Essential Classics of Horror: Introduction

Essential Classics of Horror
Episode 1
An Introduction
I mentioned:
Troy Tradup
/ @troytradup
My Dopey Discord
/ discord

[@adriennelee26]

I'm really happy to finally see some recognition for M.R. James on Booktube. His stories are incredibly chilling. Oh Whistle and I'll Come To You My Lad is one of the very few works of horror fiction that actually scares me.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

That is a creepy story.

[@timmeyer9191]

I find The War of The Worlds by HG Wells more terrifying than Dracula and Jekyll & Hyde.

[@glockensig]

Never been real big into horror. Real life ( history buff here) is so unbelievably terrifying!! Having said that, some of these classics interest me....

[@annakhjelm146]

I understand Roger's concerns. Remember when he used the time machine and suddenly febuary was missing days ? 😆😉

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I do.

[@virginiafernandes336]

Everything i read by Sheridan Le Fanu i always end up thinking "i love his mind!!"

[@uhIcy]

Michael, I just have to say that it’s been 10 years since I’ve read a full book (besides in school). The KZbin gods blessed me by putting your channel in my feed roughly 3 weeks ago & since then I’ve been binging your videos. About 5 days ago I decided it was time to get back into this amazing hobby & picked up a classic collection of H.P Lovecraft. Though the generational vocabulary is a bit tricky (being in my 20s), I’m still having a blast with each story. Keep doing what you do, I’ll always be here for the Vaughn Manor.

[@MriInterocitor]

Leslie Klinger’s annotated volumes of Lovecraft are good for help with that, along with pictures of places Lovecraft refers to and all kinds of other stuff. And it’s another reason I like reading on the Kindle or Kindle app in a phone or tablet, being able to get pop-up definitions. It takes time to get used to rugose, crepuscular, cyclopean, squamous, and all the rest. :)

[@uhIcy]

@@MriInterocitor on sight definitions would definitely be a worthwhile investment for classics, good call on the Kindle. Something about flipping the physical pages of a book is so satisfying to me though, will definitely look into Klinger’s volumes. Appreciate the insight👍

[@MriInterocitor]

@@uhIcy Comfort is really important in reading for pleasure! Follow your bliss and all that. :)

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Lovecraft definitely helped build up my vocabulary. Thanks so much for watching. I appreciate it.

[@DavidWiley7]

Let's just make it clear, we have a favorite horror monster and she absolutely made an appearance in this video. This is a really exciting series! I can't wait - I've actually read a lot more of these than I expected!

[@anotherbibliophilereads]

I’m glad The Monk made it on the list. I read it for the first time last year. Loved it.

[@user-rf6to7bl6l]

Hello Michael. The Morlocks in The Time Machine are so dreadfully frightening. Thanks for uploading this video. God bless you AMEN

[@GaryGillion-qi8qw]

She's not a Goblin, she's a Gremlin!

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

She could be both.

[@theramblingreviewer5150]

Sounds fascinating! The lack of The Great God Pan was Machen me confused. Good thing that Robert caught that! Also, I love that copy of Dracula!

[@breehuds5863]

Can't wait for the discussion! Always love that you throw in obscure books I haven't heard of. Exactly what I am here for! Thank you!🥰

[@CriminOllyBlog]

This was great - really looking forward to this series

[@melodyd1685]

Excellent! Thanks for doing this series. I agree with timmeyer, The War of the Worlds is freaky disturbing.

[@benjaminbourke8478]

Cannot wait! Exciting times at the manor! 🎉🎉🎉

[@popescutitus6225]

Speaking of H.G. Wells, The Red Room is also a great horror short story by him.

[@davemills8193]

Technically some Greek dude wrote the first Sci-Fi, but I'm subscribing

[@MriInterocitor]

Ooh. I will be looking forward to these so that I can argue over petty details and ramble irrelevantly in the comments. :D I nodded along happily at each of your picks. Sometimes I’d think “What about…?” and there they’d be. You should do one video just on covers of various editions good and bad and what we get jaded about as horror fans. :)

[@Monsterblood]

That edition of Phantom of the Opera is so cool. I would love to reread it with a better translation, I think I have a much older edition of the book

[@ThisJustInBookTube]

What a great series! I’m looking forward to hearing your thoughts on all of these classics.

