I recently started reading The Distant Hours by Kate Morton, and immediately, I was struck by a layer of creepiness within the story. This got me thinking about other creepy books, and the list I came up with consisted of mainly gothic novels.
Gothic novels combine elements of horror and romance and are often melodramatic. The birth of gothic novels is often attributed to The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, written in 1764. The age of gothic novels only lasted until about 1820. Then, their popularity began to fade. However, you can still find great gothic novels written today.
The main attributes that make up gothic novels consist of a castle setting, a mysterious and suspenseful atmosphere, a prophecy, omens and visions, supernatural or inexplicable events, high emotions, a woman in distress, a powerful and tyrannical man, and/or the prevalence of gloom and horror. While not all of these elements must be present for a book to be considered gothic, more than one must be prevalent throughout the story.
There is a lot of fear, terror, surprise, and darkness in these books. They make for fun reads on gloomy winter days: perfect for sitting next to a warm fire or curling up in your favorite chair to get lost in the sensationalism of the story.
Newer Gothic Novels:
The Distant Hours by Kate Morton: A long-lost letter arrives fifty years late and sends Edie Burchill to Milderhurst Castle where she encounters the three Blythe sisters. You will follow Edie as she attempts to unravel the mysteries of the castle and the sisters.
The Ghost Writer by John Harwood follows Gerard Freeman as he sets out to solve the mystery of his family. He discovers a ghost story written long ago that implicates his mother in a terrible family tragedy. This is a story of family skeletons and stories.
Half Broken Things by Morag Joss is a psychological suspense story that looks at the lives of three lost people who come together at Walden Manor and the events that occur upon their arrival.
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield tells the story of Vida Winter, a famous author of twelve tales. She tells her life story to a biographer, Margaret Lea. The story is one of beauty, ghosts, a garden, and a terrible fire. The two women must face their pasts in order become transformed by the truth themselves.
Classic Gothic Novels:
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
Frankenstein, or the Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
The Hound of the Baskervilles by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe
Picture from http://irishgothichorrorjournal.homestead.com/IrishGothicHaslam.html
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