Add a Moody Vibe to Your Fall TBR list!
Hi, my bookish friend! Gothic fiction novels are the perfect atmospheric read for fall. They’re just right if you’re like me and want to celebrate this new season of reading by looking for stories that are a bit spooky with creepy settings. Add in a fraught romance and the pages particularly turn themselves!
So if you’re also *craving an eerie atmospheric book, here’s what to look forward to today:
Get to know the Gothic Fiction Aesthetic and what makes it so mesmerizing
10 Classic Gothic Novels you must read to appreciate this genre (See this booklist!)
Read & Watch: Wuthering Heights is coming to the big screen. People have thoughts!
5 new page-turning Atmospheric Gothic Novels
A New-Release Dark Academia Book …that I missed two weeks ago on this book list
Book Club Picks for September! (Including Elizabeth Gilbert’s very raw memoir and Buckeye, which I’m seeing promoted everywhere!)
*Now, if today is a little dark for you, I get it! Next week, I’m turning over a new leaf and leaning into “cozy” books with happy endings. And then, beware, because after that, things get “witchy” around here!
Happy Reading!
Your bookish friend,
Audry
Designed on Canva by Audry FryerGetting Bookish: What is Gothic Fiction?Begin with a setting that features an eerie countryside, such as a moor complete with an old mansion or castle. Then stir in a horror plot with shadowy secrets. Finally, blend it with characters engaging in a dark romance that’s overflowing with wild emotions. And you’ve got the ideal Gothic fiction novel!
A little history lesson: Gothic literature first emerged as a subgenre in 18th-century England. Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto is the first book credited with breathing life into this darkly intriguing genre. Later, in America, Edgar Allen Poe poetically took these atmospheric vibes to a whole new level.
The Gothic Fiction Aesthetic
Book covers from Bookshop.org (View the booklist!)Gothic stories exist where scary and romantic intersect. Here’s what makes Gothic literature so intriguing that you just can’t turn away:
Mysterious characters with inner turmoil
Creepy, eerie, isolated settings
Supernatural elements (ghosts!)
Dark, wildly forbidden romance
An oppressed woman (often a bit unhinged)
Suspense and fear that build throughout the plot
10 Classic Novels You Must Read to Appreciate Gothic FictionTo fully enjoy Gothic Fiction, pick up any of these ten classic novels for all the moody, emotionally gripping, atmospheric feels!
Find these books on Bookshop.org! (Local independent bookstores benefit from your purchases!)
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: A glam debutante investigates dark secrets in a creepy Mexican mansion.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: A young bride is haunted by her husband’s first wife’s dark legacy.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë: Stormy moors set the scene for a wild story of obsession, unrequited love, and revenge. (Coming soon to theatres: more about that below!)
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe: A decaying home matches its owner’s eerie affliction in this chilling classic. (I loved the Netflix series! Check out the trailer here.)
The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson: A haunted house that’s unsettlingly alive with creeping dread.
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë: Gothic romance meets secrets and mysterious laughter in a grand estate.
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield: A reclusive author’s life story reveals dark family mysteries.
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James: A governess confronts ghostly figures and a skewed reality at a remote estate.
The Woman in Black by Susan Hill: Foggy marshes and vengeful spirits make for a chilling tale.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley: Isolation and forbidden science wrapped in Gothic dread.
Let’s keep this Gothic-inspired book list going! Do you have a book suggestion I missed? Hit the comment button and let me know!
Read & Watch: Wuthering HeightsA new Wuthering Heights movie is coming out on Feb. 13, 2026. This latest, sexier adaptation of part of Emily Brontë’s 1847 timeless classic stars Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi.
The trailer (see here) looks wildly appealing. But the oddly old-fashioned movie poster, the “whitewashed” casting, and the director known for not holding back on the sex scenes have already stirred the pot for English Lit academics and movie fans.
For the full story on the controversies, check out this article by . It expertly covers the good, the bad, and the … uh … sexy.
