During the Victorian Era, society had great concern about the effect of scary stories on children, including the possibility of long-term emotional damage and inhibited maturity in adulthood. People believed that hearing scary stories in their childhood had made them cowardly and some believed that penny dreadfuls created a criminal mindset. By the end of the century, some people thought a story could frighten one to death. A number of sudden or mysterious deaths were attributed to fright.
What do you think? Can you imagine a story frightening enough to kill? What’s the nature of that story? Who would seek it out or tell it? To whom? What would someone do to destroy it? What happens next?
