A-Z: Classic Monsters: Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde

It's Friday and today's letter is "J" for the A-Z Challenge.  Of course I've decided to to feature Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde even though Mr. Hyde was the monster.  Still, in my opinion, Dr. Jekyll was a total monster for creating such a concoction that would turn him into Mr. Hyde, right?

About The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

Written by Robert Louis Stevenson, this piece of classic literature was incredibly expressive for one written during a time when society was mostly oppressed.  If you think about it, other than the fantasy aspect to it, that might have been why it was so popular.  Robert Stevenson is a master and happens to be one of my favorite classic lit authors.  If you have had a chance to read this short story, check out my creepy classic review here.

About the film from Wikipedia

Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is a 1931 American Pre-Code horror film directed by Rouben Mamoulian and starring Fredric March. The film is an adaptation of The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886), the Robert Louis Stevenson tale of a man who takes a potion which turns him from a mild-mannered man of science into a homicidal maniac. March's performance has been much lauded, and earned him his first Academy Award.

If you could create a potion that would allow your evil alter ego emerge and live vicariously (without consequences) through that version of yourself...would you do it?  Some say drugs and alcohol have that effect, but I'm not talking about that.  Thoughts?

My favorite spin-off - Hyde and Hare

Can you think of any classic monsters that start with J?  Are you a Robert Louis Stevenson fan?  What about Bugs Bunny?

Mina B.

Creepy Classic: Kidnapped

Before 2011 ends, I wanted to post another Creepy Classic review. This one, however not mystical, is just as creepy. Fresh off the heels of Treasure Island, I felt the pull of Robert Louis Stevenson’s machinations and found myself searching for another one of his classics. I stumbled upon Kidnapped, which is another novel Stevenson's wrote, which was equally as riveting as the beloved Treasure Island.

The story starts out with our narrator, David Balfour, a young teenager which we learn father has recently passed away.  As his mother is also deceased, he soon discovers he's not alone in the world and that he has a rich uncle who's gentry.  David begins his adventure the moment he sets out to meet his uncle, Ebinezer.  On the trip there he meets various village people in the area that warn him of his uncle. This sets the stage for the adventure, because David clearly was warned.  After arriving, David soon learns his uncle is the most bizarre man with a propensity to distrust people, especially his new nephew.  Ebinezer's behavior intensifies and begins threatening David’s life.  And the reason, of course, is because of money.  It appears, David's father and uncle were twins and since David's father was the first born, that would then make David the rightful heir to the Shaw estate.

The worst thing young David did was trust his uncle in any way shape or form.   The man was pure evil.  Not only did Uncle Ebinezer attempt to kill David, but he also arranged for him to be kidnapped, taken to America and sold as a slave.  Poor David.  As David is captured and stolen away on a ship ran by a band of thieves and murderers, we soon learn how perilous his circumstances are.  However, like a brilliant hero, he bides his time, adapting to various situations until he meets a Scotsman, Alan Breck (Stewart).  Alan was found and picked up by the ship and it's Captain Hoseason, and was about to be backstabbed when David learns of the plan and confesses the scheme to the stranger.  As David befriends Alan, the two embark on a wild adventure fighting their way off a murderous voyage, and then finding them both shipwrecked on the Isle of Erraid.  The two then journey through the highlands and lowlands of Scotland.  In a word... fascinating.  David was so young and virtuous; he was the type character that constantly made you want to be a better person.  I loved him for his innocence and for his commitment to his father and above all his friend, Alan.  What a wonderful read.

I won't tell you what happens in this classic. I've already said too much.  It was just short of genius as are most of Stevenson's tales.  I have this new-found appreciation for Scotland that I hadn't had before.  You don't know what you're missing until to you dive into the wildly imaginative storytelling of Stevenson.  If you get a chance…read this classic.  Kidnapped is 4.5 on my scale.  Since it's a classic its free via Kindle or other e-apps, so now you have no excuse.

Hope you all have a spectacular New Year's eve.

Mina B.

Creepy Classic: Treasure Island

This month’s Creepy Classic is Robert Louis Stevenson’s Treasure Island.  Like most lovers of classic literature, I've read another one of Stevenson’s tale’s Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. – which is an insanely good read (see my review here.)  Treasure Island was equally as dark and far more suspenseful in a delicious sort of way.  Seriously, this book is one of the finest in classic children's literature, and it’s a shame that more people aren't taking advantage of it's authentic craftsmanship.  But I guess that’s what’s reviews like this are for.

