Honestly, never get tired of reading about the old Universal classic monster movies. Sure, there are a lot of the same stories told and retold over and over again, but you never know when something new and interesting is going to be uncovered, or possible brought out in a way that causing you think of something a different than before. Yes, the bottom line, like I’m always waving the flag for, is to constantly trying to learn more about these movies that we love, whether they are brand new titles, or ones that we’ve grown up with and seen hundreds of times. Besides, I know for me, every time I read about one of these movies, it always makes me want to bust it out and watch it again.

Since we all know that Universal is reopening the tombs of these monsters for more updated versions, it is going to put the spotlight on the originals. So no matter the quality of these newer versions, it will always be a good thing when it brings attention to these original classics, especially for the younger audiences to discover.

Helping those discoveries, we have two new titles coming out that are specifically on the Universal films. The first one is called Monster Movies of Universal Studios, by James L. Neibaur, published by Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. This 224 page hardcover retails for $38 and should be coming out in June of this year. In this book, the author covers key films from the early 1930s to the mid-1950s, going over the movie’s production, critical reviews, and provides an overall assessment and commentary, as well as how it has made an impact on today’s culture. Once again, this might be the same territory we’ve gone over several times before, but I’m always willing to listen to yet another author’s viewpoint. Even if we might not agree with them, that doesn’t mean we still can’t learn something.

Our second book is called Universal Monsters: Origins: The Legends Behind the World’s Greatest Cinematic Monsters, by Christopher Ripley, and published by Eskdale & Kent Publishing. It is a 260 page paperback that retails for $14.99, which goes into details about the stories and legends behind the classic monsters from Universal Studios. Ripley goes into the legends and myths from where some of these stories were first derived from, that have been scaring people for centuries. This book is available now.

So….just how well do you know your classic monsters? Like who came up with the famous mythical lines about the Wolf Man, or who was originally supposed to direct Frankenstein, or even who were some of the actors sought after for the role of Dracula? They are anxious to find out. Are you?