In this series we turn the pages of classic short stories to put together the literary building blocks of how a particular genre or theme began, how it built its foundations to become the well-loved and well-worn genre that it is today.

Do authors have the same ideas at more or less the same time? Or can they sniff out an opportunity as to which way the tastes of an audience are moving.

Success undoubtedly builds success and in literary terms we can more politely say that imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, and the surest way to reach a hungry readership is to build on the fortune and flair of your literary colleagues.

The dark forces of history have a way of settling in houses, usually large and rambling, but also small and nestled in a city, and from there all sorts of uneasy happenings begin. Authors have very playful imaginations, as well as some very disturbing ideas as they escalate the interactions between people and the growing source of terror that is with us and around us.