penny dreadful

American  

noun

Chiefly British.

plural

penny dreadfuls

1. a cheap, sensational novel of adventure, crime, or violence; dime novel.

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penny-dreadful British  

noun

1. informal a cheap, often lurid or sensational book or magazine

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Etymology

Origin of penny dreadful

First recorded in 1870–75

Example Sentences

The 19th century had a similar macabre popular fascination, the penny dreadful.

From Salon • Jan. 11, 2021

Conan Doyle wanted his protagonist to rise above the cheap thrills of the penny dreadful.

From The Guardian • Jan. 3, 2017

Van Helsing educates Victor in the ways of vampires with the help of a penny dreadful called “Varney the Vampire, or The Feast of Blood,” and then practically adopts the young doctor on the street.

From New York Times • Jun. 15, 2014

He refers to his adopted nephew as a “foundling,” as if this were a penny dreadful, which it kind of is.

From Slate • Jun. 13, 2012

Travelers to the village were rare, but occasionally a peddler would come through the village, selling "penny dreadful" accounts of grisly murders, fateful encounters, dire doings and remarkable escapes.

From "Stardust" by Neil Gaiman