THE JESSICA JOURNALS

With the release of Frankenstein (2025), audiences are reminded of Guillermo del Toro’s ability to transform classic literature into visually striking, emotionally resonant cinema. Fans are already speculating: what other beloved stories might del Toro bring to life next? His blend of dark fairy-tale sensibility, meticulous production design, and empathetic monster-making makes almost any Gothic or fantastical tale feel ripe for reinvention. The Phantom of the Opera Gaston L

It is typically hard for a story so short to captivate its reader, but I truly did fall under Kafka’s spell through his novella, The Metamorphosis . The novella follows a travelling salesman named Gregor Samsa, who wakes up one morning to find he has inexplicably turned into a gigantic cockroach. Following this, he struggles to acclimate to his new body, and to sound human when he speaks. But, despite these issues, Gregor’s main concern is the possibility that he won’t be abl

Franz Kafka's tragic allegory for dehumanisation takes our October book club spot. Context Written in early 20th-century Prague, during the Austro-Hungarian Empire, where Kafka lived as a German-speaking Jew in a predominantly Czech-speaking city, the novella perhaps draws from Kafka’s experience of cultural isolation. He was surrounded by rising anti-Semitism and tension between Czechs, Germans and Jews. This unrest manifests itself in Gregor Samsa, the protagonist. Kafka wa

1. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897) Approx. reading time: 10–11 hours 
Dracula is the foundation of vampire lore and shares Nosferatu’s blend of dread and fascination. Its epistolary form creates a creeping tension, similar to the film’s slow-building dread. The novel explores the gothic appetite through themes of faith, corruption, and forbidden desire, mirroring Ellen’s insatiable hunger and the destructive pull of Nosferatu. 2. Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice (1976)

I find it fitting that my birthday (October 17th) sits right in the middle of Autumn. As a nostalgic, sentimental person, I always end up reminiscing during this time of year, when the leaves are falling and the nights are long, when the sky scowls above me, its great big clouds reminding me of sadness, of the past, of what I have lost. A few years ago, I wrote a poem for one of my university modules and submitted it as one of my assessment pieces. I wrote it one night spur