Slaying the dragon of delay? For those times when you’ve got hours of waiting time to kill until your flight or until the next bus arrives, here are a few horror classics in your eReader to keep you wide-awake and at the edge of your seat:

1. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. The book also goes by another title, The Modern Prometheus. It stars off with Dr. Victor Frankenstein, a mad scientist whose brilliance skills in the laboratory lead him to experiment with cadavers and create something terrifying, a force that eventually grows out of control. Titular character though he might be, the story doesn’t belong to Frankenstein at all. At its core, the novel is overtaken by the manic energy, confusion and loneliness of the Monster. Some readers will question the binaries laid down here. Who is the real monster? Because Shelley ingeniously gives the Creature a complex mind, one that asks us what it ultimately means to be human. His intelligence is striking, even more so given the expectation most of us have of monsters: irrational, inarticulate, evil. The juxtaposition between his ‘human-ness’—his search for companionship, his desire for acceptance—is only eclipsed by the monstrous arrogance of his creator, Frankenstein.The book has spawned countless reviews—from the Independent’s discussion on the possible lack of authorial control over the characters to questions about grief in the text posed by Kirkus Reviews.I t has also been rendered in many forms, from films that take the struggle between man and artificial life onto the big screen to plays that bring another level of interaction between the story and the audience. And yet, the story of a creator who fails to find anything to love in his creation and the loneliness of a creature who struggles and wails against the fate that he’ll be alone forever, remains as fresh as the day Shelley must have penned these words on paper. So the next time you log into your account to buy ebooks from Nook, don’t forget to add this eBook to your reading list if you haven’t already.

2. Dracula by Bram Stroker. If you’ve got a taste for stories that scare the daylights out of you, this is one solid entry on the list. This 19^th century piece of gothic horror proves why it’s The Vampire Novel to read, says The Guardian. With journal entries full of paranoia and clammy, cold fear to mysterious illnesses, dark castles and untimely deaths caused by unexplained puncture wounds to the neck—what we all know and recognize as vampire bites due to our pop culture education—this tale delivers chills down your spine. If you like your villains sinister, you might even find yourself rooting more for Dracula than for the book’s two lovers, Mina and Jonathan. Of course, we all know how it ends. But that doesn’t make the story any less absorbing or The Count any less seductive. If your only education in vampire literature is The Twilight series, do yourself a favor: download these eBook into your eReader now and gain more than a passing acquaintance with the book that launched vampires into popular literature. Whether you start reading its passages on the train from work or late at night in bed with the lights out, you’ll resurface from those pages with a wary look over your shoulder, ready to jump at the shadows, your heart in your throat.

3. The Complete Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe. If you want something shorter, this collection from one of the most well-known literary figures in the horror genre is perfect. Psychologically acute, densely written and mind-bending, Poe has made mystery and madness come together in ways that will make the hairs on your skin stand.Tales cover long-standing friends with deep-seated grudges to beautiful women waking from the dead. Still a master at delivering disquiet, Poe’s ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ remains an undisputed favorite among lovers of the mystery short story. If you’ve never read this one before, you’ll be in for a treat. And if you’re rereading this on your eReader, be prepared to be taken in again by the narrative’s energy—one that borders on the possessed—and its darkness—bleak, engrossing and still as seductive as ever.

These literary classics from three of the best and most well-known names in British horror are a great addition to your eBook library. Explore more works from other well-loved masters at horror. Don’t forget Lovecraft and Henry James, who are but two names off a long list.

Haven’t read much horror literature? If you want something to start with, these three will give you the best welcome into the genre. Be warned, though: expect a terrible case of incipient fear with every page you turn. So do yourself a favor before you get into bed and start reading: don’t put the lights out. And don’t let the bed bugs—or otherwise—bite.