Creepy Classics

People have been drawn to scary stories since the dawn of time.  They were originally used to teach lessons to children and morality to adults, but from some of the elaborateness of even the oldest stories I think people just enjoyed a good scare.  I love some of the more classical incarnations of these monsters, back when they were just around to scare people and tell a good story.  Here are some of my favorite creepy classics.

Dracula by Bram Stoker-This is my favorite of the "monster" subset of horror.  I love how intensely creepy and jumpy and just evil this book is.  Stoker sets up the story of the vampire Dracula beautifully and never gives you a moment to relax.  I first read this book in the middle of a hurricane by candle light and let me tell you every time that thunder cracked or a tree fell I jumped out of my skin.  This is also my favorite vampire story because I think that Stoker really captures the beautiful seductive yet utterly horrifying character that is Dracula and now I compare all vampire books to this one and have yet to find one that is anywhere near as chilling and wonder.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelly-First of this was written by a woman, which kinda is super awesome, especially considering the time period in which this was written.  Second, whenever I hear monster the first image that pops into my head is of Frankenstein's creation. Many people mistakenly call the monster Frankenstein, but he was actually it's creator...though I guess after reading this book one could argue that it really was Dr. Frankenstein and not his creation that is the true monster.  This book is actually less of an all out horror novel and more of a scifi/drama/thriller.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde-This book combines elements of the supernatural ( a picture that keeps the subject young and immortal) and a cautionary tale of too much excess and what it can do to a person.  This book details the fall of a young man from naive and innocent to a lecherous, greedy, selfish worthless man.  The story shows how living a life with no consequences can result in some pretty horrific outcomes and the past will always come back to haunt you.  When this book first came out it was censored and warned against for it's pretty vivid and graphic descriptions of an unwholesome life. A very interesting look at a classic morality tale.

The Essential Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe- I had to put in a collection for my friend Mr. Poe because I just cannot choose my favorite story, The Raven, The Pit and the Pendulum, The Tell-Tale Heart, The Fall of the House of Usher.  Mr. Poe knew how to use words to invoke such great imagery that you really get into the stories, even the short ones and all kinds of creepiness ensues.  These stories are also great for beginners of classic horror because they are short and concise enough to be able to get into a great story while learning the vernacular of this particular era.  Plus Poe is just simply awesome.

The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving-I absolutely adore this little bit of American folk-lore, gives me a warm and fuzzy feeling to know that we have our own special ghosts stories and legends.  This story is a bit different from the previous ones on this list as it has a bit more humor to it.  The legend is never confirmed nor proven false to the outcome of the tale is left mostly to the readers interpretation.  This is also one of the few stories that has translated fairly well onto the screen, mostly cause you can go either slightly comical (Disney's cartoon version) or more on the creepy side (Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow)

What is your favorite classic creepy?  Do you think stories are scary back in the day or have we upped the ante in modern times?  What is your favorite original monster?  What contemporary creepy do you think will be on the classic list in 100 years?