A pitchfork is a farming tool ideally used for gathering and pitching hay. More often than not however, it appears to serve a more practical function as a weapon rather than an agricultural aide. During the 18th and 19th centuries, a pitchfork was one of the more common weapons of choice for angry lynch mobs seeking to track down and destroy some errant monster that is reeking havoc within their village.
Villagers from the town of Vasaria used pitchforks in their quest to rid the village of the destructive forces of the Frankenstein Monster and the made scientist Doctor Gustav Niemann. They drove the monster and Niemann into the nearby swamps where they presumably died. [1]
Astronaut Robert Calder used a pitchfork to poke and pry at a Venusian alien that had escaped on Earth named Ymir. The pitchfork did little actual damage to the creature however, and succeeded only in pissing it off. [2]
When giant mutant spiders invaded the town of Prosperity, Arizona, the townsfolk sealed themselves up inside the Prosperity Mall. The spiders still managed to get inside however and an elderly barber named Floyd tried defending himself with a pitchfork. This did him little good however as a jumping spider leaped upon his face and killed him. [3]