Playing a horror icon can come with its own personal set of challenges. Of course, you become a star, iconic in the eyes of countless fans. On the other hand, people only recognize you as a source of terror, a creature to be feared.

One man who understood the double-edged sword that fame provided was Boris Karloff. As an actor, Karloff was famous for playing some frightening film antagonists, though none more legendary than Frankenstein’s monster in the 1931 adaptation. However, as he explained to the Hartford Courant, he had no idea just how celebrated the film would become, or how it would sway fans’ opinions of him.

“There is a most peculiar reaction,” said Karloff. “It can be most depressing. I needed success. I needed it darned badly. My wife and I had pretty tough sledding before it finally came. But after the first preview, when mothers began writing me notes accusing me of giving their children nightmares, I wondered if it was all worth it.”

In real life, Karloff was much more mild-mannered than the characters he played on screen. “You know my personal tasks are far from monstrous. I read a great deal, although I seldom specialize in horror literature. Now that we can afford a piece of ground, I like to putter in the garden. I enjoy a house with two bedrooms. It’s a luxury to sleep in one room and dress in the other.”