10 Intriguing Facts About Gargoyles

Gargoyles often evoke visions of monstrous, dark beings perched high above the towns and cities across the globe. The most fearsome ones seem ready to detach from their stone perches and take to the skies. But these ornamental creatures have many unexpected aspects. Continue reading to uncover the origin of their name, their practical role, and how gargoyles differ from grotesques.

1. Gargoyles serve a practical purpose.

When gargoyles first appeared on churches across Europe in the 13th century, they functioned as water spouts, designed to protect stone walls by directing rainwater away from rooftops. This specific purpose is what separates gargoyles from purely ornamental stone figures like grotesques and bosses, though today, the term often refers to all types of creature sculptures.

2. The name is rooted in a dragon-slaying legend.

The term gargoyle comes from the French word gargouille, meaning “throat.” While this may seem linked to the sculptures’ water-collecting mouths, the origin of the name actually stems from the French tale of La Gargouille, a terrifying dragon that ravaged the people of Rouen. According to the legend, the dragon swallowed ships and flooded the town until the 7th century CE, when Saint Romain, the bishop of Rouen, defeated the beast. Saint Romain subdued the dragon by making the sign of the cross, leading it into the town where it was burned alive. The dragon's head, however, would not burn, so the villagers severed it and attached it to their church. The dragon’s head became a symbol to ward off evil and serve as a warning to other dragons.

3. Gargoyles were designed to instill fear in churchgoers.

Positioning gargoyles on the exterior of a church reinforced the belief that evil lurked outside, while salvation could be found inside. “What better way to ensure church attendance and obedience than by offering a daily reminder of the horrors to come,” writes Gary Varner in his book, Gargoyles, Grotesques and Green Men: Ancient Symbolism in European and American Architecture.

4. Church officials believed gargoyles might also appeal to pagans.

Churches also fashioned gargoyles after the creatures worshipped by pagan tribes, believing this would make their sacred spaces more attractive to them. It was a clever marketing tactic that appeared to work, according to scholar Darlene Trew Crist. “Churches grew in number and influence as the pagan belief system and many of its symbols were incorporated into Christianity,” she writes in American Gargoyles: Spirits in Stone.

5. The idea of gargoyles dates back to ancient times—or even earlier.

While the term gargoyle is only a few centuries old, the practice of creating decorative, animal-shaped water spouts stretches back thousands of years. In ancient Egypt, Greece, and Rome, spouts were designed in the forms of lions. At the Neolithic site of Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Türkiye, archaeologists uncovered several upright monoliths adorned with animal carvings, which may have once held up a roof; one monolith featured a crocodile-like figure that may have been used to divert rainwater from the structure.

6. The iconic gargoyles of Notre-Dame are relatively recent additions.

The world’s most iconic gargoyles, which have shaped the popular image of these winged, horned creatures, can be found adorning Paris’s Notre-Dame Cathedral. Although the cathedral itself was built in the 12th and 13th centuries, the gargoyles were added as part of a major restoration in the mid-1800s, spearheaded by architect Eugène Viollet-le-Duc and sculptor Victor Pyanet. Scholars argue that these 19th-century gargoyles differ greatly from their medieval predecessors, designed more to represent the era rather than replicate it.

The catastrophic fire at Notre-Dame in 2019 destroyed many of Viollet-le-Duc’s famous gargoyles, but craftsmen have been diligently working to recreate the beloved figures from historical photographs. The restored gargoyles are a crucial part of the cathedral’s ongoing restoration and its water drainage system.

7. Pittsburgh boasts an unexpected number of gargoyles.

In the 19th century, Pittsburgh embraced the Gothic architectural revival that swept across the United States. Many of the city’s Gothic churches, government buildings, and other structures still stand, complete with their signature gargoyles. Over 20 authentic gargoyles can be found around the city, along with hundreds of grotesques. These intriguing features are showcased in the city’s “Downtown Dragons” tour, created by the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation.

8. Some gargoyles are modeled after real people, not just mythical creatures.

Cologne Cathedral in Germany features a gargoyle modeled after the church’s longest-serving council member, while Lyon Cathedral in France has a gargoyle based on the building’s renovation manager, Ahmed Benzizine. Because, after all, what better way to say merci than with a monstrous stone figure carved in your image.

9. A French cathedral swapped out its gargoyles for gremlins.

During the restoration of the Chapel of Bethlehem in Saint-Jean-de-Boiseau in the early ’90s, sculptor Jean-Louis Boistel chose to replace the chapel’s deteriorating gargoyles with some pop-culture figures. This included Gizmo and a gremlin from the movie Gremlins (1984), an Alien xenomorph, and a robot from the famous anime UFO Robot Grendizer. While many locals were put off by Boistel’s designs, which are technically grotesques, the “geek chapel” concept gained enough support from young movie fans to win approval.

10. A Darth Vader gargoyle can be found in Washington, D.C.

In the 1980s, the Washington National Cathedral hosted a contest for children to design a new gargoyle. Following the success of the Star Wars trilogy, one imaginative entry suggested a Darth Vader gargoyle. The cathedral, which had already added some eccentric gargoyles and grotesques during a major restoration, selected 13-year-old Christopher Rader’s design as one of the winners. In 1986, they placed Lord Vader on the cathedral’s “dark side” north wall. Though a bit hard to find, the cathedral provides a helpful guide to spot it.