Reading classic horror: E.T.A. Hoffmann
E.T.A. Hoffmann was a Prussian composer and also a writer of fantasy stories with a touch of horror. The focus on music and all the musical details he includes in his works give them a distinct flavour. Der Sandmann was definitely my favourite horror story from the anthology. The main character's childhood trauma grows into a mental instability... or it's caused by a dark, monstrous being, the titular Sandman.
My second favourite story was the Polish one. The author's wife was Polish and he worked for a time in Warsaw so he had some insight into the political situation and wrote a truly compelling supernatural story set in that time period. It's about a couple of lovers who are separated when the man goes to fight for Polish independence (probably joins the Legions in Italy) and the woman starts experiencing supernatural things. The man's lookalike cousin shows up and also wants to marry her. The woman gets pregnant and claims that she married her lover even though he was in Italy at the time. I appreciate how insane the story was.
The Walled-Up Door, the story about the family curse centered around the inheritance of the castle, was pretty interesting too. There was a mystery, a ghost, an unrequited love and very human conflict motivated by greed.
The story about a wizard helping a painter in love by driving off other suitors was rather comedic and fun. My least liked story in the anthology was about a Don Juan play. I didn't have the context to understand most of the references in it.
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