by Gabrielle DiPietro and Joseph McCabe

Hard as it might be to believe, some folks out there still think the horror genre is downright irresponsible, that monsters, maniacs, and mayhem serve no purpose in society. Well, we?re here to prove them wrong. In honor of Earth Day (the greenest day there is) we?re listing the top ten green people, places and things in horror?and what they?re doing to make our world a cleaner, safer, happier place!

#10 The Pea Soup in The Exorcist
As one of the most iconic foods in horror history, pea soup has been saving the environment since The Exorcist was released in 1973. When it made a projectile exit from the mouth of poor devil-possessed Linda Blair, pea soup was way ahead of the ?go green? curve. This (ahem) gag was done not for gross-out value, but to teach a lesson. For dear Linda partook in the purest form of recycling?by vomiting up a meal she enjoyed for the rest of the world to share. And green never tasted so good.

#9 Stephen King in Creepshow
Just when you thought George Romero?s anthology homage to old E.C. horror comics couldn?t possibly help anyone, it?s gone ahead and claimed the #9 spot in our list. If you remember correctly (and we know you do), in Creepshow?s ?Lonesome Death of Jordy Verrill? segment, horror legend Stephen King plays a hapless hillbilly who tries to cash in on a newly crashed meteorite, but instead finds the strange space rock covering his entire body with moss (and enough oxygen to feed King?s ego). And since he is at the ripe old age of 61, we may not have to wait too long to see grass growing over Uncle Stevie?s face in real life. Ahhhh?breathe it in folks!

# 8 The Wicked Witch of the West
She was hunted by that militant eco-terrorist Dorothy just because some foul-smelling odors came out of her castle (the surrounding land was, admittedly, dead). Oh yeah, and her pet monkeys were mutants. But let?s face it, this witch ain?t all bad. When she finally died, she didn?t leave a body to bury. No, she did the socially responsible thing: she melted. So her remains could go ?where the goblins go??straight into a chemical recycling plant.

#7 The Leprechaun
The Leprechaun?s a wealthy guy. He can afford to lose a few. So why does he try so darned hard to stop people from getting their hands on his pot of gold? Because, like other wealthy progressive types, he?s afraid they?ll use it to build more nuclear power plants and polluting factories. His life is a plain and powerful metaphor for us all.

#6 Herbert West?s Serum in Re-Animator
Think the good Doctor West is reanimating dead bodies so he?ll be hailed as a genius in the annals of science? Think again, buster! Like the good?er, wicked witch of the west, Herb?s got only one thing in mind: stop filling up our precious earth with non-biodegradable coffins. Let life flow back into dead bodies, so they can stick around and help the living by doing menial labor. Reduce, reuse, recycle?and reanimate.

#5 Swamp Thing and The Creature from the Black Lagoon (tie)
Asking us to decide between our two favorite muck-encrusted swamp monsters is like asking us if we?d rather have an intimate candlelit dinner with Natalie Portman or with Jessica Alba. Sorry, we can?t decide. So we?re listing them both. Both Swampie and the Gill-Man fight to keep their natural habitat safe and clean and free of polluting, spear-gun-shooting humans. We?re pretty sure Nat and Jess would do no less.

#4 The Frankenstein Monster
Frankie's movies may be black-and-white, but he's one-hundred-percent green. And though he doesn?t say much, he?s no dope. What little he does manage to get out of his man-made mouth makes perfectly good sense??Fire bad. Friend good.? When you think about it, compadre, that?s a pretty basic ecological lesson.

#3 Cloverfield
Is it mere coincidence that Cloverfield hits DVD today, on Earth Day?! No, sir. This monster-on-the-loose-in-Manhattan movie?s shaky-cam style is, quite honestly, nauseating; and prompted you, the theatergoer, to recycle your popcorn and Skittles?onto the back of the head of the guy in front of you. That?s why Cloverfield makes our list at number 3. And the fact that green fields of clover are much needed in polluted cities like New York!

#2 The Hulk
The Hulk plays a big part in saving the environment, as the cement-pounding man-monster smacks the bejeesus out of bad guys like the Abomination. For while such supervillains seek to level cities and annihilate humankind, they very often neglect the important practice of recycling. Thanks to the Hulk, come trash day, these tough guys will either separate their papers, plastic and metal or, well?get pulverized by the gamma-enhanced fists of the green goliath!

#1 The Toxic Avenger
He?s a tutu-wearing, hideously disfigured monster. He probably shouldn?t be honored in any sense of the word. But he just happens to be the epitome of environmental nobility. Called Toxie by adoring fans, the Toxic Avenger tops our list for obvious reasons. Picked on and pushed around by thugs when he was just a regular little human, after undergoing a toxic-waste transformation, TA wielded a mop of justice with which he absorbed both criminal and environmental pollution in New Jersey. At one point, Toxie even became a civic leader, and got a group of other mutated supermen together. Calling themselves ?The Toxic Crusaders?, they rid the world of polluters from outer space, showing children everywhere that it?s okay to look repulsive, as long as you practice the lessons of Earth Day.