Halloween just wouldn't be the same without our classic tales of horror -- they've become so much a part of our collective concept of Halloween that some would say they are nothing more than tired clichés. But I respectfully disagree! Every time I read one of these works, I find something new and strange, something that taps into fears we might secretly harbor deep in our subconscious: fear of being driven to madness by guilt, fear of the unknown intruding upon our lives, fear of the past coming back to haunt us, or fear of children not being as innocent as they seem {I have this one, ha!}. If you're in the mood for a creepy read this week, here are a few of my dependable favorites:
- Henry James' novella, "The Turn of the Screw" -- features really creepy kids!
- Edgar Allen Poe's "Tell Tale Heart" or "The Fall of the House of Usher" -- he is the master of suspense.
- Bram Stoker's Dracula -- this one is rife with terror: terror of foreigners, terror of sexuality, terror of modern technologies...
- Washington Irving's "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" -- one of my childhood favorites.
- Mary Shelley's Frankenstein -- people are still horrified at the notion of science creating a more powerful version of humankind.
- Nathaniel Hawthorne's "Young Goodman Brown" -- witches...scary. Puritan New England...even scarier!
How about you? Do you have any favorite scary reads? Any recommendations?
