“There might be 10 paedophiles sitting round in their front room”: The 21 st Century Monster Leanne Franklin and John Cromby Abstract The title of this paper reproduces a quote by a mother of two young children, explaining her apprehension about allowing her children to visit a friend’s house after school. In certain ways, it can be viewed as demonstrative of our modern obsession with paedophiles. Whilst paedophilia should never be treated lightly, there is a balance we are yet to find between protecting children in the short term and damaging their relationships with adults - damage which will have adverse effects for protection in the longer term. Media stories about paedophiles, abductors and abusers, their victims and crimes, are common, and we are warned to be on the lookout and to trust no- one. While over-zealous government polices attempt some form of protection, parents act as the ultimate gate keepers to the world. The ardent protection of some children can be characterised using the notion of ‘helicopter parents’, constantly hovering around their innocent charges, and ‘cotton wool kids’, thoroughly wrapped up, insulated and cosseted. Whilst safe, these children are unable to experience the world and enjoy the freedoms of previous generations to play for hours without adult supervision, to encounter and learn about the world on their own terms. The ultimate threat is the stranger: potential pervert, paedophile, and abductor. This paper examines data from focus groups with parents and with children to examine how concepts of paedophiles and other modern monsters are presented, discussed and constructed. Key Words: Culture of fear, risk, fear, parenting, and childhood. ***** 1. Introduction Some sociologists have identified a culture of fear in contemporary Western society, particularly in the USA and UK (Furedi, 2002; Furedi & Bristow, 2008; Glassner, 1999; Bauman, 2006), characterised by a wide spread sense of anxiety with regards to the future, a mistrust of others, and an increased sense of danger and risk. This culture is both partnered and fuelled by a technology driven 24/7 media, within which it is unsurprising that certain kinds of crime results in high media coverage: for example the disappearance of Maddie McCann 1 and the Soham murders 2 were incidents that readily captured the UK public’s attention. Since children in our culture