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 Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 1:40 am
So, well...since there aren't any topics yet, I thought I'd start one :3
I really like Victorian horror stories, but I don't know a lot of writers.
So far I've read the following:
Midnight Tales - Bram Stoker
Tales of Mystery and Imagination - Edgar Allen Poe
Varney the Vampire - Rymer? (not sure about the writer)
Frankenstein - Mary Shelley
The strange case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson
I'm still trying to find Dracula in the libraries in the place where I live, but it's almost all edited work for little children sweatdrop
If you know more horror writers, please feel free to tell me! 3nodding
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 5:34 am
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Posted: Sun Dec 07, 2008 5:37 pm
Well, you certainly do have a good start.
Check out the works of Charles Dickens - "The Signalman" is a great short story.
Nathaniel Hawthorne is really very good, as well - THE HOUSE OF SEVEN GABLES, but don't forget his short stories like "Rapuccini's Daughter," "Young Goodman Brown," "Dr Heidegger's Experiment," and my favorite, "The Hollow of the Three Hills."
THE MONK by Matthew Lewis is another.
Let us not forget WUTHERING HEIGHTS.
Or THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GREY by Oscar Wilde.
CAMILLA by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu is a vampire tale pre-dating DRACULA.
The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman is a short story, and creepy beyond measure.
THE TURN OF THE SCREW by Henry James is a good example.
"The Monkey's Paw" by WW Jacobs is great.
If you want to stretch slightly into the 20th century beyond Victoria - check out the works of Daphne du Maurier and Shirley Jackson.
You should be able to find just about any of these online, and almost certainly via Project Gutenberg.
Best of luck, and let me know.
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 3:04 pm
I'm not a huge fan of Victorian Horror, personally, but it is a fascinating topic. I have read The Turn of the Screw (which is an intersting story, but very, very dense) and Frankenstein (which technically isn't Victorian), and neither have truly made an impression on me.
It's slightly beyond Victoria's reign, however, I very much love The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux.
There are some other gothic novels to consider of course, such as Jane Eyre, which one of my friend's absolutely loves.
Also, to add, it's not exactly horror per se, but "Bartleby the Scrivener" by Herman Melville, I find quite creepy.
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Posted: Tue Dec 09, 2008 11:03 pm
J. S. LeFanu is brilliant. Yes. Read, consume, enjoy. Definitely don't miss "Oh, Whistle and I'll Come to You, My Lad." Charles Dickens is not as well known for his horror or "weird" fiction as his more mawkish offerings, but do make sure to read "The Signalman," as recommended above. Most wonderful. Poe, of course, one must steep in. He was one of the great masters of the genre.
But, also, a few other not-to-be-missed authors:
Algernon Blackwood. Make sure to particularly catch "The Willows" which has been described as one of the finest horror tales ever told. He was also known for the iconic "Wendigo." "The Kit-Bag" is also a real treat. Read him. Bask in the glow.
Ambrose Bierce. This fellow is best known today for his "Devil's Dictionary," but he was not primarily a humorist. Much of his stuff fell into the realms of the "weird" as it was once known. "An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge" is one of his better known ones, but he wrote a goodly number of gems. Dive in. It's fine stuff.
M. R. James. Anything you can get your hands on, especially "Count Magnus," and "Canon Alberic's Scrap-Book." This guy was pretty cool. Marvelous tales of scholars and antiquarians getting rather far in over their heads, and the like. Wordworth Classics has a nice anthology.
Arthur Machen. You really can't go wrong with his stuff. Devour him at will. Very tasty. Strictly speaking, he's Victorian, Edwardian and Modern, and combined fantasy and horror. Some are more one than the other, but in those days, the distinctions were not really there.
Robert W. Chambers. Stick, please, to his earlier stuff to avoid disappointment. That said, "The King in Yellow" is an anthology of true delight. However, a couple decades of "bestsellerism" didn't do his prose much good, so his later stuff suffered from it enough that it isn't really so worthwhile. He wrote more than just creepy stuff, too.
Edward Bulwer-Lytton. Yeah, I know. This guy really takes it on the chin these days because of some of his passages, but his influence is absolutely undeniable. He's the one responsible for the famous opening line, "It was a dark and stormy night," as well as observing that "the pen is mightier than the sword." While his name today is known as the byword for execrable writing, his prose is very visually-oriented, sometimes to amazing degrees. It really paints a detailed picture, but it does sometimes contain "large doses of turgid rhetoric," as H. P. Lovecraft (my absolute favorite, an Edwardian/Modern, himself - mostly Modern) once wryly put it. But, if you are brave enough, try "The House and the Brain," as well as "Zanoni." "A Strange Story" is rather longer and may test the sanity of the modern reader, but it very dutifully follows the old Victorian model.
John Polidori's "Vampyre" is well worth a read, I'm told, but I haven't gotten to that one yet, myself. More of a Gothic novel, in truth, than actually Victorian, though.
Charles Maturin's "Melmouth the Wanderer" has received some acclaim. Another on my to-be-read list. Also a trifle earlier.
But, as for the reading of Horace Walpole's famed "Castle of Otranto," Lovecraft had one word of advice. "Don't!" Of course, my morbid curiosity has gotten the better of me, and out of sheer bloodymindedness, I got it just so I can see for myself what raised his ire to such a degree. He panned it rather fulsomely. Overall, he had pretty fine tastes in horror literature, so I admit to a great deal of wonderment. Whether you give it a read or not is up to you, really. I haven't gone there yet and can only report thusly.
