In Lord of the Flies - who took on many different personas to the boys?

In the eyes of the boys the beast assumed many different identies. Initially it was a little boy's snake-thing nightmare creature. Later the hunters spoke of an unseen something which they felt was stalking them in the jungle. At the meeting in chapter 5 it was suggested that the beast might be a giant squid or even a ghost. Samneric claimed to have been chased by a winged beast with sharp teeth and claws. Jack left offers for the beast which he later declared had disguised itself and inferred that they could not hope to kill it but should simply bribe it with offerings and keep out of its way. The reality of course was that the beast was actually none of these things. The beast, as both Simon and Ralph realised, was simply the boys themselves, the darkness within which gave them the capacity to do evil.