atrocious sin. Overall, the shadowy figure and the aura of the final demon meeting can imply an interpretation that perfection is simply a myth, and those in pursuit of it do so out of naivety of reality. Literary significance and reception Herman Melville said "Young Goodman Brown" was "as deep as Dante" and Henry James called it a "magnificent little romance". Hawthorne himself believed the story made no more impact than any of his tales. Years later he wrote, "These stories were published... in Magazines and Annuals, extending over a period of ten or twelve years, and comprising the whole of the writer's young manhood, without making (so far as he has ever been aware) the slightest impression on the public". Contemporary critic Edgar Allan Poe disagreed, referring to Hawthorne's short stories as "the products of a truly imaginative intellect". Stephen King has referred to "Young Goodman Brown" as "one of the ten best stories written by an American". He calls it his favorite story by Hawthorne and cites it as an inspiration for his O. Henry Award-winning short story, "The Man in the Black Suit". Adaptations A 1972 short film directed by Donald Fox is based on the story. It features actors Mark Bramhall, Peter Kilman, and Maggie McOmie. In 1982, the story was adapted for the CBC radio program Nightfall. This is the only work of Hawthorne's included in the Library of America's 2009 anthology American Fantastic Tales: Terror and the Uncanny from Poe to the Pulps. In 2011, playwright Lucas (Luke) Krueger, adapted the story for the stage. It was produced by Northern Illinois University. In 2012, Playscripts Inc. published the play. It has since been produced by several companies and high schools. The 2015 music video for the Brandon Flowers song "Can't Deny My Love" is based on Hawthorne's story, with Flowers starring as the Goodman Brown figure and Evan Rachel Wood as his wife. Comic artist Kate Beaton satirized the story in a series of comic strips for her webcomic Hark! A Vagrant, which focuses on mocking Goodman Brown's obsessive, black-and-white morality and his hypocrisy toward his wife and friends. References External links Reading of Young Goodman Brown by Stuff You Should Read Podcast 1835 short stories Allegory Short stories adapted into films Short stories by Nathaniel Hawthorne Witchcraft in written fiction Works published anonymously Salem witch trials in fiction