Note Book of an English Opium-Eater

"The Note Book of an English Opium-Eater" by Thomas De Quincey is a set of essays and thoughts from the 1800s that plunges into difficult topics, like finding beauty in terrible acts and how horror and attractiveness can mix. The author looks at famous crimes from the past, like the Ratcliffe Highway murders, showing disturbing events surrounding John Williams and his awful acts, which scared and interested people. The writing starts off with a dark atmosphere, talking about how people felt about the murders, what might have made the killer do it, and why we are drawn to such scary things. By mixing personal stories with thoughts about literature, the author begins a deep study into what evil is and what it means to be human.