Nevertheless, Treasure Island grips you immediately from the point when Billy Bones – one of Captain Flints menacing pirates – takes up residence at a village inn.  He siphons the establishments' livelihood by drinking and carousing endlessly to a “Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum.”  The story begins from the perspective of Jim Hawkins; the young boy destined to cross paths with Bones.  Reading the book through Jim’s eyes was the most refreshing and enticing classic book I've read in some time.  He captivated me from the start with his frightened yet curious nature.  After Billy Bones' demise, Jim embarks on an adventure of a lifetime, teaming up with a Captain Smollett, Doctor Livesey as well as a host of other lively characters including the crew of sailors - most of which were pirates.

Although on the surface the story is essentially about hunting for the blasted treasure, I found that was indeed so much more.  There was this undertone of treachery from the beginning and once the ship set sail, loyalties were tested and ultimately, deceit revealed.  There can’t be a pirate tale, unless there’s a mutiny, right?   And reading about the heinous finagling and murderous deeds was so chilling, I swear I’ll never get those pirate thugs out of my brain.  Brilliant.  The suspense and intrigue killed me at times for both the plot and the characters, especially Long John Silver.  I have to say my only complaint was the changing of the narrator.  I didn’t need it nor did I want it.  I understand why it was done, but it vexed me to no end.  Young Jim started out as a small flame and by the end of this tale he was blazing.  He was magnificent as was Silver.  

Since this was published, much of what the general public associates with pirates comes from this story.  I actually read a review recently where someone complained about how Treasure Island was riddled with clichés.  To me, there was an exorbitant amount of originality infused in this tale that I don’t understand how someone could classify it as such.  Between the X marks the spot, treasure maps, parrots, Skeleton Island and not to mention Silver’s relentlessly switching sides (remind you of Johnny Depp’s Jack Sparrow, eh?), clichés were the last thing on my mind.  It was written in 1883 for the love of Peter!  Authentic would be more precise, but that’s me.  All in all, Stevenson’s Treasure Island’s was a 5; an original from the onset that continues to thrive as a timeless classic today.

Mina B.

A Creepy Classic Review: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

This month’s Creepy Classic is Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  I honestly never have read this story before and vaguely recall various film depictions of the story.  And from what I did recollect, the tale was about a mad scientist, Dr. Jekyll, who drinks a potion and becomes the nefarious Mr. Hyde. Oh, how the original delves much deeper than that.


The book starts off with Mr. Utterson; one of Dr. Jekyll’s old school chums that’s described as probably one of the best openings I’ve read in a book in a long time. “Mr. Utterson the lawyer was a man of a rugged countenance that was never lighted by a smile; cold, scanty, and embarrassed in discourse; backyard in sentiment; lean, long, dusty, dreary and yet somehow loveable.” And boy was he ever likeable. Utterson’s a little obsessive and possibly a stalker at times, but the poor guy does so because he’s concerned for his friend, Dr. Jekyll. As the executor of Dr. Jekyll’s will, Mr. Utterson is troubled by the notion that his friend, Dr. Jekyll - in the event of his disappearance – would leave all his belongings, assets and so forth to that of a stranger, this Mr. Edward Hyde.

And what’s to make of this strange man, Mr. Hyde? As described in the original, he’s not as all as Hollywood describes. He’s odd, no doubt, small frame and sinister nature, yet as Stevenson put it in Utterson’s terms: “Mr. Hyde was pale and dwarfish, he gave an impression of deformity without any nameable malformation…” And one of my favorite passages after Utterson is confounded by his first meeting with Jekyll’s creepy friend, he surmises “Jekyll, if ever I read Satan’s signature upon a face it is on that of your new friend.”
While Utterson continues down the path of discovery, pursuing Mr. Hyde incognito, I was reminded by the classic phrase I’d forgotten, “If he be Mr. Hyde,” he had thought, “I shall be Mr. Seek.” Oh, I love that passage. It’s such a classic it needed to be repeated.

As the story unveils more bizarre occurrences with the good natured, Dr. Jekyll and then the evil-spirited, Mr. Hyde, Utterson grows more and more perplexed. Utterson then seeks input from another of Dr. Jekyll’s friends – Dr. Lanyon.  Soon, both men get entangled in their mutual friend’s “unscientific balderdash” which results in Lanyon’s untimely death.

What I enjoyed most about this short story, other than the buildup, was the reasoning as to why Dr. Jekyll did it. We all know it’s about potions or scientific concoctions, etc… but was it all in the name of science? Or was it the deeper moral issue that drove Dr. Jekyll’s insane motives to create a drug that could alter his ego so wickedly?  I won’t ruin it for you. You’ll just have to read this book. It was such a simple read that it shouldn't take too long to get through it. And for the love of Peter, it’s a free book that you can find most anywhere online or dare I say in the library.

On the Mina Burrows KilloMeter, I give Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde a 4.
Until next time…read something creepy, read a Creepy Classic.
Mina B.