Horace Walpole 
Castle of Otranto 

Medievalism, terror, and the ubiquitous haunted castle are staples of the Gothic horror genre. But the man who unwittingly inspired the likes of ‘Frankenstein’, ‘Dracula’, Hammer horror movies and even the Goth subculture was blissfully unaware of his impact.Horace Walpole’s ‘The Castle of Otranto’ started a trend that has endured. The book features Manfred, lord of the castle, and includes sickness, weddings, doom-laden prophesies, a bizarre death, imprisonment, religion, a heroic peasant, and much more.There is a hint of ‘Harry Potter’ and plenty to grip those who love shows like ‘The Haunting of Hill House’ and ‘Penny Dreadful’.-