Friends of the Aiken Public Library Book List

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Two thirteen year old boys go to the traveling carnival, where they encounter "Mr. Dark" who wears a tattoo for each person who, lured by the offer to live out their secret fantasies, has become bound in service to the carnival. They discover a magic carousel, the Dust Witch, a sinister mirror maze, and other creepy horrors.

The Stand by Stephen King

After the death of most of the population of North America from a superfu virus, the survivors find each other and divide into two camps. One group of oddball characters are united by shared dreams of a 108 year old black woman who seems to be a refuge from evil. The other group becomes disciples of Randall Flagg, an evil "dark man" with supernatural powers. A climactic confrontation eventually follows.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

A physician is researching the dual aspects, good and evil, that lie within each person. He formulates a potion that causes the evil part to predominate, takes it himself, and becomes Mr. Hyde, with eventual tragic consequences.

Dracula by Bram Stoker

This novel is written as a seies of letters between Jonathan Harker, his fiancee Mina Murray, Professor Van Helsing, and others. Harker is a lawyer who meets a sinister Count Dracula at his castle in Transylvania. Harker has come to complete a real estate transaction, becomes a prisoner in the castle, and barely escapes with his life when he discovers Dracula is a vampire. When Dracula relocates to London, disaster follows.

Frankenstein by by Mary Shelley

Victor Frankenstein is a Swiss scientist who has been performing biological and chemical experiments. He creates a conscious being by assembling and reanimating parts of corpses. Frankenstein's revulsion at the sight of his unnatural creature leads to tragic consequences when the creature escapes.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

A young man of extraordinary physical beauty has a portrait painted of him. He expresses the wish that it could be the portrait, not himself, that ages and fades in beauty. His wish is fulfilled, and Gray embarks on a life of hedonism and debauchery, which is reflected in the portrait as it grows progressively more ugly. The portrait serves as a reminder of the effect each act has upon his soul, with each sin being displayed as well as all the signs of aging.

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