Its already October and that means its spooky season. Prepare to be inundated with the same, tired iconography of skulls, spiders, ghosts and ghouls from every corner. While Im certainly a fan of Halloween hype namely for its candy-centric ideology I grow bored of seeing these rather superficial symbols of spookiness appear over and over again, year after year.
In order to combat this tedium, Im encouraging a renewal. Return to the origins of two timeless characters in horror: Frankenstein and Count Dracula. Both of these supernatural creatures have been endlessly reimagined and represented in ways that vastly differ from their beginnings. Its due time to revisit their respective birthplaces in literature. The original novels that spawned these creations are certainly worth a read, regardless of their place in pop culture. Each is simply a result of damn good literature.
Over 200 years ago, Mary Shelley was on vacation in Switzerland, trading ghost stories with her companions as bad weather forced them to sequester mostly inside. Here she had the dreadful vision that would become her legacy a horrible human form brought forth into life through unnatural and twisted science. At only 19 years old, she wrote her enduring novel Frankenstein, following Victor Frankenstein as he battles with nature before conquering it at a terrible cost.
[Look to A24 for the best horror films this October]
There is a form of beauty in this haunting gothic horror novel. The unforgiving seas, the frigid arctic and dizzying mountaintops are all breathtaking settings throughout this tale, not to mention the sympathetic characters that roam this invented world. Its more than a horror story love, hatred, power, obsession and the human condition are all explored within the pages of Shelleys greatest work.
Dracula, written by Bram Stoker and published in 1897, has been immortalized as a classic horror book. Like all good fiction, it has a foundation in truth Stoker used real historical events as a backdrop to the plot of his magnum opus. Its a complete wonder to read. Considered a form of epistolary novel, its a story told not through authorial prose but through fictitious letters and writings taking place in the imagined world.
Readers explore Jonathan Harkers journal, his fiancees letters, transcripts of Dr. Sewards phonograph recordings, even newspaper articles that all build the world of vampires and their hunters. Through these, the reader pieces together the legend of the terrible Dracula, an evil so absolute it strikes even the bravest hearts with fear. There is some brightness to be found in this book, as the courage and willpower of its protagonists inspire an idealized world where good and evil are easy to separate.
Pop culture has mangled the once-frightening images of these undying characters. When you picture Frankensteins monster, you imagine a green bumbling idiot with a bolt drilled through his neck. Shelleys monster is an altogether different beast ugly, yes, but not only due to his features.
Frankensteins monster is repulsive because hes an affront to nature. Hes supremely powerful, equaling if not surpassing his creator in intelligence, and he boasts a frightening cruelty. Yet, Shelley still finds room to incite sympathy for the monster as he is unapologetically wrought into a world where he doesnt belong.
[Phantogram released the one and only Three five years ago]
Dracula is similarly misrepresented in todays world. The depiction of a pale, grinning clown who betrays all subtlety with a declaration, I vant to suck your blood! is far from Stokers devil. Instead, he paints the picture of an ancient and unholy abomination that commands the very night and all its inhabitants. Cunning and merciless, Dracula pushes the heroes of the tale to the very extent of their will. For most of the novel, it seems the heroes fight futilely against shadows without any light as an aid. However as in the end of most fairy tales good does vanquish evil.
Its easy to forget these two paragons of culture were once truly chilling creatures, removed as they are now from their initial inspirations. Luckily, its easy to find their true characters again all it takes is a few dusty pages of ageless literature.
Dracula and Frankenstein have remained relevant to this day for a reason. Born from rare senses of creativity, theyre revolutionary in their own right. Reading the first mentions of these tremendously popular characters is like learning the context behind your favorite song it only adds to your enjoyment.
Sure, the Dracula and Frankensteins monster of today may not be so scary, but once upon a time, it was a completely different story.
