Dracula is one of the most famous horror novels, responsible not just for introducing the eponymous Count Dracula, but for laying the foundations for many of the common tropes we see in modern horror fiction. Count Dracula isn’t the first vampire to have graced the pages of Western literature—that honor belongs to Lord Ruthven in “The Vampire,” a short story by John William Polidori—but Dracula is the vampire on which the modern vampire trope is based. Dracula wasn’t as famous in its day as it is today; readers of the time seemed to enjoy it as nothing more than a good story, and Stoker died nearly penniless. But its long-lasting influence is undeniable, and for all its age Dracula remains a gripping, fast-paced, and enjoyable read.

The Picture of Dorian Gray was first published as a serial in Lippencott’s Monthly Magazine, and the publishers thought it would so offend readers that they removed nearly 500 words without Wilde’s approval. Wilde soon expanded it and republished it as a novel, including a short preface justifying his art. Even though his contemporaries considered it so offensive that some argued for his prosecution, Dorian Gray today survives as a classic philosophical novel that explores themes of aestheticism and double lives. Couched in Wilde’s trademark cutting wit, Dorian Gray is still being adapted today, with Dorian and his moldering portrait remaining cultural touchstones.

Charles Dickens wrote A Christmas Carol in 1843 and the first edition, published on 19th December, was so successful that it sold out in just six days. The publishers had to produce two further editions between Christmas and the new year to meet the demand, and the novella has never been out of print. A Christmas Carol tells the story of a greedy money-lender, Ebenezer Scrooge, who is first visited by the ghost of his former business partner and then by three spirits—the Ghost of Christmas Past, the Ghost of Christmas Present and the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come. They show Scrooge’s lack of compassion to him, compelling him to act more compassionately in the future and to honor Christmas in his heart.

Attending medical school in Boston, Reuel Briggs has neither wealth nor the good looks of the upper-class white society with which he surrounds himself. He is, however, incredibly talented, and has a rare gift in the psychological study of mysticism and supernatural phenomenon. Even if his peers aren’t too keen on him, they can’t help but be awed by his talent, and subsequently call on his aid in reaching out to the minds of the sick and dying who would otherwise be lost. Though this field of mysticism is his life’s work and sole talent, it may soon be his downfall as it leads him down a dark path of secrets and discoveries. Of One Blood was first published serially in The Colored American Magazine, which Hopkins edited at the time. Written at the turn of the century and shortly after the Civil War, Hopkins explores the legacy of slavery, questions of identity, and the bounds of love and loyalty.