penny dreadful
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The 19th century had a similar macabre popular fascination, the penny dreadful.
From Salon ● Jan. 11, 2021
Van Helsing educates Victor in the ways of vampires with the help of a penny dreadful called “Varney the Vampire, or The Feast of Blood,” and then practically adopts the young doctor on the street.
From New York Times ● Jun. 15, 2014
All Victorian life is here, which means the novel itself becomes a kind of freakshow, obsessed with its relationship to its own cleverly chosen epigraphs and the "penny dreadful" tales to which characters allude.
From The Guardian ● Oct. 11, 2012
He refers to his adopted nephew as a “foundling,” as if this were a penny dreadful, which it kind of is.
From Slate ● Jun. 13, 2012
By focusing solely on Yakov’s death yet hinting at the disappearances of other boys, he had left the article open-ended like a penny dreadful.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
