A Killer King

The frame story that ties all of The Thousand and One Nights' stories together has a horror-like feel to it. In it, King Shahrayar decides to wed a new woman every day, spend the night with her, and kill her in the morning after learning that his wife has been unfaithful to him.

He is one of the main characters in the book One Thousand and One Nights and the ruler of a Persian empire that encompassed various middle eastern nations, including India and portions of China after crossing the Ganges River (also known as Arabian Knights). His brother Shāhzamān, who ruled over the Samarkand area, discovers one of Shahryār's many wifes committing adultery. He demands her quick death out of wrath. He makes the decision to wed a different virgin every night and have her put to death in the morning in order to stop any additional betrayals out of fear that his envisioned flawless future is in jeopardy as a result of this treachery. She gives Shahrayar a story every night. When daylight approaches, they are inevitably cut short, and the king, not wanting to miss the finale, permits Shahrazad to live and resume the narrative the next night. He abandons his goal after 1,001 nights. Nonetheless, it's easy to see Shahrayar as a modern horror-movie monster.