Category: Classic Horror

There are many famous horror stories out there, both classic and modern. Here we will explore classic horror stories.

Classic Horror

Classic Horror: The Ministers Black Veil

Katie Marie

What’s your Secret Sin?

Today I am writing to you about an underrated piece of classic horror. The Ministers Black Veil is a short story that was written by Nathaniel Hawthorn in the 1800s. It was published in 1836 in a magazine and was republished the following year in a collection of short stories by Hawthorn. 

Summary

The story starts with the sexton (chap in charge of the maintenance of church buildings) ringing a bell. The reverend arrives and greets his congregation, but all are surprised to see him wearing a veil, which obscures all of his face save for his mouth and chin. Naturally people begin to speculate, while the Reverend gives his sermon on secret sin, his tone being darker than usual. The congregation grow concerned about their own secret sins.

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Classic Horror

Classic Horror: Masque of the Red Death

Katie Marie

I’m not dead!

Today I am writing to you about The Masque of the Red Death. 

This is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe that was published in 1982. In a nutshell, it is a story about a prince who wants to avoid the plague. He does so by holding a party in an abbey (Good lord this gives me flashbacks to news stories during COVID-19). 

This is a very popular story and has been adapted more times than I can count. One version even starred Vincent Price. It has also been mentioned and referred to in countless other media. 

Summary

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Prince Prospero (Great name) is afraid of dying from the plague, as many people would be. The plague is referred to as the Red Death, due to the epic bleeding from the pores. So, he sequesters himself and a bunch of other noble-born people into an abbey. While there they hold elaborate parties across the abbey’s seven rooms. The last room is pretty foreboding and not a lot of people are brave enough to enter. 

After midnight a new face appears, disguised as a Red Death victim. Prospero freaks out as this party crasher moves through each of the rooms. Eventually, he confronts the crasher and dies as a result. The Red Death costume is shown to contain absolutely nothing. 

Everyone dies.

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Classic Horror

Classic Horror: The Bottle Imp

Katie Marie

Genie in a bottle

Today I am writing to talk to you about The Bottle Imp.

This story, by Robert Louis Stevenson, was published in the New York Herald in 1891 and can normally be found in his collection ‘Island Nights’ Entertainment’.

As you may have guessed from the title this is the story about a genie, though there is another element to it, that being if the person who holds the bottle dies with it in their possession, then their soul is Hellbound.

Summary

Photo by Roberto Nickson on Pexels.com

Keawe is a Native Hawaiian and is somewhat cash strapped. At the beginning of the story, he buys a strange unbreakable bottle from an old man who claims the bottle is responsible for his fortune. The old man claims that the imp living inside the bottle will grant Keawe his heart’s desire.

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Classic Horror

Classic Horror: The Outsider

Katie Marie

You are the monster

Today I am writing to you to talk about one of Lovecraft’s shortest but possibly most effective short stories, The Outsider.

The Outsider is a beautifully written short regarding a chap escaping a castle.

The story is told in first person, which was a means of story telling Lovecraft favoured to an extent. Our narrator talks about his life, focusing on how lonely and isolated he has been and ultimately how unhappy. He has no real memory of other people, or even where he is from originally. He also describes his environment, the dark and rather run-down castle that squats in an endless forest. The narrator has never even seen natural light. All his knowledge from outside world comes from books.

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Classic Horror

Classic Horror: The Monkey’s Paw

Katie Marie

Be careful what you wish for

Today I am writing to talk to you about the short story The Monkeys Paw. 

I cannot imagine that you will not have seen, or heard of, one of the parodies of this story. Someone finds a severed monkey hand that grants wishes that all turn out to produce hopelessly ironic consequences. The adaptations and parodies cross almost all mediums from television to plays, films, comics and even cartoons. The Simpsons did a Halloween episode of the story, the turkey’s a little dry! 

That aside, the original short story was penned by W.W Jacobs in 1902 and was published in the collection titled The Lady of the Barge. 

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