[@bigaldoesbooktube1097]

The island of Dr. Moreau is such an interesting book. I think it tackled the themes of Lord of the Flies better and earlier than that book.

[@benriley6716]

Another good video. I always enjoy your clips. I'll have to read 'Dracula' at some point....I just have this dread that it's going to be a Victorian epic that drags along at a snail's pace.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Dracula is awesome.

[@inanimatecarbongod]

That Folio edition of Phantom of the Opera is something to behold. And yes, the translation is indeed important (apparently that Oxford one is the best). I actually finally read some Blackwood for Horror May-hem (the John Silence stories). Definitely want to read more (I have one of those Delphi complete works ebooks with everything in it). Delighted to see the William Sloane books in there. This looks like being a great series.

[@revenantreads]

This sounds great!

[@Yesica1993]

I was today years old when I learned The Phantom of the Opera was a book, not just a musical. Wow, I'm dumber than I thought!

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

You are watching my brilliant channel so you must be a genius.

[@Yesica1993]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 Ha!

[@steviepickles9174]

Can’t wait!!!

[@troytradup]

Hey, great idea! I hope work and life cooperate better than they did for me! I'm sure Roger can throw some sort of spell down to ease the way ...

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I only steal ideas from the best!

[@bookMark2967]

I cant wait for this series! As always, your discussion of editions is appreciated.

[@BrookeReadsBooks333]

Awesome video!! I’m already wanting to start reading spooky/horror books for the upcoming spooky season! This is exactly what I needed!! 🧛‍♀️🕯️🦇

[@ABFrank.]

Looking forward to these videos! I'll be reading some Conan in September as well 😁

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Excellent!

[@nedmerrill5705]

Roger has a stiff neck - he won't let you use his time machine. Dracula LOOMS, eh? I thought Cerberus entered the scene for a second... Stevenson! Great imaginative writer! Poe is horror, but more than horror. Varney?

[@scp240]

Great idea for a series, I'll be watching! You didn't mention all of the classics you'll be covering, but perhaps you will include some of the short stories of de Maupassant (e.g., The Horla)? And Henry James, who wrote many ghost stories including the classic Turn of the Screw? Also some of Kafka's works are quite horrific although they may not fit neatly into the genre.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I couldn’t leave out de Maupassant!

[@charliedogg7683]

I think you've identified many of the very important horror works of the last 220; it's interesting that SF and horror crossed over so much in their early years. I read Dracula a couple of years ago and I still have a lot of difficulty accepting Stoker's treatment of Mina and Lucy so I'll be very interested to hear your thoughts Michael. I read The Monk a couple of months ago and it's fresh in my mind - I loved its arch, superior tone. Roger is correct about the time machine, he's told me that he knows Bradbury's story "A Sound Of Thunder" is based on fact so best not to play around with time.

[@LiterateTexan]

The Monk and The Castle of Otranto are some hard ones to get through. I have a beautiful edition of Bram Stoker's Jewel of Seven Stars I'll have to show off in a future video. I'm looking forward to all these videos!

[@occultdetective]

Tremendous idea!

[@M-J]

Love love love this! What a great topic for a series. I’ll definitely be following following along. - MJ

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks MJ!

[@DDB168]

Yeh I was wondering about Machen (not necessarily in a good way 🤭🤭), but you managed to remember to put him on the list.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

😫

[@paulmonahawk4921]

This is great Mike!

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks!

[@karlozkorona223]

Keep up the great content 🎉

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I’ll do my best. Thanks!

[@epimetrius7348]

I'm surprised William Hope Hodgson was not mentioned

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Me too.

[@angelaluz405]

I am so looking forward to this series! I have a copy of The Monk, but have yet to try it. Hopefully this series will inspire me to pick it up!

