Frankenstein Confronts the Darkness In Us All By Historian & Author Mary Mallory

One of the greatest Halloween stories ever told, Mary Shelley’s 1818 tale Frankenstein still enthralls audiences to this day. Considered the first science fiction novel by many, it spawned a genre of horror plays, books, and movies and remains prescient in its tale of a scientist mortified with the resultant horror of what he has created after forming a new creature from the body parts of the dead.

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The Pathos of a Monster – Lon Chaney Jr. (A Forgotten Hollywood Essay) By Writer and Contributor Manny Pacheco

Universal Studios had a hammerlock on the horror genre during Hollywood’s studio era. Their stable of stars, directors and writers understood the very nature of putting the face on a memorable monster. An eerie remote locale…dark and desperate situations…flawed characters (including a fair share of assorted loathsome ghouls), and a script tinged with wicked humor; this was the recipe for success.

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Halloween is Traditionally a day for Honoring the Dead By Contributor and Photographer Simie Seaman

The roots of Halloween, or All Hallows' Eve, is thought to have originated from a Celtic festival dedicated to marking the beginning of winter and the end of the annual crop cycle. The day was believed to be the moment when the souls of the dead would travel to the underworld, weakening the barriers between the living and the dead.

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Monsters Unite! Count Dracula and Dr. Frankenstein’s creation joined forces to help create the Screen Actors Guild. By Valerie Yaros, SAG-AFTRA historian

Boris Karloff and Béla Lugosi are horror film legends, but few know them as union activists and founding members of the Screen Actors Guild. Between 1933 and 1937, both actively recruited actors and actresses to join the as-yet-unrecognized union – a delicate and risky business.

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