"The Pale Man probably refers to the Lamia in ancient Greek mythology" - I've found a page that states that the Pale Man can refer to a Japanese legend.
http://www.scaryforkids.com/pale-man/
The article says that the Pale Man was inspired by a bout of weight loss on del Toro's part. However, the Time Magazine interview it cites contains no reference to any weight loss inspiration, nor can I find a reference to this weight loss elsewhere. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.136.246.43 (talk) 23:56, 12 May 2015 (UTC)
- The Pale Man “came out of a really dark, primal place,” del Toro said. “I had lost weight, and I saw my belly sagging.” --CyberGhostface (talk) 04:35, 4 February 2016 (UTC)
- The article for Tenome refers to Pan's Labyrinth. I would like to add it here but am afraid it might just get removed unless we source it. I'll list it in the see also. 184.145.18.50 (talk) 05:30, 3 February 2016 (UTC)
- The above is a reference to the physical characteristics of the Pale Man, while the comment below refers to the thematic significance of the Pale Man.
Del Toro has stated that the Pale Man is a reference to the Catholic Church. Despite the abundant feast laid out before him, the Pale Man chooses to devour children (and fairies), a metaphor for the sexual abuse scandals and coverups in Catholicism. Del Toro has also recounted that the words of the priest to the tortured prisoner were spoken verbatim by a priest during the Spanish Civil War. [1] [2]
References
Guillermo Del Toro, Pan's Labyrinth: Inside the Creation of a Modern Fairy Tale (Harper Design, 2016).
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