their origins, They also tend to have an ability to turn to stone, voluntarily or not.
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| abstract | - In Real Life, gargoyles are statues of grotesque humans and animals designed to ward off evil spirits and channel rainwater from rooftops and spit it out, (hence gargling) away from the building to prevent damage from erosion. Most commonly found on large buildings such as cathedrals. Fiction, however, has decided that they'd make a great species, so they often appear in fantasy settings (Urban or otherwise) as a race of Winged Humanoids that have a penchant for perching on high terrain. Given their origins, They also tend to have an ability to turn to stone, voluntarily or not. Another common feature is that any damage done to them while animated can be repaired while statuefied, but destroying the statue kills them permanently. Traditionally, in folklore, they were benevolent, despite their appearance, which was framed as being frightful to scare demons away from churches, but meeting their gaze was dangerous. This is less common in modern fiction. Fun fact: the technical term for a gargoyle that doesn't include a rainspout is a grotesque - this means something different on this wiki, although the two can coexist. Examples of Our Gargoyles Rock include:
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