In contemporary fiction, gargoyles are typically depicted as a (generally) winged humanoid race with demonic features (generally horns, a tail, talons, and may or may not have a beak). Gargoyles can generally use their wingswings(if they have any) to fly or glide and are often depicted as having a rocky hide, or being capable of turning into stone in one way or another, a reference to their structural roots. If they don't have wings, (like the one in the photo to the left), they will scale the building's outer walls and either walk the streets at night or they will go inside the building. Gargoyles are known to protect buildings from evil spirits.

In some variations gargoyles are used as the evil beings that eat humans but as said before they usually are used to protect places from evil.