Read more:
Revisit the tales of 'Dracula' and 'Frankenstein' to recover a timeless terror - The Diamondback
- Vlad The Impaler, Inspiration For Dracula, May Have Cried Tears of Blood: Study - NDTV - March 24th, 2024
- Dracula Token (DRC): Does the Reward Outweigh the Risks? - InvestorsObserver - March 24th, 2024
- Abigail's 1936 Inspiration Teases An Appearance By 1 Classic Horror Character (Not Dracula) - Screen Rant - March 24th, 2024
- Off The Telly - 4. "She is basically the sister of Dracula" - BBC - March 24th, 2024
- Is Dracula Token (DRC) Heading the Right Direction Thursday? - InvestorsObserver - March 16th, 2024
- Dracula Token (DRC), High Volatility and Rising Sunday: Is it Time to Cash Out? - InvestorsObserver - March 16th, 2024
- 'Dracula A.D. 1972': when the iconic vampire met the hippies - Far Out Magazine - March 16th, 2024
- Dracula Token (DRC) Do the Risks Outweigh the Rewards Wednesday? - InvestorsObserver - March 8th, 2024
- Luc Besson to Direct Dracula, Caleb Landry Jones and Christoph Waltz Will Lead Retelling of Bram Stokers Gothic Classic - Variety - February 19th, 2024
- Luc Besson to Direct Dracula, Caleb Landry Jones and Christoph Waltz Will Lead Retelling of Bram Stokers Gothic ... - IMDb - February 19th, 2024
- New Dracula Movie Is In Development With Different Retelling Of Bram Stoker's Story - Screen Rant - February 19th, 2024
- Caleb Landry Jones to Re-Team With Luc Besson on Dracula Origin Story - Hollywood Reporter - February 19th, 2024
- Caleb Landry Jones And Christoph Waltz To Star In Luc Besson's Dracula - Empire - February 19th, 2024
- New Dracula Feature Will Delve Into The Vampire Lord's Origins - Horror News Network - February 19th, 2024
- In This Moment to Launch the Godmode Tour with Kim Dracula - Knotfest - February 19th, 2024
- Dracula's Chivito: New protoplanetary disk discovered with Pan-STARRS - Phys.org - February 19th, 2024
- In 'Dracula: Blood Hunt,' the Lord of Vampires Takes the Daughter of Blade Under His Wing - Marvel.com - February 19th, 2024
- Embrace The Darkside! Richmond Ballet Redefines Valentine's with Dracula - rvamag.com - February 19th, 2024
- Dracula Token (DRC) What Does the Chart Say Sunday? - InvestorsObserver - February 19th, 2024
- Dracula's Chivito Is This Year's Best Name For A Newly Found Astronomical Object - IFLScience - February 19th, 2024
- From Billie Holiday to Dracula, is there anyone Zahra Newman cant play? - Sydney Morning Herald - February 19th, 2024
- Review: Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park Presents a New Take on 'Dracula' From a Female Perspective - Cincinnati CityBeat - February 11th, 2024
- A 103-Year-Old Lost Film Was Actually The First Dracula Movie, Not The Movie People Think Is The First - Screen Rant - February 11th, 2024
- February 2020 (version 1.43) - Visual Studio Code - February 3rd, 2024
- Dracula Token (DRC), High Volatility and Falling Friday: Is it Time to Cash Out? - InvestorsObserver - February 3rd, 2024
- Is Dracula Token (DRC) Heading the Right Direction Wednesday? - InvestorsObserver - February 3rd, 2024
- The Weekly Pull: Detective Comics, Resurrection of Magneto, Universe Monsters: Dracula, and More - ComicBook.com - January 26th, 2024
- Dracula Token (DRC) Do the Risks Outweigh the Rewards Monday? - InvestorsObserver - January 26th, 2024
- Dracula Token (DRC) Falls 47.02% Wednesday: What's Next for This Bearish Rated Crypto? - InvestorsObserver - January 26th, 2024
- The Real History That Went Into Bram Stoker's Dracula | TIME - January 18th, 2024
- Dracula writer Bram Stoker revealed as a humble minute taker for actor charity - The Guardian - January 18th, 2024
- 'Abigail' Trailer Dracula's Daughter Is on the Hunt - Collider - January 18th, 2024
- Which 'Dracula' Movie Is the Most Book-Accurate? - Collider - January 9th, 2024
- Arundel Playhouse celebrates a successful 2023 and kicks off 2024 with 'Dracula: The Bloody Truth' - SussexWorld - January 9th, 2024
- THE LAST VOYAGE OF THE DEMETER Almost Featured Van Helsing and a Werewolf-Like Dracula GeekTyrant - GeekTyrant - January 1st, 2024
- The strong Dracula Open Youth & Junior Tournament will take place in Romania on February 11-19 - Asian Boxing Confederation - January 1st, 2024
- Is Dracula Token (DRC) Heading the Right Direction Tuesday? - InvestorsObserver - January 1st, 2024
- Defining Dracula: A Century Of Vampire Evolution : NPR - December 23rd, 2023
- Was Dracula a Real Person? | Britannica - December 12th, 2023
- Dracula, a Feminist Revenge Fantasy, Really Is Easy, Entertaining, and Empowering - Portland Mercury - December 12th, 2023
