The writer of this well-researched paper contends and explains the manner in which the theme of monsters in classic Western
literature originates from religious, cultural and linguistic sources. This paper focuses primarily on Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein" and Victor Hugo's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame," both classic
romantic novels which clearly depict dark and gothic images. This paper explores Shelley's writing style which illustrates how evil can emerge from the human psyche literally as well as symbolically. The writer discusses and details the similarities in both novels. This paper analyzes Hugo's intention when describing Quasimodo who is slightly more appealing than Frankenstein, albeit Quasimodo's appearance does convey a certain amount of fear. This paper contains several selected portions of text from both novels which are relevant to the specific topic detailed in this paper. The writer also discusses how this particular style of dark writing has evolved in more contemporary and up-to-date works by authors such as Stephen King as well as in films such as "Fatal Attraction" and "Silence of the Lambs." Table of Contents: Introduction Frankenstein: Who Was the Real Monster? Victor Hugo's Hunchback: An Illustrative Device Allegory or Entertainment? Modern Monsters: The Theme Continued Conclusions Works Cited