This question came up in my last game.

A player has returned through a gate, and there are 2 monsters there. The rules say that the monsters can be ignored for 1 turn. My players question was...can he fight one of the monsters and ignore the other?

Yes, you may take your "free pass" on whichever monsters you like.

But more specifically, they can only be ignored the turn you come out. Basically, if you return through a gate on any phase other than 1: Upkeep (rare) or 2: movement (normally), then the turn will be over before you can try and close the gate. In other words, in those cases you will effectively not receive a freebie.

Thanks for asking that question. I wanted to ask it but always forgot to do so.

I always played it that way, as it seemed more logical, but I was always wondering if the rules meant that you cannot fight those monsters even if you wanted. Now I know.

Tibs said:

Can't believe I'm saying this but...Tibs, are you sure? Because this would have been a bit helpful for Wendy when she came out on top of five different monsters. Even Wendy could have killed one Cultist if she was allowed to ignore the other four buggers.

Yes, I'm pretty sure that you can choose which ones to fight.

Q: The rules state that you "do not have to" engage monsters during the same turn that you return from the Other World. Is this meant to be an option? Can you choose to engage a monster if you wish to? If there is more than one monster on the location when you return can you choose to engage one and ignore the other?
A: Yes to all of the above.