Probably the most famous horror stories of all time, Frankenstein, Dracula, and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, are still around and popular today because they deliver something that all good fiction delivers: real life and conflict.  Mary Shelley's Frankenstein was first published in 1817 and was an immediate hit.  Consider, a man decides to play God and creates a "creature," a "wretch,"  that can roam about the country-side at will, stealing, killing, and frightening anyone he wishes.  Yes, the movie version.  The written version isn't anything like that, but is an in depth study into the deeps of the human psyche (not to mention the young 16-year-old mind of Mary Shelley).  Just to see that the movies aren't anything like the book makes the read worth it.  Bram Stoker's Dracula is another thriller, and despite all the attention to it's overt sexuality - the piercing of the throat with the fangs of the vampire: phallic symbolism akin to the loss of one's virginity and awakening into sexual freedom - the sexuality was something that Stoker never imagined in his wildest dreams.  "Listen to them, the children of the night.  What music they make," is an amazing look into true evil.    Last, but not least, Jekyll and Hyde - the classic study in the duality of man.  If nothing else, at 70 pages, this is a quick read, but the unsuspecting reader will be surprisingly rewarded.  Of the three - Shelley, Stocker, Stevenson - Robert Louis Stevenson is the best writer.  If the reader expects Treasure Island or Kidnapped, watch out!  When his wife first read the story  it terrified her so bad that Stevenson immediately burned it.  Thank the Framer of the Universe he rewrote it (both versions were written in a few days and in the same week).  In this story the reader sees real life and real issues that people see today.  A timeless treasure in seeing that good and evil can never be separated, but coexist in every man and woman.  We give this printing our highest rating - 5 skulls - and would like to remind the gentle reader that at $6.95 he or she cannot go wrong!  The Stephen King Intro alone is worth $6.95!
Fear Knocks Staff Writers
Signet Classic - Frankenstein, Dracula, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, with an introduction by Stephen King gets a solid 5 skull rating from Fear Knocks - Read it!
Paperback: 672 pages - Publisher: Signet Classic        
ISBN: 0451523636                                        
copyright 2006 Fear Knocks