Monster Scholar

I was asked by the Vault of Horror’s B-sol to contribute to the mega list of horror fiction awhile back. Through some weird alchemic ritual, B-sol finds the most popular picks from contributions by the Cyber-Horror Elite to compose his compendium of horror fiction . Here are the picks I submitted and my geeky reasons why. The Castle of Otranto Horace Walpole’s Ortanto is the one piece of literature that kickstarts the entire Gothic genre. It chronicles the story of Manfred, a gothic anti-hero who pursues Isabella, the fiancé of his son Conrad. After Conrad is crushed to death by a giant helmet, chase scenes through spooky castles and damp catacombs ensue. Frank enstein How could I call myself a monster scholar and not pick one of the seminal texts of monster literature? What continues to fascinate me about Shelley’s text are the differences between the 1818 and 1831 versions. In the 1818 edition Shelley is much less forgiving of Frankenstein’s dabbling with the stuff of life, while in ...