Welcome to The Penny Dreadful
Or, The Archivist is a little frazzled and put the welcome email in the wrong place.
Welcome to the streets of Victorian London...
Why not pick up a Penny Dreadful for some entertainment?
Penny Dreadfuls — an early precursor to modern pop culture beginning in the 1830s — were serialized gothic stories sold for a penny a chapter on the streets of Victorian London. Many classic gothic novels that we know and love today started out as Penny Dreadfuls, or as serialized novels printed in other publications.
Thank you for subscribing — it’s fantastic to have you here!
Starting October 1st, 2022, you will receive periodic installments of classic gothic novels and stories delivered right to your inbox.
If you’re curious and want more, come visit The Silas Archives, the home of the exploration of vampiric literature, vampire history, queer theory, and the many faces of Carmilla Karnstein.
I greatly appreciates your company down here among the stacks — the archives like to come alive at night, and I’m running out of snacks for the tomes.
— The Archivist
Some housekeeping…
If you can’t seem to find The Penny Dreadful in your inbox, check your spam folder or your promotions tab if you use Gmail. Not to worry — either way, you can always find every installment on either the website or the Substack app.
Thank you again for subscribing! If you’re so inclined, pass the word on to some of your friends who have an interest to the macabre…
Oh, I had no idea about the origin of the term. Thanks for sharing!
I'm thrilled that you are posting these. I had the opportunity to see scans on another site, but I wasn't in a place to read them at the time. I too spend too much time in the archives or digital libraries now. I miss the smell of paper and rooms full of books. Looking forward to reading them.