Scary Stories in Special Collections
Special Collections’ dim-lit stacks hold rare copies of some of the most famous tales of horror, mystery, and otherworldly terror! I thought I’d highlight a few in the spirit of Halloween:
1. Charles Robert Maturin, Melmoth the wanderer: a tale (second edition, 1821). This famous Gothic novel, by the great-uncle of Oscar Wilde, tells the story of the life and wanderings of a scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for a prolonged life.
2. Edgar Allen Poe, “The Raven” (1845). Poe first published his famous poem in the magazine American Review in February 1845.
3. Bram Stoker, Dracula (first edition, 1897). This copy of the most famous vampire story of all time is signed by Stoker to an unnamed recipient on the front flyleaf.