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Another relative newcomer to the Halloween scene is the psycho / serial killer. Popularized by film series such as Halloween and Friday the 13th, they reflect any number of modern fears - just as ghost stories reflected the fears of times past. In a way, they ARE our ghost stories.
Killer robots are another being from the realms of science fiction that have found their way into the Gothic Horror and Halloween lexicon. No Halloween night is complete anymore without at least one robot, constructed of cardboard boxes and tinfoil has found its way to your door.
Many of the monster movies of the past 40 years also dwell on the themes of the consequences of science. And these monsters are increasingly incorporated into our Hollywood lore.
The theme of science gone amok is pervasive in 19th and 20th Century Horror and Halloween iconography.
The limits of science - both actual and ethical - provides the theme for another of the elements of modern Halloween and horror imagery: that of the man-made monster.
Vampires figure prominently in horror literature and movies, and in Halloween imagery. Are there any real Vampires? Probably not, but there have been a number of historical and criminal cases involving murderers who drank the blood of their victims.
The Vampire is another stalwart of Halloween and Gothic Horror culture.
The History of Halloween and Horror