44. A book with gothic elements

[Jackie, Solstitial Mod]

Spooky is the name of the game in October, and this week is all about the gothic genre. Gothic literature places a strong emphasis on intense emotion, pairing terror with pleasure, death with romance. It is characterized by its darkly picturesque scenery and its eerie stories of the macabre, and often features really dark and gloomy atmospheric settings. Edgar Allen Poe popularized this movement, but some fan favorites are Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier and Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte. Have some fun with this prompt, and get spooky!

If you're looking for inspiration try browsing some of these:
A guide to gothic lit: https://reedsy.com/discovery/blog/got...
Best modern gothic novels: https://elifnotes.com/best-modern-got...
GR gothic shelf: https://www.goodreads.com/genres/gothic

Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...

What are you reading? What are your favorite gothic or gothic-inspired books?

[Jackie, Solstitial Mod]

[Did I open this one now specifically because I want more spooky book recommendations for October? Yes yes I did. Bring me all the haunted houses!]

[Jill]

I think I am going to read The Whispering House. I didn’t get to it so far this year, now I know why. LOL

[Angie]

Right now, I have Carmilla penciled in.

Some of my favorites include:
Dracula
The Haunting of Hill House
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Frankenstein: The 1818 Text
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

If someone wanted to go the Southern Gothic route, you can go wrong with William Faulkner.

[Dubhease]

The overlap between this list and my read, currently reading, and books I've slated for other prompts surprised me. Apparently, this us my genre.

I will probably read something by either Edgar Allen Poe or Shirley Jackson - you can't go wrong with reading either of them for a spooky, gothic book.

[Sam]

I'm looking at some 2022 publishing stuff for this prompt, mainly Very Cold People, Gallant, and The Hacienda. Also considering The Lighthouse Witches if I don't use it for the glass prompt.

[Chrissy]

Thanks for those ideas, Sam! I am thinking about Wendy, Darling or Sorrowland, but a couple of those look great!

[Roxana]

Definitely recommend The Death of Jane Lawrence for this prompt - I read an ARC, and it's fantastic!

[NancyJ]

I really enjoyed The Night Tiger this year, and I recommend it for Gothic or Halloween reading. It's set in Colonial era (I think) Malaysia and involves local legends about men who can turn into tigers. It's also relevant to the UN goal to eliminate child labor (one of the rejected prompts)

For a traditional (big scary house in the UK) gothic read, I highly recommend Rebecca or My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier.

For 2022, I will need to screw up my courage to read The Birds and Other Stories by Daphne du Maurier. I have Sorrowland and The Once and Future Witches handy to read this month, or I'll save them for 2022.

If you're into paranormal romance audios, Molly Harper's Bayou series is free to Audible members right now.

[Nancy]

I really want to read The Invited, but I have a feeling I'll be reading it this year as I don't want to wait!

For this prompt I'll either be going old school with The Phantom of the Opera, or something by Kate Morton as it seems a lot of her books are marked as gothic. I have The Distant Hours penciled in right now.

[Pam]

My first choice is Titus Groan by Mervyn Peake, I have the Gormenghast Trilogy in one book but would count each book separately.

[dalex]

I used to think I understood what "gothic" was but it seems like so many things have that label that I now feel less confident about what it means.

I've tentatively pencilled in The Little Friend by Donna Tartt (supposedly Southern gothic) for this prompt but I could very well change my mind.

[Sunny]

Since I'm focusing on books I own or books from the library; and because I was given a nice hardback copy of it I am going with Jane Eyre for this one.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

I'm currently reading Jane Eyre, Sunny, along with a podcast called On Eyre. They are breaking the book up into a chapter or two per podcast episode and analyzing it. It's been really fun to read along since the writing style does make my eyes glaze over a bit lol.

[Jillian]

I have been meaning to read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier all year but I think I just wait until next year and try and read it in January.

[Kathy]

Love this prompt! I recommend:
The Distant Hours - Kate Morton
Rebecca - Daphne du Maurier
The Broken Girls - Simone St. James
Dracula - Bram Stoken

I may re-read Wuthering Heights or The Secret Keeper by Kate Morton. Might try Touch Not the Cat by Mary Stewart since I have it as an ebook.

[D.L.]

I have Mexican Gothic so this is the perfect excuse to read it :)

[KP]

Ninth House
Once Upon a River

[Chrissy]

I’m listening to On Eyre too! (And reading the podcaster’s book alongside.) Definitely enhances the reading.

[Emily, Conterminous Mod]

Ah Chrissy! I haven't read Vanessa's book, but I totally agree that it enhances the reading of Jane Eyre!

[Pearl]

I think I'll read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Done✔

[Sydney]

I'm going to be reading The Shadow of the Wind.

[Shannon]

My 15-year-old daughter just read Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. I think I am going to read the same book for this prompt.

[GailW]

I'm going to read The Mad Women's Ball

[CrystalIsReading on StoryGraph]

I've picked Lakesedge, a YA gothic fantasy/ horror with a lot of LGBTQ representation.

[Lauren]

I don't think I have much in my TBR that fit for this prompt (I'm still not sure how to identify what's gothic though), but I have:

Frankenstein
The Complete Tales and Poems of Edgar Allan Poe

I'm leaning more towards Poe, but I'm not sure if I would have to read the whole chunky book, or if I could just read a few of the stories.

[Joy D]

Recommendations:

Alena (modern retelling of Rebecca)
The Thirteenth Tale
The Name of the Rose
The Keep
Madam
Neverwhere

Classics:
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Phantom of the Opera

[Tamula]

I will likely read a Victorian classic since it will also be Victober -- maybe something by Wilkie Collins.

