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Born in Boston in 1809, Poe published his first book of poems in 1827 and his first collection of short stories twelve years later in 1839. Over the next ten years until his death in 1849, Poe was an especially prolific writer despite heavy drinking, poverty and illness. It was during these ten years that he wrote Murders in the Rue Morgue (1841) which is widely considered to be the first detective story and his most famous poem, The Raven. (1845) This beautiful collection of works from a true literary genius showcases the author's talent through short horror stories like The Masque of the Red Death(1842), The Tell-Tale Heart(1843), The Fall of the House of Usher (1839), and The Cask of Amontillado(1846).
Besides The Raven, Poe wrote many stunning poems filled with stark imagery and desolate thoughts, but also with a remarkable command of language and prose that is simply astonishing.

Some other notable poems are Ulalume(1847), Annabel Lee(1849), The Haunted Palace(1839), The Conqueror Worm(1843), and The Bells(1849).

With the seasons changing and Halloween approaching, now is a fantastic time to visit the dreary, bleak, and horrific works of this magnificent writer. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

"I am Dracula, and I bid you welcome." Welcome indeed! When Bram Stoker wrote that famous greeting from the vampire king in his influential 1897 novel, he created a cultural icon that has spread over the past 100 years like the vampire plague he invented. Most cultures throughout the world have some type of vampire-like creature included in their folklore and these tales fascinated Stoker in his native Ireland. Before writing Dracula, Stoker spent years studying European folklore and was so impressed by the tales of Transylvania that they inspired the creation of his now famous vampire. Stoker's novel, though not the first vampire story - for example, John Polidori published Vampyre in 1819 and Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu published Carmilla in 1871 (which later became the basis of 1932 German film Vampyr) - has certainly become the most famous.

The Dracula story has been filmed well over 100 times throughout the world. The first film adaptation of Stoker's novel was the 1922 German silent film Nosferatu. The director of the film, F.W. Murnau, could not obtain the rights from the Stoker family to name his film Dracula so they named it Nosferatu, a word Stoker used to describe vampires in his novel, though the word doesn't seem to exist in Romanian vocabulary. It may be a corrupted form of "nesuferit" in Romanian or the Greek "Nosophoros," both of which translate as "plague-bearer."

Perhaps the most famous of these film adaptations is the 1931 Universal Pictures version starring Bela Lugosi as Dracula. The Hungarian born Lugosi's portayal of Count Dracula is still considered the quintessential vampire role today.

In 1992 director Francis Ford Coppola released another film adaptation that won three Academy Awards. Though Coppola titled his film Bram Stoker's Dracula, it is not an entirely faithful adaptation of Stoker's novel.

There are many, many other film and book variations on the plot and themes that Stoker created. So why not read the great novel and then compare it with the great film adaptations listed above!

- Submitted by Dan @ Central

First published in The New Yorker magazine in 1948, The Lottery is as shocking a short story as any I’ve read. Set in a contemporary village, The Lottery refers to an ancient custom that calls for a human sacrifice each year to ensure a good harvest. The contemporary setting, when mixed with the ancient barbaric practice of human sacrifice, offers a chilling statement about traditions in culture. Beautifully written and with a wonderful eye for detail, Jackson crafts a feeling of doom and dread that ultimately erupts in a flash of violence. If you read one short story this year, this would be a great one to choose!

The Haunting of Hill House is genuinely a scary story. Shirley Jackson writes with such subtlety and precision that a feeling of apprehension, unease and dread slowly built in me page by page. The Haunting of Hill House never relies on predictable clichés or “in your face” bombastic horror to scare the beans out of the reader; instead, Jackson uses psychology, intensity and implied horror to pack a wallop.
Eleanor Vance, a lonely woman who has spent many years caring for her invalid mother, receives, along with a few other people who have had paranormal experiences in the past, an invitation from a Dr Montague to stay at Hill House to study "supernatural manifestations."
The gradual psychological unraveling of Eleanor amongst the strange noises, turning doorknobs and ghostly apparitions is truly an exquisite study in implied terror. Masterfully written and truly scary, this fine novel deserves a read from any fan of psychological horror.
This novel was also filmed twice: once in 1963 and again in 1999. The 1963 version, directed by Robert Wise, utilizes the same technique of implied terror that Jackson did, and is almost as successful. After you read this fantastic book, check out the equally scary 1963 film.

