Universal Monsters: Origins: The legends behind the world's greatest cinematic monsters

by Christopher Ripley, James-Michael Roddy (Introduction)

The book tells the stories and explains the legends behind the some of the greatest movie monsters in history. Charting their history from myths and fables told over the centuries, the author guides the reader from the past to the present day, as the Universal Monsters prepare to return to the silver screen for their biggest adventures yet. The classic Universal Monsters have been scaring and delighting audiences for decades. But did you know that these maniacal creeps have been frightening people throughout history? Find out about all the old world folk stories, legends and myths before discovering what lies in store for the future of Universal's Monsters. Universal Origins is written by Christopher Ripley author of the Survivor's Guide to Universal Orlando's Halloween Horror Nights.

261 pages, Kindle Edition

Published September 21, 2016

Reviews

[Arthur O'dell · Rating 1 out of 5]

This. . .is an odd duck. This was actually recommended by Amazon. Luckily I read it through kindle unlimited and didn’t purchase it. If you like books whose “research” consists of wholesale plagiarism that’s also too lazy to fact check obvious inaccuracies, then this book is for you. According to this book, the famous make-up for Frankenstein’s monster was created by Frank Pierce instead of Jack Pierce. Paul Wegener collaborated with an “Australian” (rather than Austrian) Henrik Galeen on the Golem. Carl Laemmle purchased the film rights to Phantom of the Opera in 1911, the year before he founded Universal Studios in 1912 (Laemmle bought the film rights in 1922). Don’t even get me started on the spelling errors (Bela Lugosi is consistently mis-spelled Bela Legosi).
I wouldn’t care except that the publishers are trying to make as much s $14.99 for work that is at best careless and at worst intellectual theft.
Don’t buy this book.