"Top Monsters Museum" 15x15 🌓 — my first full-size cryptic!

"Top Monsters Museum"

obscuration level: 🌓 (tricksy, but not too triscky)

It's this blog's birthday! One year ago, I began vomiting out cryptic minis into the void, and my affliction has yet to stop. To celebrate, I'm offering you one from the vaults crypts: my first full-sized grid!

I wrote this for a publication about 1.5 years ago, but it was rejected. I assumed it was weak sauce and never really looked at it again... until a few weeks ago. Turns out, it's not bad! I only had to scrap one clue, and iron out some others. That said, there's still some wordplay looseness that's below my standards today, but I kept them in because... why not? it's my (blog's) birthday 😋