Zombies, Blood, and Vampires: How Horror Has Bitten into Other Media


There’s no doubt that horror is one of the most enduring genres on the planet. Some may say that it began with gothic literature of the 18th Century, but it dates further back than that. Indeed, even the ancient Greeks and Romans had their own chilling stories.

Now, horror is booming, and it spans way beyond books. Films are the best place to get a fix, but the themes from the silver screen have also bitten into other media such as gaming.

Classic Literature: Dracula and Frankenstein

A lot of modern horror can be traced back to the seminal works of Bram Stoker and Mary Shelley in the 19th Century. Dracula and Frankenstein are two of the most adapted stories of all time, and these novels laid a lot of the groundwork for the horror genre. For instance, they popularised imagining things that could go wrong regarding science and religion. They also explored humanity’s darker nature and blurred the lines between life and death.

Early Black and White Adaptations

As soon as film started to take off in the early 20th Century, filmmakers began to translate horror to the screen. Nosferatu in 1922 was one of the earliest Dracula adaptations, and it set the tone for other versions of Shelley’s work over the next 100 years. Frankenstein was also quick to move to the screen in 1931, and the picture introduced many horror tropes, such as suspense and special effects, that still exist today.

As the film industry has progressed and technology has evolved, the horror genre has expanded and branched out in many new directions. There are more subgenres than many horror fans can keep track of these days, but it is still possible to dissect today’s films and trace some of their influences back to the works that kickstarted it all.

New Adaptations: Online Slots

Horror went from text to screen easily and then translated again to the world of gaming. The iGaming industry often takes inspiration from film, and many of the genres that cinemagoers want to see are also represented on the reels of slot games. Horror-themed titles like Nightfall and Fat Drac offering different spins on vampires.

When players select these titles, they can choose a game based on the thumbnail and whether its theme appeals to them. They can also look into other factors, such as the number of reels in the game. Most online slots have five reels, but some Megaways games have an additional reel so that they can generate more paylines.

The Future of Horror Adaptations

Horror is one of the best genres at spanning different mediums and enjoying success in each of them. With books, films, and games already covered, it’s interesting to think where it could go next. Virtual reality could be mainstream soon, which means there’s likely to be a range of new horror experiences using the technology.

Perhaps soon VR users will be able to enter their own horror fiction experiences and become the protagonist in a terrifying tale. There’s a good chance that this form of entertainment is set to get scarier in the years ahead.