POPLAR GROVE, Ill. - s4story -- Tales of Wonder and Dread celebrated the eighth anniversary of the publication of its first books. In honor of that milestone, they teamed up with sister operation Spooky Ventures to publish a special edition of "Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Spooky Ventures Edition."

"Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde" by Robert Louis Stevenson was published in 1886. While many editions of the book add a "The" at the beginning of the title, Stevenson intentionally left it off and was not happy when it was added. He felt that the omission of the opening article made the book seem stranger, which was his goal.

Stevenson's tale has been told and retold in different ways and different media many times since it was originally published. Inspiring thoughts about the dual nature of humanity, the story introduces us to Dr. Henry Jekyll. Jekyll has developed a potion that allows the negative side of his personality to take control of him without restraint. The product of that potion is a completely different individual named Mr. Hyde.

Tales of Wonder and Dread Publishing was founded in 2018. Its first books were published on September 4^th, 2018, establishing that date as the anniversary for the company. The focus of the imprint is on science fiction (wonder) and horror (dread), but they also publish books that are more just "spooky," like a series of photo books about Rockford, Illinois cemeteries. In nearly eight years they have published over 60 books, included several series like "Spooky Rockford," "Spooky Stateline" and "Spooky Berwyn," which combine both fiction and non-fiction tales showcasing stories centered on specific areas.

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Spooky Ventures released a pseudo-vintage silent short film adaptation of the Jekyll and Hyde story on YouTube and Facebook last month. It was the latest in a series of pseudo-vintage silent short films from Spooky Ventures. The actor playing both titular characters is Andrew Laabs. The film can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sjKbM4iY7ow.



"Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde – Spooky Ventures Edition" includes the original text unchanged from the earliest editions of the book. For this special edition, though it is augmented with a number of screen shots from the Spooky Ventures film version. While many publishers added the article "The" to the title in their editions of the book, Tales of Wonder and Dread respected Stevenson's wishes and left it off.

The book is available in paperback and hardcover at lulu.com/spotlight/strangesound. The short film is published on YouTube @SpookyVentures and on Facebook at facebook.com/SpookyVentures. Celebrate Tales of Wonder and Dread's milestone by ordering a copy of the book for yourself.