October kickoff--scary classics

It’s finally here!  I know, I’ve talked about it enough, right?  I can’t help it—I love October.  Nights chilly enough for a quilt, but still some warm, clear days.  The leaves changing.  And round-the-clock monster movie marathons!  What, I don’t seem like the monster movie type?  Never judge a book by its cover!  I love scary movies, and of course, I love scary books, too!  October’s posts are going to be all about things that go bump in the night, and I hope you’ll join me.  Don’t think you like scary stories?  I hope you’ll let me prove you wrong—I promise, there will be something for everyone this month.  And as with any series, I like to start at the beginning.  Here are a few classic horror tales to get you in the mood. 

Frankenstein, or, The Modern Prometheus, by Mary Shelley.  Though Shelley’s name did not appear until the second edition was published in 1823, the novel was originally published anonymously in London in 1818.  A colleague of Lord Byron, John Polidori (writer of the first vampire story in English), and her eventual husband, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Mary Shelley had long discussions about the occult with the aforementioned writers.  The four had a wager on who could write the best horror story, and Shelley wound up dreaming about a scientist who created life and then was horrified by the result.  The rest, as they say, is history.  (Needless to say, Mary Shelley won the wager.)  If you haven’t read it, it really is a phenomenal story, especially considering the time in which it was written, and who wrote it.

Dracula, by Bram Stoker.  Written in 1897, by Irish author Stoker, this is one of the grand-daddies of the horror genre.  In a series of letters, diary entries and ships’ logs by several different narrators (Jonathan Harker and his fiancée, Mina Murray among them), the reader meets the infamous Count Dracula.  After meeting Jonathan Harker, Dracula leaves Transylvania and begins to track Mina and her friend, Lucy.  When left unattended one night, Lucy is killed, only to rise from the dead as a vampire.  Once friends realize what has happened, they return Lucy to her eternal rest and then, led by Professor Van Helsing, they pursue Dracula back to Transylvania to put an end to his curse once and for all.  Darkly gothic, brooding, and atmospheric—this is one that every fan of vampire and horror novels should revisit.

Shirley Jackson.  A major influence of modern writers like Neil Gaiman and Stephen King, Jackson is best known for her short stories, especially The Lottery, and her short novel, The Haunting of Hill House.  The latter has been noted by many as one of the most important horror novels of the 20^th century, and has been made into two film versions, in 1963 and 1999, both called The Haunting.  Both titles are psychological thrillers, the second with a ghost story tie-in, and are absolute masterpieces.

Hope you’ve enjoyed our creepy little blast from the past, and that you’ll check out one or more of these dark classics.  Call me a dork, but I love seeing where some of the trends of fiction today have their roots.  See you Thursday when I’ll give you a list of my personal suspense and horror favorites!