Happy Birthday to Mary Shelley

“If I cannot inspire love, I will cause fear!”

- Mary Shelley, Frankenstein

Author Mary Shelley was born on this day in 1797.  Shelley was a writer of novels, short stories, screenplays, essays, travel pieces, and more.  However, Shelley is best known for her novel Frankenstein; or, the Modern Prometheus.

A woodcut  depicting Frankenstein's Creature by Lynd Ward for a 1934 edition of the novel

Frankenstein is considered a influential, classic work of Gothic Horror and, perhaps the very first Science Fiction tale.  In her novel, Shelley warns of the perils of man playing God as an obsessive scientist does the fantastic and terrifying, resurrecting a creature composed of dead tissue.  Upon his the "birth" of his creation, Frankenstein rejects the "Monster" and thus sets into motion a series of horrifically tragic events.  Readers sympathize with Frankenstein's creation, who turns out to be a tortured, misunderstood figure and justly recognize the doctor himself as being "the real monster".

Famously, an 18 year old Shelley began writing the story in Switzerland during the stormy summer of 1816 (apparently brought on by the eruption of an Indonesian volcano).  She and her future husband, Percy Shelley, were challenged by Lord Byron to create a horror story.  Initially stumped as to what exactly to write, Shelley became preoccupied with the idea of a man reanimating a corpse.  This germ of an idea led to severe nightmares.  Inspired, Shelley sett out to create just a short story, but the tale eventually developed into a novel.  The book was first published anonymously in 1818, although Shelley's name would appear on an 1823 edition and all subsequent publications of the story.

Dr. Frankenstein (Colin Clive) and the Monster (Boris Karloff) face off in the classic 1931 Universal film

While the book would receive mostly negative reviews, it was popular among readers and would go on to become a classic.  Shelley's story is a cultural phenomenon that has inspired multiple stage and film adaptations.  Her legacy lives on as Victor Frankenstein and his "Monster" are now archetypal characters that remain indispensable fixtures of popular culture.

"The Tell-Tale Heart" - Edgar Allan Poe

"True! --nervous--very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad?  The disease had sharpened my senses --not destroyed --not dulled them.  Above all was the sense of hearing acute.  I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth.  I head many things in hell.  How, then, am I mad?  Hearken!  and observe how healthily --how calmly I can tell you the whole story..."

I have taken a bit of a hiatus from working on the Cryptic Corridor as of late due to some personal tribulation.  I trust that you will understand. 

I felt I would be remiss if I did not make at least some kind of posting something today as it would have been Edgar Allan Poe's 205th birthday.  While I plan on doing several posts on Poe and his work in the future, I figure I'll try to keep it short today.

What can be said of Edgar Allan Poe that has not been said before?  The master of mystery and macabre, Poe still fascinates and terrifies us even to this day.  Virtually all modern horror tales owe nearly everything to Poe; his legacy is unmatched.

A woodcut illustration by Fritz Eichenberg from the 1944 edition of Tales of Edgar Allan Poe

One of my favorite stories written by Edgar Allan Poe is his Tell-Tale Heart.  His prose in this particular piece paints a vivid, horrifying picture of insanity.  First and foremost, what always stood out to me about this story was Poe's use of the "unreliable narrator".  As readers, we become accustomed to putting our trust in the person telling the story.  But right off the bat, we are given many clues that the man telling this particular tale is not quite stable even though he assures you of such.  Anyone fooled by his declaration of sanity is horrified to see the narrator's sudden descent into obsession and subsequent blood lust.

Another thing I always enjoyed about this story was Poe's use of suspense.  After the narrator commits his heinous deed he meticulously covers up the crime, only to be undone by his own "hearing acute" mentioned in the introductory paragraph.  Poe is able to make the reader really feel the pangs of insanity the narrator describes.  

I saw the above cartoon several years ago.  While it is a very much abridged version of the story, it does an amazing job of capturing the madness of the thing.

The artwork at the beginning of this post was done by the excellent comic book artist, Franceso Francavilla!