Bram Stoker

We often assume the Victorians had puritanical attitudes to sex, but this was far from the reality. From familiar classics to neglected gems, Claire Jarvis—Stanford academic and author of Exquisite Masochism: Sex, Marriage and the Novel Form—selects the best books on sex in Victorian literature.

Why was 1897 such a great year for horror? How did Charles Darwin’s discoveries impact the genre? Trinity College, Dublin professor Darryl Jones selects some of the best of the genre—and discusses why we find these stories so fascinating.

The Romanian-born poet tells us about his love for fantastic and magical tales – particularly bloody ones with cannibalism, necrophilia and alienated heroes.

Boston University professor delves into the origins of crime science, using literary and historical works to explain early forensics, phrenology and criminal psychology

Dracula, I am Legend, Edgar Allan Poe and Louis Stevenson all make the novelist and horror expert’s list. But the most terrifying horror moment for him is when a book is burnt in the Stephen King novel Misery