Okay, But Why are They Singing?
By Amanda Nevada Demel
I like horror. I like theatre. I like musicals. Surprising, isn’t it? Here’s a category of horror texts that have been adapted into stage musicals.
Horror Books that Were Adapted into Musicals:
- Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Carrie by Stephen King*
- The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
- The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
- Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Godfrey Bond
- Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
Honorable Mention goes to American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis!
1. Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
From Goodreads:
Robert Louis Stevenson’s masterpiece of the duality of good and evil in man’s nature sprang from the darkest recesses of his own unconscious—during a nightmare from which his wife awakened him, alerted by his screams. More than a hundred years later, this tale of the mild-mannered Dr. Jekyll and the drug that unleashes his evil, inner persona—the loathsome, twisted Mr. Hyde—has lost none of its ability to shock. Its realistic police-style narrative chillingly relates Jekyll’s desperation as Hyde gains control of his soul—and gives voice to our own fears of the violence and evil within us. Written before Freud’s naming of the ego and the id, Stevenson’s enduring classic demonstrates a remarkable understanding of the personality’s inner conflicts—and remains the irresistibly terrifying stuff of our worst nightmares.
Why?
I recently read this novella for the first time and enjoyed it. David Hasselhoff starred in a pro-shot of the musical, and it is not the best performance I’ve ever seen. But the score itself? It’s very good.
2. Carrie by Stephen King
From Goodreads:
A modern classic, Carrie introduced a distinctive new voice in American fiction — Stephen King. The story of misunderstood high school girl Carrie White, her extraordinary telekinetic powers, and her violent rampage of revenge, remains one of the most barrier-breaking and shocking novels of all time.
Make a date with terror and live the nightmare that is…Carrie –back cover
WHY?
Will the time ever come when I don’t nominate my sweet cherub child?*
*Ed. Note: Ms. Nevada Demel has lobbied for years for the HOWL Society to read Carrie as part of our book club. Poor Carrie has been edged out of our polling every time she’s been up. But, this is her year! Sweet Carrie has been crowned our Prom Queen! Her story is our book of the week for November 17, 2025. Nothing bad can come of this.
3. The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
From Goodreads:
First published in French as a serial in 1909, The Phantom of the Opera is a riveting story that revolves around the young, Swedish Christine Daaé. Her father, a famous musician, dies, and she is raised in the Paris Opera House with his dying promise of a protective angel of music to guide her. After a time at the opera house, she begins hearing a voice, who eventually teaches her how to sing beautifully. All goes well until Christine’s childhood friend Raoul comes to visit his parents, who are patrons of the opera, and he sees Christine when she begins successfully singing on the stage. The voice, who is the deformed, murderous ‘ghost’ of the opera house named Erik, however, grows violent in his terrible jealousy, until Christine suddenly disappears. The phantom is in love, but it can only spell disaster.Leroux’s work, with characters ranging from the spoiled prima donna Carlotta to the mysterious Persian from Erik’s past, has been immortalized by memorable adaptations. Despite this, it remains a remarkable piece of Gothic horror literature in and of itself, deeper and darker than any version that follows.
WHY?
The Oxford edition is the only translation I haven’t read, and supposedly it comes the closest to Leroux’s beautiful prose. There are a few different musical adaptations of the book, one of which overshadows the rest (looking at you, Andrew Lloyd Webber) and of course several movies (musical and not). But we don’t talk about the 2004 movie. No.
4. The War of the Worlds by H.G. Wells
From Goodreads:
The night after a shooting star is seen streaking through the sky from Mars, a cylinder is discovered on Horsell Common near London. At first, naive locals approach the cylinder armed just with a white flag – only to be quickly killed by an all-destroying heat-ray as terrifying tentacled invaders emerge. Soon the whole of human civilization is under threat, as powerful Martians build gigantic killing machines, destroy all in their path with black gas and burning rays, and feast on the warm blood of trapped, still-living human prey.
The first modern tale of alien invasion, The War of the Worlds remains one of the most influential of all science-fiction works. Part of a brand-new Penguin series of H.G. Wells’s works, this edition includes a newly established text, a full biographical essay on Wells, a further reading list and detailed notes. The introduction, by Brian Aldiss, considers the novel’s view of religion and society.
WHY?
I read that an anniversary tour production of the musical was one of the worst theatre experiences a person ever had. If that doesn’t entice you, I don’t know what will.
5. Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Godfrey Bond
From Goodreads:
In this version of the old melodrama, Todd has some grounds for his nefarious activities: his wife was abducted and raped by the Judge and his daughter abandoned, while he himself was deported on a false charge. He returns to avenge his family, accompanied by a sea captain, Anthony, whose life he has saved. Anthony falls in love with a young girl, the Judge’s ward, who turns out to be Todd’s daughter. Todd, meanwhile, sets up with Mrs. Lovett, the pie maker, and provides her with fillings for her pies. He proceeds with his vengeful plans but the outcome is bitterly ironic.
WHY?
I could have chosen the penny dreadful which inspired the play, but it’s an achingly slow read and I actually couldn’t get through it. Instead, I’ve chosen the play that inspired the Sondheim musical. It’s quick, brutal, and fun. Also, I have a delightful little lad named Sweeney Todd.
6. Woman in White by Wilkie Collins
From Goodreads:
‘In one moment, every drop of blood in my body was brought to a stop… There, as if it had that moment sprung out of the earth, stood the figure of a solitary Woman, dressed from head to foot in white’
The Woman in White famously opens with Walter Hartright’s eerie encounter on a moonlit London road. Engaged as a drawing master to the beautiful Laura Fairlie, Walter becomes embroiled in the sinister intrigues of Sir Percival Glyde and his ‘charming’ friend Count Fosco, who has a taste for white mice, vanilla bonbons, and poison. Pursuing questions of identity and insanity along the paths and corridors of English country houses and the madhouse, The Woman in White is the first and most influential of the Victorian genre that combined Gothic horror with psychological realism.
Matthew Sweet’s introduction explores the phenomenon of Victorian ‘sensation’ fiction, and discusses Wilkie Collins’s biographical and societal influences. Included in this edition are appendices on theatrical adaptations of the novel and its serialisation history.
WHY?
A classic in Victorian horror, but I haven’t read it yet. I haven’t listened to the music or seen any productions either, so I’d be going in pretty blind on this one. Join me?
HONORABLE MENTION: American Psycho by Bret Easton Ellis
From Goodreads:
Patrick Bateman is twenty-six and works on Wall Street. He is handsome, sophisticated, charming and intelligent. He is also a psychopath. Taking us to head-on collision with America’s greatest dream—and its worst nightmare—American Psycho is a bleak, bitter, black comedy about a world we all recognize but do not wish to confront.
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Amanda Nevada Demel
Amanda Nevada DeMel is an emerging speculative fiction author with an MFA in Writing from the University of New Hampshire. Her favorite genre is horror, thanks to careful cultivation from her father. She especially appreciates media that can simultaneously scare her and make her cry. Additionally, Amanda loves reptiles, musicals, and breakfast foods.
