19th century

In Jewish folklore, גֹלֶם is an artificial antomorphic being shaped from clay and animated by the sacred שֵׁם.

A tale of obsession, optics, and automata. Nathanael’s fear of the Sandman merges with fascination for the mechanical doll Olympia. Freud’s “Das Unheimliche” (1919) re...

The first modern myth of artificial life — creation without divine sanction. Victor Frankenstein as Promethean scientist: knowledge becomes transgression. The Creature &...

Verne's dystopian vision of Paris in 1960 — ruled by finance, speed, and machinery. Young Michel Dufrénoy, a poet, wanders through a cold, electric metropolis. Sc...

A utopian satire where everything familiar is reversed — “Erewhon” as “Nowhere” spelled almost backward. Illness is treated as crime; crime as ill...

Set in A.D. 802,701 — humanity evolved into two species: Eloi and Morlocks. Eloi — gentle, idle descendants of the bourgeoisie, living above ground. Morlocks &mdas...