Shirley Jackson films and stories

Submitted by Dan@Central

To help celebrate the Milwaukee Book Festival, please join us in the Rare Books Room at the Central Library on Tuesday, October 13th from 5:30-6:30 to discuss anything on your mind that concerns vampires! In the meantime, check out some of these classic tales of the Undead:

This 1897 classic started it all! Follow the exploits of Van Helsing as he battles Count Dracula and his demented sidekick Renfield! Check Dracula availability here.

The first book in Rice's Vampire Chronicles introduces the vampire Lestat as he creates other undead and inspires the 1994 film! Check Interview with the Vampire availability.

When Ben returns to his hometown to research a book, he finds a vampire intead! A true modern vampire classic from the "King" of horror fiction! Check Salem's Lot availability.

The last normal man alive fights a plague of vampires in this inspired and influential vampire classic! Check I am Legend availability.

- Submitted by Dan@Central

The familiar story of Count Dracula has been updated in this new sequel to Bram Stoker's seminal vampire novel. Coauthored by the Stoker's great-grandnephew, the continuation of Dracula's saga may feel like a comfortable old blanket to some readers and like a burr in a boot to others. The central characters from the original work are all here, including Van Helsing, Jonathan and Mina Harker, John Seward, Arthur Holmwood and, of course, Dracula. In addition, we get some bonus historical characters like Countess Bathory and Jack the Ripper and even a reference to the Titanic! Taken for what it is, this novel is a fun entry into the vampire genre. Amongst the gratuitous sex, bloody carnage and breakneck pace, the reader is introduced to a new and improved (maybe) Count Dracula who exhibits a sense of morality and docility that make him seem more like a deeply flawed, intelligent man than a blood-thirsty creature of the night.

Check catalog availability

Click here to read a review of the original Dracula

Submitted by Dan@Central

Chester's Mill, Maine, a small New England town is suddenly cut off from the rest of the world, trapped by an invisible and completely impenetrable dome. What is the dome? Why is it there? Will the town survive? Iraq war vet Dale Barbara and a group of the town's more sensible citizens must overcome the tyrannical rule of Big Jim Rennie, a politician bent on controlling everything within the Dome.

I was curious about this book because I read that King says he started Under the Dome in 1976 but then "crept away from it with my tail between my legs. . . I was terrified of screwing it up." While not typically a Stephen King reader, I've enjoyed a few over the years and can't help but compare this to The Stand. These titles are of particular interest because they are about ordinary people and the extraordinary evil we can do to each other. You can't help but imagine yourself in the situation and contemplate how you would react. Morals--it will make you examine the morals of the characters and your own. Check catalog for availability.

- Submitted by Jacki @ MPL Central

20th Century Ghosts is a short story collection by Joe Hill. Hill is the son of Stephen King, but is a talented horror writer from his own accord. Hill was recommended to me by my sister, also a librarian and I read his first book Heart Shaped Box and enjoyed it well enough. I really enjoyed Hill's direct, concise writing style and decided to pick up this collection. Though ghost is in the name, only one of the stories - which shares the books title - is really a ghost story. The rest range from the macabre to gruesome to touching to just plain confusing. What impressed me most what that all of the stories were written by the same person - the styles and plots of each story were all so different, that it seemed more like an anthology of horror writers. My favorite story was the first one, "Best New Horror" which almost a week after reading I am still thinking about. Pick up the book to at least read that one!

Submitted by Meredith, WTBBL

In this, one of the latest biographies of the Sixteenth President of the United States, by the author of the literary exposition, Pride and Prejudice and Zombies, Mr. Lincoln's secret (until now) avocation as vampire slayer is detailed. When Lincoln's mother becomes a victim of a vampire and passes away, he resolves to free the world of the vampire menace. It becomes a lifelong quest, as he soon learns that there is more at stake than a personal vendetta; the very freedom of every living man, woman and child in America is at risk. With help from a shadowy group of "good" vampires calling themselves "the Union," Lincoln learns that vampires have become entrenched in the economic, social and governmental affairs of the South, their plan being to eventually make the whole United States a vampire nation in which all the living are enslaved. The plans are thwarted when as President, Mr. Lincoln leads the North to defeat the vampire plotters and their Southern puppets. Taken from Lincoln's (until now) secret diaries, Mr. Grahame-Smith has written a worthy historical exposition of events in, and leading up to, the Civil War, and a fascinating biography of our Sixteenth President and lifelong vampire vanquisher Abraham Lincoln. Check catalog availability.

Submitted by Mary @ Central