A well - known one is the story of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. It's full of magic, quests, and chivalry. There are elements like the sword in the stone and Merlin the wizard. Also, in Norse mythology, the tales of Thor and Loki are quite popular in the form of fictionalized stories. These stories often depict their battles and their relationships within the Norse pantheon.
One well - known big myth creation story is the Judeo - Christian story of Genesis. It tells of God creating the world in six days and resting on the seventh. Another is the Norse creation myth where the world was formed from the body of the giant Ymir. There's also the Greek creation story which involves Chaos giving birth to various primordial deities, who then play roles in shaping the cosmos.
One classic scary myth story is the legend of the Chupacabra. It's said to be a creature that attacks livestock and drains their blood. Another is the Kraken from Norse mythology, a gigantic sea monster that could sink ships. And then there's Medusa in Greek mythology. Her gaze could turn people to stone, which is really terrifying.
A well - known scary Halloween story is 'Frankenstein'. It tells the story of Victor Frankenstein creating a monster from dead body parts. The idea of a man - made abomination that then rebels against its creator is both terrifying and thought - provoking. The desolate landscapes and the moral questions raised in the story add to its scariness. Also, 'The Monkey's Paw' is a great one. A family gets a magical paw that can grant wishes, but each wish comes with a horrible and unexpected consequence, which is really spooky.
Some well - known pulp fiction magazine stories include the tales of Conan the Barbarian. These stories were full of action, battles, and a sense of a wild, untamed world. Also, the 'Mike Shayne' detective stories were quite popular. They had all the elements of a good detective mystery - clues, suspects, and a clever detective to solve the case. The 'Zorro' stories also made their mark in pulp fiction magazines, with the masked hero fighting for justice in Old California.
One classic is the 'Bloody Mary' story. Legend has it that if you stand in a dark bathroom, in front of a mirror, and say 'Bloody Mary' three times, a vengeful spirit will appear. Another is the 'Hook Man'. Supposedly, a man with a hook for a hand haunts lovers parked in remote areas at night. And then there's the 'Slender Man'. He is a tall, thin figure in a black suit, often associated with abducting children in the woods.
A great example is 'The Inheritance of Loss' by Kiran Desai. It explores the lives of different characters in the Himalayan region, touching on issues of culture, identity, and the impact of globalization on local communities. Another is 'One Hundred Years of Solitude' by Gabriel García Márquez. Although it's a magical realist work, it also has strong anthropological elements as it depicts the Buendía family and the evolution of their town, Macondo, over a century, showing the cultural, social, and family dynamics of that fictional yet representative Latin American community.
The Stand by Stephen King is a well - known plague fiction. In this book, a super - flu wipes out most of the world's population. It then explores how the survivors, who are left to face a post - apocalyptic world, struggle with good and evil. It shows how different people react to such a massive catastrophe.
One classic is 'Madame Bovary' by Gustave Flaubert. It tells the story of Emma Bovary, a bored and unhappy wife who has affairs in search of a more exciting life. Another is 'The Three Musketeers' by Alexandre Dumas. It's an adventure-filled tale of friendship and loyalty among the musketeers. And 'Les Misérables' by Victor Hugo, which explores themes of justice, love, and the struggle of the poor in 19th - century France.
Well, 'The Stranger' by Albert Camus is a prime philosophical fiction. It deals with absurdism, the idea that life has no inherent meaning. Camus's protagonist Meursault's detached view of the world and his actions force the reader to question the nature of existence. Then there's 'Thus Spoke Zarathustra' by Friedrich Nietzsche. It contains his philosophical ideas on the Übermensch (superman) and the re - evaluation of all values, presented in a somewhat fictional narrative.
One classic example is 'Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original' which delves into the world of jazz through the life of a great jazz musician. Another is 'Round Midnight' which not only has a great jazz soundtrack but also contains elements of jazz fiction in its story about a jazz musician's life, full of the highs and lows of the jazz world.