That said, if you want something more modern and still gothic, I recommend A Keeper by Graham Norton.

[Dana]

Roxana wrote: "Definitely recommend The Death of Jane Lawrence for this prompt - I read an ARC, and it's fantastic!"

I also enjoyed the audiobook of this one! Such a great book!

[Alyssa]

What are you reading? Mexican Gothic
What are your favorite gothic or gothic-inspired books? Frankenstein: The 1818 Text The Haunting of Hill House Dracula The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and Other Tales of Terror The Night Circus

[Joan]

What are you reading? I read Lock Every Door. It took place in an old apartment building in New York City with gargoyles on the building. The apartment building was old and it had a lot of gothic elements in it so I slotted it for this prompt as I was reading it.
What are your favorite gothic or gothic-inspired books? There are so many. As I look through the listopia, I have read a good many of them. As far as classics go, I don't think anything beats Frankenstein. I read The Woman in the Window a year or so ago and I thought that kinda fit the gothic prompt for newer books. It reminded me of Rear Window.

[Tiffany]

I read Rebecca which was very good. I was supposed to read it last year, but the hold at the library lasted almost an entire year! Now I see why.

I have to agree with Joan - Frankenstein is one of the best novels. I also like Wuthering Heights & most of Edgar Allen Poe's works. The history & the amount of detail always wins me over.

[Joy D]

I read:
Sleep No More: Six Murderous Tales by P.D. James - 3 stars - My Review

Definitely gothic, especially the story of The Murder of Santa Claus that takes place at a mansion in the countryside.

[Anne]

I am reading The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte. Other books I have enjoyed with Gothic elements are Rebecca, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Jamaica Inn.

[Misty]

Anne wrote: "I am reading The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Bronte. Other books I have enjoyed with Gothic elements are Rebecca, Jane Eyre, Wuthering Heights, and Jamaica Inn."

I had The Tenant of Wildfell Hall down for another prompt, but I think I am going to use it for this one instead.

[Kim]

I dont know what I am reading for this as its not my usual genre. Someone gave me a copy of Reckless Girls by Rachel Hawkins that I was going to pass on because I am not much of a thriller reader but the description on says its gothic suspense? Is anyone familiar with it and can tell me if it would fit with this prompt? thanks!

[Stacey]

This genre's not my favorite, but I absolutely loved, LOVED, this gem of a YA book. Just out in January, Anatomy: A Love Story by Dana Schwartz is first and foremost a love story set in Edinburgh, 1817. Lots of romantic, gothic details are baked in, such as graveyard robberies, Scottish castles and macabre medicine.

Plus, this cover cannot be beat:


I'd also recommend The Devil in the White City: Murder, Magic, and Madness at the Fair That Changed America and Lincoln in the Bardo.

[LeahS]

I read The Winter Guest by W.C. Ryan, which I started reading for the 'book written in 2022' prompt. However, it had so many gothic elements - decaying mansion, last of old family, ghosts/hallucinations, dead lover, conspiracy - that I moved it to this prompt. It is set in Ireland shortly after World War I and during the struggle for Home Rule, and it is interesting historically as well as atmospheric. Also has a spooky cover:

Recommendation: The Gormenghast Novels.

[Dea]

I'm surprised no one has mentioned Anne Rice! Almost all her books written as Rice would fit—especially the early Vampire Chronicles books and the Mayfair Witches series. It's a solid old school option, though she wrote more vamp books off and on for another twenty years or so.

Interview with the Vampire The Vampire Lestat The Queen of the Damned

The Witching Hour Lasher Taltos

[chysodema]

Gothic is really not my genre at all, so I was a little worried about this prompt. But then I realized I've been wanting to read Wide Sargasso Sea for a long time so I may choose that one. I also just took a look at We Have Always Lived in the Castle after seeing it recommended here and it looks great, too!

[Jaime]

I don't read a lot of gothic books, but I read Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia for this prompt and thought it was good.

[Samantha]

I read Thornhill. One of the booktubers I watch who reads a lot of horror enjoyed this. Its a children's book but would not recommend for just any child its pretty disturbing.

[Adam]

Read Dracul.

The quasi-official prequel to Dracula published by Stoker’s descendants allegedly assembled from his notes. It would make sense that his publisher forced him to edit his book and drop the whole “based on a true story” part so soon after Whitechapel. Also explains why the Icelandic translation was such a different book even with his involvement.

[Jill]

What are you reading?
I read The Greatcoat by Helen Dunmore

[Severina]

I read Wilder Girls by Rory Power, using this definition of gothic literature from illinois.edu: "... dark, eerie and mysterious, often combining elements of terror, horror, and the macabre and the bizarre. Common threads and motifs of the gothic include power, confinement and isolation." I think it fits. Wouldn't recommend the book, however.

[NancyJ]

I read: The Book of Cold Cases by Simone St James. It's a modern gothic tale with interesting characters. It's on the scary side, but it's not gory.
She also wrote:
The Broken Girls
The Sun Down Motel

I think these also fit:
Death Comes to Pemberley, Victorian house, murder, ghost sightings. (For Pride and Prejudice fans.)
The Master and Margarita - Russian classic with the Devil's assistants wreaking havoc.

[Nicola]

I like Susan Hill and I've really read most the usual suspects from the gothic lists. So, for this prompt I'll be aiming to read:

[Mary]

Can I use year one by Nora Roberts for this prompt?

[Dana]

For this one I read Anya's Ghost by Vera Brosgol and gave 4 stars.

[Guylian]

I read The Sentence by Louise Erdrich.