26 November 1831: The origins of Frankenstein
Mary Shelley reveals how, challenged by Byron and Shelley to write a ghost story, the ‘hideous phantasm of a man’ came to her in a terrifying waking dream.
24 July 1844: Romantic horror in Victorian fiction
The witchcraft of modern romance cannot compare to the supernatural nymphs, wild banshees and cannibalistic ghouls in ancient British folk tales.
15 June 1897: A volume filled with horrors - review
Though Bram Stoker has tackled his gruesome subject with enthusiasm, today’s reader expects more from such a tale of horror and superstition.
31 October 1906: The pagan origins of Halloween and Bonfire night
While they’re now associated with 5 November, bonfires, apple bobbing and begging for soul cakes are ancient rituals of All Hallows’ Eve.
3 November 1923: The Cabinet of Dr Caligari
Robert Wiene’s masterpiece, a ‘hallucination of somnambulism and mystery’, is an almost flawless picture that has yet to be bettered.
14 October 1976: Edgar Allen Poe, master of horror and science fiction
Misunderstood in his US homeland, where they cannot take his ‘atrocious paraphernalia of ghouls and sheeted dead’, Poe’s gothic style is much more appreciated in Europe.
18 November 1976: Derek Malcolm on The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Though it is no work of art, this backwoods US slasher film is a minor tour de force.
30 September 1977: Shining on for stardom
With Carrie and Salem’s Lot already under his belt, Stephen King’s new novel will cement his place as the US’s favourite horror writer.
