Are you a fan of Seth Grahame-Smith's remake of Austen's classic tale: "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies?"

Have you noticed the influx of spooky spoof novels? Surely you have not been able to escape the ubiquity of “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies.” Have you also heard of some of its companions, “Sense and Sensibility and Sea Monsters,” “Android Karenina” and the forthcoming “Meowmorphosis?”

These are all chilling remakes put out by the Quirk Classics publishing house. Quirk’s mission is “to enhance classics novels with pop culture phenomena.” And that “pop culture phenomenon” is usually something fantastical and scary.

Quirk Classics isn’t the only publisher that’s churning out horrific fantastical versions of our favorite works of literature, but they do seem to be the most visible in the market. From the smashing success of “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” to the stellar marketing plan (which includes hilariously entertaining book trailers and over one-hundred products in their online store at Zazzle), Quirk Classics has quite intelligently groped its way into the public eye (no brain-craving zombies in this publishing house, only in its books).

I, for one, think this reinvention of the old is brilliant. The newer, more grotesque versions are likely to introduce these timeless stories to a whole new generation of readers. Perhaps little Susie really enjoyed “Pride and Prejudice and Zombies” and now can’t wait to get her hands on the original tale. Maybe she'll enjoy Austen's story somuch that she'll decide to read the authoress's collected works. From there, Susie just may realize that classic literature isn't overwhelming and inaccessible but rather entertaining and enjoyable.

The new versions are clear distortions. They aren’t trying to improve upon the original works of literature. They simply want to offer an homage. Let’s face it, the Quirk authors have to be really into a book to carefully recraft it whilst staying true to the language and style of the original — that takes diligence and respect.

As a matter of fact, I’m so in love with the concept of reinvented classics that I even came up with a tale of my own. Imagine Doctor Zhivago on the high seas — I’ve had a lot of fun reinventing Yuri as a first mate and Lara as a bar wench in a port town. Sadly, my swashbuckling remake of Pasternak’s tale is a sinker. Quirk Classics only redoes books that were published in the U.S. prior to 1923, which means this particular retelling is out.

When I shared my intent to work on this story (prior to my realization that it wasn't feasible), I was met by complete shock and disregard from two of my friends. They felt that the parodies were disrespectful to the authors' visions, that the zombified Elizabeth Bennet was actually causing Austen to roll over in her grave:

“They are actually using Austen's words, and Jane was pretty protective of her writing. I can't imagine she would be happy to have another author's name like that on the book, nor the ...intrusion of zombies...” says Scott D Southard, author of “My Problem with Doors." “I like to think of these new ‘classics’ as the equivalent of a bratty child repeating what a parent says in a higher, squeaky voice... but on a literary, artistic level, of course.”

Rebecca M., a die-hard Austen fan, who is also appreciative of the unmechanized version of “Anna Karenina,” says, “The first time I saw ‘Pride and Prejudice and Zombies’ at the book store, I was horrified to find such a disturbing and insulting treatment of one of my favorite novels. These feelings have not abated, and each time I see a new classic piece of literature being commercialized and debased, I cringe. If this is the only way to encourage people, especially young people, to read the classics, I want no part of it.”

What do you think? Are you awed by the cleverness of this idea like I am, or are you appalled by it as Scott and Rebecca are? Are the Quirk Classics well-meaning homages to the literature they parody, or are they instead dishonorable distortions?

Melissa LR Handa, who also writes fiction by the name of Emlyn Chand, is the founder and organizer of the Ann Arbor Classics Book Group and the Lead Books Contributor for AnnArbor.com. She is also an aspiring novelist, steadfastly seeking the publication of her first novel while penning her second. She conducts live twitterviews with authors and with bloggers every Tuesday, Thursday, and Sunday at 4 PM EST and runs a weekly flash fiction contest on her blog.

You can contact Melissa via Twitter, Facebook, or email, or learn more about her by visiting her website: wwww.emlynchand.com.