[@AngryPict]

Excellent selection. May I also suggest The Private Memoirs And Confessions Of A Justified Sinner, by James Hogg. Published in 1820s and was an influence on R.L. Stevenson. Presented as a found manuscript. Madness, the devil, and religious zealotry. With an unreliable narrator...maybe.

[@holzausgabe8812]

The scary fairy queen ❤

[@timmeyer9191]

Such a great idea for a series. Thank you.

[@Kite562reviews]

Discovered your channel through your H.P Lovecraft videos. I really enjoy the content you bring to your channel. Classics I've only read are Mary Shelly's Frankenstein currently reading Bram Stokers Dracula which is quite enjoyable I also got the complete tales of H.P Lovecraft so I'm looking forward to diving into that when I can. I've watched a lot of classic universal horror movies in my life. You earned yourself a sub! 😊❤📚

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks!

[@mikebrough3434]

I'm looking forward to this series. I remember reading an article that said that M R James didn't write ghost stories - there were few, if any, ghosts. Lots of demons and other entities, but no ghosts. I'll need to re-read him and work out if that's true or just nit-picking.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

He had a few kinds of horrible THINGS in his stories, that’s true.

[@evanames5940]

Very good. I am reading for the first time Carmilla by Sheridan Le Fanu

[@davidsigler9690]

As for H. G. Wells, I would recommend, "The Sea Raiders." (Short Story).....it may count as horror.....also I would recommend "The Invisble Man." which is my favorite Well's novel.....and I consider a horror story.

[@Toracube]

I’m reading Dark Matter by Michelle Paver. A ghost story.. Jeffrey Deaver said it’s Jack London meets Stephen King , about an artic expedition that goes wrong. The main charachters diary lays I all out. A fun,bleak read. Must read more lovecraft…. Things keep getting in the way…

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Jack London meets Stephen King sounds pretty great.

[@Toracube]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 I think deaver was right… just finished it.

[@ArtsReallyCool123]

Love the intro!

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Thanks!

[@brettrobson5739]

Couldn't agree more about Walpole & Sloane. You snuck Machen in at the end but still didn't mention Hodgson. He needs to be there IMO. There are others, of course. Popular writers whose stories may have been read by more people at the time (Richard Marsh, Seabury Quinn et al). I think these authors need to be put in context. Yes, their work didn't stand the test of time, but they are important in the formation of both the authors you will be talking about and what passes for modern horror.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I don’t know how I forgot Hodgson.

[@gavinmcintosh5716]

Great stuff. Looking forward to the best edition recommendations. All of those are staples of my reading but look forward to the ones I haven't heard of 😊

[@dranimations7902]

I read a story by Arthur Conan Doyle called The Horror of the Heights which i thought was quite good - and bizarre

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Yeah, that was a good one.

[@obscuracrimepodcast]

Excellent video!

[@russworks2882]

I'm interested in hearing your views on a lot of this, more than I would've thought. I've been looking for a particular illustrated version of Alraune, which sounds like it explores some of the same themes as Machen's Great God Pan (which I really enjoyed when I first read it.) It's been ages since I read the Monk, a wonderfully twisted book that could've only been written by a young writer. I have this bargain bin volume by Peter Haining called the Art of Horror Stories and it's amazing to see how many illustrated, cheaply printed lurid chapbooks of the early nineteenth century were inspired by or just plain rip offs of the Monk.

[@dqan7372]

Looking forward to this!

[@genemcn3579]

Your dog has a mohawk.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

She does.

[@thespaminator]

This is gonna be good…

[@davebrzeski]

It certainly could go on for a good while. You forgot to mention William Hope Hodgson and E.F Benson and... well, I could list dozens. 😉

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

You are right, I did forget to put them in this video. Don’t worry, I will certainly get to them.

[@davebrzeski]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 Amongst the classic short story people, there are an awful lot who wrote in multiple genres. Saki, W.W. Jacobs, Jerome J. Jerome. I think the ghost story was so popular in the Victorian era that most fiction authors tried their hand at it. Some of the better period anthologies will need to be considered, I think.

[@redwawst3258]

The Werewolf Of Paris

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Definitely.

