Public domain literature in your campaign

[Suicycho]

I was wondering how much public domain literature various GM's use in their BTS campaigns. Dracula, Dr. Moreau, Dr. Frankenstein and his monster, Skull Island and King Kong, Fu Manchu, Dr. Jeckyll & Mr. Hyde, The Invisible Man, Tarzan, the Illiad etc. All of that literature is now public domain. When I was GM'ing I used to love to weave public domain literature into the background of the universe, pretend that certain things were "real".

EDIT: Most Lovecraft as well as a ton of Robert Howard and Twain is also public domain.

Comic books universes have weaved this public domain literature into their universes for decades.

[Suicycho]

Here is a link of some public domain literature

http://www.authorama.com/

EDIT

Here's another, with THOUSANDS of works.

http://www.gutenberg.org/wiki/Main_Page

[J. Lionheart]

I don't so much use literature directly. I definitely won't directly say "that book told a true story," as my group-mates have read just as much as I have, and could easily say their characters have too, giving them a jump ahead in the plot that I don't want them to take yet. I have no qualms about reading stories, and then taking inspiration from them, but I like to try and do so in a fashion that isn't immediately recognizable.

What I do take directly, particularly in BTS2, is news articles. I've got a front page story from the New York Times, some CNN print outs, and various snips from newspapers and magazines that are 100% real. I like having those, because then I can very easily do research (it's real, after all), and have something physical for my players. I can circle an article, hand it to the players, and say "you found this in the paper, what do you think?" I've got several of these things lined up for employment in the next BTS game I run, some time after the open house.

[Suicycho]

I don't so much use literature directly. I definitely won't directly say "that book told a true story," as my group-mates have read just as much as I have, and could easily say their characters have too, giving them a jump ahead in the plot that I don't want them to take yet. I have no qualms about reading stories, and then taking inspiration from them, but I like to try and do so in a fashion that isn't immediately recognizable.

What I do take directly, particularly in BTS2, is news articles. I've got a front page story from the New York Times, some CNN print outs, and various snips from newspapers and magazines that are 100% real. I like having those, because then I can very easily do research (it's real, after all), and have something physical for my players. I can circle an article, hand it to the players, and say "you found this in the paper, what do you think?" I've got several of these things lined up for employment in the next BTS game I run, some time after the open house.

I also liked using current news stories.

But as for using PD literature, I used to love using what my players thought they knew against them. So what if you've read Dr. Moreau, the british knew rumors would spread so they paid one of their agents to ptoducew a fictional novel of the account, blurring facts and names, adding or omitting others etc.