What I Owe Boris Karloff

As a senior in high school during the fall of 1992, I purchased a copy of Frankenstein (1931) on VHS. I was on an extending field trip (3 days and 2 nights), and didn't watch the film until returning home. I'd grown up with the monster series from Crestwood Studios, but had never seen the film.

I have always been a fan of dark things. Even though doing so brought nightmares, I watched Nightmare on Elm Street and Friday the 13th with my neighbors, the Sullivans. We played silly games in the bas...