[@DKrules9]

I’m waiting on the three volume set of Arthur machen. Also have four volume set of Robert w chambers works.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I didn’t know about that Chambers set.

[@DKrules9]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617look up LEONAUR books. They have published a lot of collections of old supernatural and weird fiction writings. It was that publisher that I got the Robert w chambers set. Some collections have up to 8 volumes of a single writer’s work.

[@MagusMarquillin]

Sounds cool, though I'd do it in chronological by preference. I'd think Nathanial Hawthorne might deserve a spot too. When is the line between classic and modern to you, 1950? Your birth? :P

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I’m going to say the 1940s for the cut off.

[@stretmediq]

I hate it when I have to put things on hold for work! Why can't I just be a burden on society and people give me free money? 😕

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I feel the same.

[@sgriffin9960]

I love the Rhonda! Umm, where's 🎵 Robert E. Howard? 🎶

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

This Monday I hope.

[@michaelbroderick2282]

Now that the excitement is incubating (and I truly mean that because there is a lot you mentioned that I know nothing about) will you be touching on Jane Webb's 1827 classic The Mummy? Or is that too much for Roger's sensitivity?

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I will have to talk to Roger about that one.

[@nunyabizness6595]

Surprise Ending: Michael K. Vaughn has never read any books.😂😂😂

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I actually spend all my time watching daytime soap operas.

[@jeremyfee]

Have you seen the new Flash film that's out? And follow up question: Why haven't you gone to see it? :)

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I’m allergic to bad CGI.

[@kallianpublico7517]

Several thoughts. First of all you've got to attempt a general definition of horror. I dont think Frankenstein is a horror story, imo. The stuff in the arctic sort of haunt, but is there anything creepy or "unnerving" in the text itself? Do the Odyssey or Medea qualify as horror? How about some Greek Myths or Myths of other cultures. Certainly there are unusually creepy or disturbing scenes but horror? What about the Bible? Are there any horror stories there? Are there any horror novels based on biblical passages? If not what a missed opportunity. Finally, is there a moral dimension to horror? Certainly there are horror stories that reify moral thought or behavior. Is horror, though, more a mirror or funhouse mirror on morality? A disturbing glimpse on power. Not just political or supernatural but on any kind of power? "The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allen Poe is one of the most memorable stories I've ever read. Is it a horror story or a crime story? What to make of all those true crime stories on cable?

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Wait, you don’t think a creature that was created out of dead bodies who takes horrible vengeance on his creator by slaughtering the people he loves ( including a child) is creepy or unnerving? I think you might want to read that book again. It is definitely a horror story.

[@kallianpublico7517]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 Having been brought up by Hollywood and comic books and science, 18th or 19th century sensibilities seemed familiar, outdated or "hokey". Like watching an old movie by Ed Wood: pretentious. The only part of the book that really touched me was the end, in the Arctic or antarctic? The cold atmosphere juxtaposed the monster's thumos, the heat of his search for justice; against the tepid, incoherence of Frankenstein's intrinsic, moral contradiction. The "damn the consequences" of Frankenstein's, scientific Hubris vs the "consequences damn you" of the monster's Nemesis. Horror? Or crime? Terror of the physical unknown, or loss of one's immortal soul? Cold, catatonic, fear or cold 🥶, indifferent, moral judgement.

[@Yesica1993]

Aw, come on, Roger. Lighten up and let him go interview those authors. What's a little ripping apart of time & space? I mean, how can the world be any much worse than it is now?

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

Seriously.

[@brianhaas1154]

Hot take: Guy de Maupassant > Poe.

[@Yesica1993]

I hope you explain for the n00bs the different versions/editions of FRANKENSTEIN. I want to read it but it all gives me a headache.

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I will talk about some of the differences. The 1818 text is the way to go.

[@Yesica1993]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 Thank you!

[@wordfullyyours]

OMG I hated Frankenstein! 😅

[@michaelk.vaughan8617]

I guess you’ll be skipping that episode.

[@wordfullyyours]

@@michaelk.vaughan8617 lol Actually I would be interested in your opinion of it 🙂