Anne Rice was born on October 4, 1941 with the unusual name, Howard Allen Frances O'Brien. One of the most popular American writers today, her books have sold nearly 100 million copies; she is best known for her novels Interview with a Vampire (1976), The Queen of the Damned (1988), and The Wolf Gift (2012). Born in New Orleans to Roman Catholic parents, religion has always been an important force in her life.
Mistress of the Gothic novel, Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley—née Godwin—was born August 30, 1797 in London, England. Her parents were famous intellectuals: writer and philosopher, William Godwin, and women’s rights activist, Mary Wollstonecraft. Sadly, complications from childbirth led to Wollstonecraft's death just days following Mary's birth.
Edna St. Vincent Millay was hailed for her ability to compose moving poetry on subjects varying from politics and nature, to the rebellion of youth. She began her writing career at a young age and quickly rose to fame in 1912, when her poem “Renascence” was first published. Her beautifully written poetry and plays captivated audiences and indisputably displayed her talent, which would honor her in being the first woman to win a Pulitzer Prize.
In the spring of 1936, Millay began working on a new piece, a play in blank verse called Conversations at Midnight. Meanwhile, she travelled to Sanibel Island, Florida, where she was able to relish in the warmth and change of scenery. However, while she was on the beach looking for seashells, the Palms Hotel caught fire and burned to the ground. Her manuscript was destroyed along with the hotel. Devastated, Millay returned home to Steepletop, where she would begin to rewrite the play from memory. The complete second draft, including revisions and new additions, was published in 1937.
“A pretty sight, a lady with a book.” So says Shirley Jackson in We Have Always Lived in the Castle. Frankly, we couldn't agree more. Jackson is known for being one of the most prolific horror writers in America, influencing big-name authors such as Stephen King and Neil Gaiman.
Halloween often ranks as people's favorite holiday--after all, who can resist costumes and candy corns? Many of us love the holiday for much spookier reasons; we love those ghosts, goblins, and ghouls. Ghosts have haunted the pages of many a book, including those of some of the best works of world literature. We’ll list ten, beginning with the creepiest, ghouls in BOOOOks! See? You've already had your first scare and we haven't even started the ghostly countdown. Hold on tight--you're about to take a trip through a haunted house full of ghastly literary characters.
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle is one of literature’s most renowned mysteries; Sherlock Holmes is on the case after a ghostly hound stalks, and perhaps kills, Sir Charles Baskerville. Written in 1901, it is now part of school curriculums and popularized in film and television. Yet despite cultural familiarity with the novel, the allegations of adultery, plagiarism, and murder that haunt its creation remain largely unknown.
Halloween is the time for ghouls, goblins, witches, and...ghosts. In the art world, ghosts aren't merely the phantoms, banshees, and spooks of horror stories; there are also ghosts of the pen. Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart would ghostwrite music for wealthy patrons, and plenty of famous authors have written works on behalf of others as well.
It's commonly known that “Frankenstein” was the creation of nineteen-year-old Mary Wollstonecraft Goodwin (later, Shelley) in a contest to create the scariest ghost story as a guest at the Lord Byron’s Italian villa. However, there may be significantly more to the story. There were four separate European scientists who may perhaps have played muse to Mary: Luigi Galvani, Giovanni Aldini, Andew Ure, and perhaps most influentially, Johann Konrad Dippel.
Even the earliest recorded tales have elements of horror, fear, and despair, and the archetypes of horror have likely lasted much longer. The vampire archetype, for example, can be traced all the way back to the ancient civilization of Sumer; the vampire-like being Emikku would inhabit the bodies of people who had died violently or who were buried improperly.
Few characters have captured our imagination like Bram Stoker's Dracula - the fearsome figure who makes frequent appearances around Halloween. However, Stoker's depiction of Dracula wasn't quite accurate, and neither are many interpretations of the character that we find today.
