"Walpole's Otranto was the seed from which a thousand dark and stormy tales would grow. It gave birth to a genre that feeds on fear, dread, and the supernatural. It was the inspiration for our most famous ghost stories."

-Mary Shelley.

"The absurdities of The Castle of Otranto are so excessive that the very idea of a Gothic romance becomes laughable."

-William Hazlitt.

"Walpole's Otranto was a work of immense originality. His use of gothic horrors and his ability to bring a sense of the uncanny to life is unmatched in his time."

-Lord Byron.

"Walpole's Otranto is a most absurd work. It is a rambling and fantastical tale with no foundation in reason or reality. It is a product of an overactive imagination, which ought to be confined to the realm of fever dreams."

-Samuel Johnson.

"The Castle of Otranto is a delightful romance. The story is full of admirable surprises, and it takes us into a realm of shadows and inexplicable events that captivate the imagination."

-Thomas Gray.

"In this book, all the circumstances of the supernatural . . . are used to the best advantage. Its gloomy grandeur is unequalled in its class."

-Edgar Allan Poe.

"The supernatural and the grotesque in Walpole's Otranto are an abuse of the sublime. It is no more than an excess of sensibility, leading to an absurdity of effect. A truly sublime work does not rely on monstrous inventions."

-Edmund Burke.