Coming foward in time a little, Walter de la Mare is quite good. Definitely catch "Seaton's Aunt." And Hanns Heinz Ewers is a good one as well, for his "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" and "Alraune."
Of course for the more Modern tales (with a delightfully antiquated twist), I cannot sing the praises of Lovecraft highly enough. Not everything he wrote was solid gold, but his influence is quite palpable. Um...yeah. Keep a dictionary handy. He was funny like that.
Forward farther still, Shirley Jackson is excellent, and carried the torch very well.
I've rabbitted on here for quite a while, but I do hope this helps!
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Posted: Wed Dec 10, 2008 6:06 am
Sorry to be a bit irrelevant to the thread.
A couple of weeks ago on a history channel, they were talking about Mary Shelley. It was pretty fascinating by that alone! They talked about her getting with Percy Shelley, and their friend Lord Byron. They told about how they all went on a trip, and while on the trip there was a horrifying thunder and lightning storm where they decided to each right a horror story. Mary went to bed and had a nightmare, which gave her the idea to start Frankenstein.
It went on to say that she wrote more stories, but I don't remember if they were also horror stories.
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Posted: Mon Dec 15, 2008 10:09 am
Madame Royale Sorry to be a bit irrelevant to the thread. A couple of weeks ago on a history channel, they were talking about Mary Shelley. It was pretty fascinating by that alone! They talked about her getting with Percy Shelley, and their friend Lord Byron. They told about how they all went on a trip, and while on the trip there was a horrifying thunder and lightning storm where they decided to each right a horror story. Mary went to bed and had a nightmare, which gave her the idea to start Frankenstein. It went on to say that she wrote more stories, but I don't remember if they were also horror stories. You are not out of line at all - this is a literary thread on Victorian horror - and FRANKENSTEIN is an excellent example - and one of my favorites. Ok - now work with me here, because I am trying to dodge adult references - and I have recently discovered that the crowd here on Gaia can be much younger than I thought it was at first . . . Yes, Byron and the Shelleys did have their famous vacation in Switzerland, where it got cold and snowy, and a number of things happened that your mother would not like you to know. In addition to that, however, they did have a story-writing contest. Mary writes a fairly good description of the CONTEST (not the other events that took place) in her introduction to FRANKENSTEIN. Yes, the other stories were horror stories - and she includes some descriptions of those stories in her introduction. Mary's story did come from a nightmare - and that story became the basis of the book FRANKENSTEIN. If you are interested, the standard published version of FRANKENSTEIN is actually a revision. You can find the original edition relatively easily with a little bit of research. This book is one of my favorites in this world - and is scary enough on its own, without any of the Hollywood flash added to it. In fact, I would really enjoy a move that REALLY IS based on the book. It's good enough that it really can stand on its own. Keep in mind, though, that the book is a tragedy - it is just some of the things that happen in it are scary. And, be prepared for an INTELLIGENT monster - this is not the shambling corpse that so many movies have. Part of the horror is the degree to which Victor Frankenstein SUCCEEDS - so, think of it in terms of JURASSIC PARK - this is something that should never have been attempted in the first place. It is supposed to be UNNATURAL - which is what is supposed to make it disturbing.
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 6:54 am
Thank you for all the replies and suggestions! 3nodding
I've already read Carmilla by Fanu, but The Picture Of Dorian Gray sounds interesting. The other books and stories also sound good, but may I ask, what's the Yellow Wallpaper about? I think I've heard a few thing about it, but I'm not sure sweatdrop
I'll look for the books!
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Posted: Tue Dec 16, 2008 9:38 am
--Okami-Chan-- Thank you for all the replies and suggestions! 3nodding I've already read Carmilla by Fanu, but The Picture Of Dorian Gray sounds interesting. The other books and stories also sound good, but may I ask, what's the Yellow Wallpaper about? I think I've heard a few thing about it, but I'm not sure sweatdrop I'll look for the books! Just read "The Yellow Wallpaper" - don't ask what it's about - just read it, without any prefatory comment at all. It's a short story, so not too much trouble, I promise. But, please believe me, when I say just read it - it will be more disturbing that way.
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Posted: Wed Dec 17, 2008 3:45 pm
Mere words are insufficient to express how much I agree with that! The good man knoweth of what he speaks.
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Posted: Fri Dec 19, 2008 2:13 pm
I have read the un-edited version of Dracula and it was amazing! I read it last year and I really liked it. You might be able to find it at a book store. They always put edited versions in the library.
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Posted: Tue Dec 23, 2008 2:09 am
Ahaha, I'm quite slow in replying... sweatdrop Well, I've been to the Dickens Fair in Deventer last week (Way too much people to see anything very well, but it still was awesome 4laugh ), but I've been reading some short stories, especially the Yellow Wallpaper.
and.
it.
was.
CREEPY!
Really disturbing, seriously.
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Posted: Thu Feb 19, 2009 1:47 pm
Ohh, yes, The Yellow Wallpaper. That certainly was a creepy story.
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Posted: Sun Mar 15, 2009 8:53 am
I remember The Yellow Wallpaper. That story creeped me out. I had to read it a second time to make sure I understood it correctly.
I love Poe's works. Mary Shelly and Bram Stoker are great too.
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