Monsters at the Door. Dracula, Frankenstein, Viy and Other Literary Monsters

The 19th century — a time of grand changes and unstoppable scientific and technological progress, a time when the impossible became possible before our eyes. It was this century that gave birth to the most famous literary monsters: from Mephistopheles and Viy to Frankenstein and Dracula.

What fears of humanity are reflected in these monsters? How were they influenced by the monsters of antiquity and recent scientific discoveries? How did Russian vampires differ from their European counterparts? And who is Viy? In the book by literary historian Alexey Vdovin, you will learn how to truly understand the scariest texts of European and Russian classics.