"I saw two barred eyes looking at me."  From Pearson's, 1898.

"A strangling bellow of pain and fear followed."  From Pearson's, 1898.

"A lean shape with a shrunken head leapt out."  From Pearson's, 1898.

The Blessed, the Skull, and the Traditional Joker, from L'Esquella de la Torratxa, 1902.

Here's a precursor to the poster for the Anthony Hopkins film Magic.  "There was a concentration of terror in his eyes."  From English Illustrated, 1901.

"She knew that horror, for she had been overtaken by it once before."  From English Illustrated, 1890.

"A horror began to settle down upon him," from Cassell's, 1896.

From Pearson's, 1911.

"There in the dark on the bank, I began shaking."  From Pearson's, 1910.

"An awkward thing to have about if anything were to happen" (Harper's magazine, 1917) -- a precursor to Frank Henenlotter's cult film Basket Case and the basket's cameo in the film Brain Damage.

Here's an ancient precursor to the finale of Michael Jackson's "Thriller," in which the protagonist turns around to scare the audience a second time by revealing yellow eyes.  The Japanese yokai demon Shunoban (or Zhu-no-Bon, しゅのばん) scares people twice.  The first time he simply reveals his bright-red monster face and horn to startle his victims and cause them to flee.  He gives chase, then disguises himself as someone providing assistance.  Having lulled his target into a false sense of security, with his back turned, he goes back to his monster face and frightens the person a second time by looking over his shoulder.  (Haunted by the fear of seeing that face once again, victims ultimately die of fright 100 days later.)  These events occur in the same order in the short film "Thriller," with Michael Jackson's character turning into a monster, giving chase, disguising himself as a rescuer, and then, after turning his back, looking over his shoulder to display demonic eyes.  The yokai card in our illustration is from the very charming Obake No Karuta deck, available via Amazon Japan.  We're translating the Japanese texts that come with each card — e-mail us if you'd like those translations.  (Our e-mail address is at our "About the Author" link.)

"They tied the skeleton tightly to his waist," from The Boy Detective or the Crimes of London, 1866.

From Gossip in the First Decade of Victoria's Reign by John Ashton, 1903.

From Queer Patients by M. Oston, 1911.

"The midnight hour," from No. III. or, the Nosegay by Thomas Grady, 1816.

Here's a precursor to The Thing, from Cassell's, 1894.