As nights grow longer and darker, chilly winds begin to blow, bringing us darker thoughts and thrills, Halloween, corn mazes, and spooky fiction! KHCPL has the books of the season! Gothic fiction is as old as Walpole’s 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto and as fresh as The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton, which is now showing as a PBS series. The genre gets its name from the style of architecture seen in old castles, cathedrals, and spooky mansions that appear in the narratives. To learn more about the characteristics of Gothic literature, check out The Guardian's pictorial article "How to Tell You're Reading a Gothic Novel."
Try curling up in front of the fireplace with some classic short stories from well-known authors:
- The Oxford Book of Gothic Tales, edited by Chris Baldick
- The Classic Horror Stories by H.P. Lovecraft
- Classic Tales of Horror by Edgar Allan Poe
- In the Shadow of the Master: Classic Tales by Edgar Allan Poe
These classic favorites are worth reading and re-reading, combining romance with spooky chills:
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- Dragonwyck by Anya Seton
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley (our Howard County Reads Pick for 2018)
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
- Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen
- The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde
- Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier
Great Gothic tales are still being written. Here are some more recent titles:
- The Abandoned Heart by Laura Benedict
- The Angel's Game by Carlos Ruiz Zafón
- Hideous Love: the Story of the Girl Who Wrote Frankenstein by Stephanie Hemphill
- House of Secrets by V.C. Andrews
- The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters
- The Readaholics and the Gothic Gala by Laura DiSilverio
- We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
- What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? by Henry Farrell
These newer titles continue Dracula's vampire tradition:
- The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova
- Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice
Wrap it all up with The Miniaturist by Jessie Burton. This tale of 17th century Amsterdam involves young Petronella who arrives in the city to fulfill an arranged marriage that turns out to be different than she had imagined. She is gifted with a large cabinet representing her new home, filled with miniature people and furniture representing the mysterious household where she now resides. Enjoy the intriguing book, borrow the DVD, or enjoy watching it on PBS.