5 New Atmospheric Gothic Fiction
Book covers from Bookshop.org (View the booklist!)These new releases are the literary world’s latest rendition of “Gothic.” Enjoy! (Note: I intentionally left out witchy books because that booklist is coming up on September 24th!)
The Hounding by Xenobe Purvis (August 5, 2025)
This haunting debut blends The Crucible with The Virgin Suicides. In an eighteenth-century English village, five sisters become the focus of chilling rumors … that they’re turning into dogs! The book dabbles in eerie folklore and keeps you guessing through rotating perspectives.
The Entirely True Story of the Fantastical Mesmerist Nora Grey by Kathleen Kaufman (July 29, 2025)
Set during the rise of spiritualism at the turn of the 20th century, this atmospheric tale follows a Scottish girl with a genuine gift for connecting to the spirit world. But she must overcome deception, scandal, and a harrowing family legacy. Perfect if you’re a fan of Sarah Penner, Alice Hoffman, or Hester Fox. It’s an evocative exploration of feminine rage, agency, and breaking free from oppression.
If You're Seeing This, It's Meant for You by Leigh Stein (August 26, 2025)
This unnerving gothic mystery and part social satire explores the collision of fates after a tarot influencer vanishes from a decaying Hollywood mansion. Expect a tangled web of social media intrigue, haunted pasts, and a labyrinthine house full of secrets. It raises the question, Who truly controls the online world? (Follow author, and check out her Substack, Attention Economy, here!)
Hemlock & Silver by T. Kingfisher (August 19, 2025)
Poison, intrigue, and magical treason! From the New York Times bestselling and Hugo Award-winning author comes a dark reimagining of “Snow White.” Healer Anja uses a hidden magical realm to save the King’s dying daughter. But the cure might be deadlier than the illness.
A Land So Wide by Erin A. Craig (September 2, 2025)
From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of The Thirteenth Child comes a gothic fantasy set in the town of Mistaken (such a great name for a Gothic-inspired village!) In the story, mapmaker Greer defies a sinister curse to rescue her vanished love. This atmospheric tale weaves Scottish folklore, deadly secrets, and page-turning suspense.
Bookish News: Early September 2025Add it to the Dark Academia BooklistDoll Parts by Penny Zang (August 26, 2025)
Combine a small all-women’s school, a deadly Sylvia Plath adoring club, and two best friends. Fast-forward twenty years, and one friend is dead and the other friend, who’s pregnant with the grieving husband’s baby (for real!), is asking questions about what really happened to the girls in the Sylvia Plath club.
(How did I miss this one two weeks ago?! Well, I’m making up for it now! See my post on Dark Academia here! Or you can view the booklist on Bookshop.org!)
September 2025 Book Club PicksOprah’s Book ClubAll the Way to the River: Love, Loss, and Liberation by Elizabeth Gilbert
I knew this book was going to be big when I wrote about it in my “Most Anticipated Fall Books” roundup! Head on over to Oprah’s Book Club page to read an excerpt and watch her interview with Elizabeth Gilbert on Oprah's Book Club Podcast.
A Read with Jenna PickBuckeye by Patrick Ryan
It starts with a kiss, two people swept up in a moment, but married to others … and, well, things spiral from there. Set in a fictional Ohio town on V-E Day, this sweeping saga traces the intertwining lives of two couples and the lies that echo across generations. So. Much. Buzz. for this book, it must be well worth the read!
Reese’s Book ClubTo the Moon and Back by Eliana Ramage
This riveting debut traces one young woman’s pursuit to become the first Cherokee astronaut. Expect an emotionally charged story of ambition, love, and the sacrifices made in the quest to find one’s place in the universe.
Sarah SelectsFinding Grace by Loretta Rothschild
This national bestseller and Indie Next Pick hits you right from the first chapter with a plot twist that I can’t reveal without a spoiler alert. (Skip the reviews if you don’t want to know!) This event sets the stage for a sweeping emotional journey as two women’s fates collide amid secrets, sacrifices, and the price of new beginnings.
Bookish Quote of the Week“There is something at work in my soul, which I do not understand.”
― Mary Shelley, Frankenstein
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