Examples of penny dreadful in a Sentence
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The real-estate motif is taken from the penny dreadful Varney the Vampire, a strange plot device that I myself as a storyteller was stuck with.
—
Robert Eggers, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2025
The character of Sweeney Todd—a British barber jailed unjustly for 15 years who seeks revenge upon his return—first appeared in a Victorian era penny dreadful, The String of Pearls.
—Laura Zornosa, Time, 7 July 2023
The program is filled out with two original stories written by Novotny; including one with a character from a penny dreadful — the pulp fiction of the age.
—Annie Alleman, Chicago Tribune, 14 Sep. 2022
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Robert Eggers, HollywoodReporter, 17 Oct. 2025
The character of Sweeney Todd—a British barber jailed unjustly for 15 years who seeks revenge upon his return—first appeared in a Victorian era penny dreadful, The String of Pearls.
—Laura Zornosa, Time, 7 July 2023
The program is filled out with two original stories written by Novotny; including one with a character from a penny dreadful — the pulp fiction of the age.
—Annie Alleman, Chicago Tribune, 14 Sep. 2022
Cite this Entry
“Penny dreadful.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/penny%20dreadful. Accessed 2 Jan. 2026.
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