- Dracula: The women fight back - Oregon ArtsWatch - December 12th, 2023
- Dracula parrots: what are they and do they feed on blood? - BBC Discover Wildlife - December 12th, 2023
- Wonka | How Hook and Dracula informed the look of this autumn's musical - Filmstories - December 12th, 2023
- Dracula and rabbits and the tooth fairy...oh my! Omaha dentists trade in their traditional scrubs, making the experience less frightening - KETV Omaha - November 2nd, 2023
- Week in theater: Dracula flies into Denver, Sweeney Todd in Longmont and holiday productions are on the horizon - Boulder Daily Camera - October 16th, 2023
- When Keanu Reeves & Winona Ryder Accidentally Got Hitched On The Sets Of Bram Stokers Dracula & They Didnt Realize It Was For Real - Koimoi - February 10th, 2023
- Nina Price and Dracula Will Be the Villains of #Blade #MarvelStudios - Latest Tweet by Marvel Updates - LatestLY - January 1st, 2023
- A Dracula where the women fight back - The Boston Globe - October 19th, 2022
- Owners infuse Romanian history to Dracula-themed wine bar in downtown St. Pete The Crow's Nest at USF St. Petersburg - The Crow's Nest - October 19th, 2022
- Meet Dracula authors great-grand nephew tonight! - wnky.com - October 19th, 2022
- Cape Cod theater: Halloween season with 'The Addams Family,' Dracula - Cape Cod Times - October 19th, 2022
- "A Tale of Two Villains: Theme and Symbolism in Dracula and the Harry Potter Saga" Available Now from Histria Books - openPR - October 19th, 2022
- Netflix Added 36 New Movies and Series This Week - What's on Netflix - October 19th, 2022
- The Vampire and Its Cultural History Exponent - Exponent - October 19th, 2022
- Corin Hardy Releases The Schedule For His Halloween Horrorthon 2022 - Empire - October 19th, 2022
- Shows like Interview with the Vampire: 8 titles to sink your teeth into next - Android Authority - October 19th, 2022
- 2022: The Year of Dracula, Vampire Interviews, Nosferatu, Renfield and more - PW-Philadelphia Weekly - October 11th, 2022
- Bram Stokers Dracula review Gary Oldman is Pierrot from hell in blood-red 90s take - The Guardian - October 11th, 2022
- Cary Elwes on Bram Stokers Dracula at 30: Gary Oldman spent most of the time sleeping in a coffin - Yahoo Movies UK - October 11th, 2022
- The Best New Horror Comics in October 2022: Werewolf by Night, Creepshow, Dracula, and More! - Den of Geek - October 11th, 2022
- Ranking The Horror Movie Sequels That Sent Their Monsters To Space - Den of Geek - October 11th, 2022
- I picked up a book for 1 at a charity shop I was stunned when I found out its true value... - The US Sun - October 11th, 2022
- Abbyr Shen Reesht - Say That Again 9th October 2022 - Abbyr Shen Reesht - Say That Again - Manx Radio - October 11th, 2022
- Top 8 Horror Classics To See In Theaters This October - Bounding Into Comics - October 11th, 2022
- 'Dracula' in Spanish finds new blood after 91 years : NPR - October 2nd, 2022
- Watch Dracula Season 1 | Prime Video - amazon.com - October 2nd, 2022
- Feature: Ben Stevenson's Dracula, presented by the Nevada Ballet Theatre, to Bring Gothic Grandness - Broadway World - October 2nd, 2022
- We get real about love, sex and beauty this October on SBS VICELAND - SBS - October 2nd, 2022
- Celebrating the Glorious Horror Films of 1992 - Nerdist - October 2nd, 2022
- Plan your October in North Texas with these spirited events - KERA News - October 2nd, 2022
- October 2022 Programming on the Criterion Channel Announced - CriterionCast.com - October 2nd, 2022
- Horror as Folk: Viy and Even More Pastoral Folk Horror - Signal Horizon - October 2nd, 2022
- Intimacy and Manipulation: A Reading List of Fictional Diaries - Literary Hub - October 2nd, 2022
- 8 Horror Movies To Watch This Fall - Study Breaks - October 2nd, 2022
- 5 times Horror Franchises went to space and struggled to return to Earth - We Got This Covered - October 2nd, 2022
- Inside the life of a vampire tourist - I've even written a PhD about Dracula - iNews - September 8th, 2022
- Cinespia's October Line-up to Frightfully Finish Its Season - NBC Southern California - September 8th, 2022
- REVIEW: Major Sweets Ice Cream Sandwich, Petrified Rat Tails and More from Dracula Booth at Halloween Horror Nights 31 - WDW News Today - September 8th, 2022
- What's coming to the big stage: theater preview - The Vantage - September 8th, 2022
- Review: House of Darkness Brings an Ominous, Seductive Twist to a Classic Tale - The Mary Sue - September 8th, 2022
Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero