This book is a groundbreaking exploration of relations between Gothic literature, pre-cinematic media such as magic lanterns, phantasmagoria and dioramas and the first films, in the period 1670-1910. Starting with the earliest projections of horror images, continuing through the development of Gothic fiction and drama and closing with the first Frankenstein film, this study is a fascinating and pioneering evaluation of relations between these different media. Among the mysteries broached en route are the reasons why our first view of Dracula on English soil is described by Bram Stoker as a 'diorama', and why the doyen of tales of terror, Sheridan Le Fanu, is revealed to be a literary magic lanternist -- as is Robert Louis Stevenson.

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