Though he was a man of many talents, Basil Rathbone certainly didn’t make a habit of starring in horror movies. Instead, the actor became known for his role in tense, suspenseful films, including The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939).

Still, after starring in Son of Frankenstein in 1939, Rathbone seemed to have a fairly good understanding of what made people scared. In the film, Rathbone played Baron Wolf von Frankenstein, a man who struggles to save his family’s legacy. However, much like his father before him, Rathbone learns to live in fear of the creature he has created.

While the film painted a fairly terrifying portrait, it provided a fairly thin understanding of fear. Rathbone understood that more than monsters, ghosts, or ghouls, a majority of us tend to fear the unknown.

“Talking of fears, I believe the greatest fear of man is death,” said Rathbone during an interview with the Lincoln Journal Star. “After that comes the fear of insecurity, of pain, of loss. Every man fears death in his own fashion. Even when the mind is overcome with trouble, love of life is strong. It is not actual death that we fear, but what may lie beyond.”

Still, with so many years of experience as an actor, Rathbone seemed to deeply understand the human psyche more than others. “Perhaps the fear we all should have is the fear that we shall lose our ideals,” said the actor. “Everyone is the better for them and the worse for losing something so beautiful.”