books gothic fiction

Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto , published in 1764, is believed to be the first Gothic book —though Walpole's use of the word " Gothic" meant "medieval ." "What the term Gothic meant then is very different to what we understand by it now," Dr. Xavier Aldana Reyes , another founding member of the Manchester Centre for Gothic Studies, says. Following a boom in popularity in the Victorian Era , which saw defining works like Dracula and Frankenstein published, the Gothic novel continued to evolve through the 21st century. Modern Gothic books, including 2020's Mexican Gothic , are in conversation with years of tradition.

Here, the experts recommend the best Gothic novels and writers of all time, including offerings for young adults .

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

First published in 1764,  The Castle of Otranto is widely considered the "first" Gothic novel, even though it predated Gothic literature's renaissance during the Victorian Era by a century. The Castle of Otranto  has it all: In a far-off Medieval realm, an evil prince plans to wed his son's widow, and trap her in his castle. 

Dracula by Bram Stoker

Dracula , one of the ultimate vampire novels,   has lent itself to countless adaptations—precisely, Dr. Ní Fhlainn says, because it's a Gothic novel. " Dracula is always talked about by other characters he's come into contact with, but you never fully get to know him," she says. His mysteriousness makes him Gothic; the fact that he's a monster does too.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Novels from the Victorian period, like  Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde , have defined our idea of the Gothic, even though the genre technically started in the 1760s. Here, the Gothic manifests through the motif of doubling: Everyone has a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde within them, to a degree.

The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

Ann Radcliffe is considered one of the founders of Gothic fiction, able to infuse scenes with terror  and  an undeniable allure.   The Mysteries of Udolpho ,  set in a European castle, is one of her most famous works. Jane Austen's  Northanger Abbey  is a parodic sendup of  The Mysteries of Udolpho . 

Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen

On the surface,  Northanger Abbey  appears to be a Gothic novel—but it's actually an affectionate and deliberate parody of the novels that were extremely popular at the time of publication. Catherine, Northanger Abbey 's  protagonist, can't get enough of books like Ann Radcliffe's  T he Mysteries of Udolpho . Austen, ever attuned to social comedy, is also parodying the reader. 

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Henry James's classic work of psychological horror has inspired many adaptations, including, most recently,  Netflix's  The Haunting of Bly Manor .  The novella follows a governess who accepts a position in a crumbling old house, where she hears ghosts. Reading  The Turn of the Screw  is a deliberately destabilizing experience—you never quite know who is telling the truth, because the characters don't, either. 

The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

Just uttering Edgar Allan Poe's name conjures up the mood of his best-known short stories, novels, and poems: An undeniable sense of dread.  The Fall of the House of Usher   is the story of a family's decline due to an ancestral curse . 

Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë

The Brontë sisters  trail-blazed in the realm of the Gothic novel.  Jane Eyre  is the story of a quiet but strong-willed young woman who takes a job at a spooky and isolated English manor, where she develops a relationship with its owner. Mr. Rochester has secrets that literally can't stay hidden, and Jane soon learns them.  

Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Brooding, dark, and ultimately unknowable, Heathcliffe of  Wuthering Heights   is one of the Gothic tradition's quintessential leading men. That's just the start of  Wuthering Heights ' many Gothic motifs, which also include remote landscapes and storms in the sky and the spirit. 

The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Just  try  keeping track of the many plot twists in  The Woman in White —we dare you. Wilkie Collins's 1859 novel begins when a young man encounters a hapless woman dressed in white on the road, supposedly an escapee from the asylum. The novel reads as Gothic thanks to its suspenseful mood, but the mystery wraps up all of its loose strings.

Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

" Frankenstein's incredible not only because it's possibly the first real science fiction novel, but because it's a Gothic novel as well," Dr. Reyes says of Mary Shelley's classic book. The characters are striking in their isolation: Frankenstein's monster is condemned to wander alone, and Frankenstein, having banished his progeny, also lost those he loves.

The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

Dorian Gray has a secret. Though he looks perpetually young and beautiful, a portrait of Dorian in his attic becomes pock-marked with all of his many sins over the years. Dr. Ní Fhlainn cites this as perfect end of the 19th century Gothic novel. Although it's not expressly scary, it's teeming with dread and decadence. 

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

Rebecca  is the quintessential Gothic romance, in that it uses a deep emotional connection to our narrator into the dark, dangerous world of Manderley, her new husband's home. Daphne Du Maurier describes Manderley with exquisite language."Landscapes in the Gothic tend to be really important, because they house a secret or a terrible event," says Dr. Ní Fhlainn. That's certainly true of Manderley, Maxim's ancestral home.

Dragonwyck by Anya Seton

A bestseller upon its publication in 1944,  Dragonwyck  is a classic Gothic romance: A guileless young woman falls for a mysterious nobleman who has baggage in the form of a mansion. While  Dragonwyck  features familiar elements, Anya Seton's intelligent handling of them makes Miranda's journey feel fresh. It's a natural follow-up to  Rebecca .

The Bloody Chamber: And Other Stories by Angela Carter

In this acclaimed and daring collection of short stories, Angela Carter amplifies the dark elements already present in classic fairy tales, like "Beauty and the Beast," and turns them into works of Gothic feminism. The collection is teeming with Gothic imagery: Castles, moonlight, and dangerous but alluring characters. 

We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

There's something amiss in  We Have Always Lived in the Castle , Shirley Jackson's final novel—but we can't rely on our narrator, Merricat, to tell us what. She and her sister live in a historic mansion (a classic Gothic trope), haunted not by ghosts but by memories. 

Beloved by Toni Morrison

Toni Morrison's  Beloved   is a crucial addition to the American Gothic tradition. "It  rethinks the ghost story through the impact of slavery," Dr. Reyes says. If the Gothic is, fundamentally, about being haunted, then  Beloved  is Morrison's most Gothic work in which Sethe meets a grown-up incarnation of Beloved, the infant she killed to spare her from experiencing the horrors of slavery. 

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

With  Mexican Gothic ,  Silvia Moreno-Garcia is in conversation with many Gothic motifs, like atmospheric dread and haunted ancestral mansions. The twist? She transposes a genre normally grounded in the English countryside into Mexico in the 1950s, where a girl sets off to rescue her cousin from the family she's married into. 

The Little Stranger by Sarah Waters

The Little Stranger   tracks what happens after a country doctor becomes intimately involved in the lives  of the few surviving members of an old aristocratic family in a crumbling house in post-war Britain. Dr. Reyes calls it a quintessential Gothic novel: "It's set in an old mansion, the end of that aristocratic line."

Wylding Hall by Elizabeth Hand

What happens when a British rock band holes up at a possibly haunted old house to record an album, after their lead singer dies?  Wylding Hall  happens, that's what. Unlike the other books on this list,  Wylding Hall  is structured as an oral history. 

In the Dream House: A Memoir by Carmen Maria Machado

Carmen Maria Machado wrote what might be the first modern Gothic memoir.  In the Dream House   equates memory with a kind of haunting. Through an innovative framework, Machado unpacks the experience of being in an abusive queer relationship.

Things We Lost in the Fire Mariana Enriquez

Things We Lost in the Fire   is a short story in conversation with magical realism, the Gothic, and Argentinian history. Mariana Enriquez uses black magic, ghosts, demons, and monsters to draw attention to social issues. 

Something Wicked This Way Comes by Ray Bradbury

Young adult readers will be instantly transported by this Ray Bradbury novel, set at an enchanted carnival—and so will adults, for that matter. Like all good Gothic novels, the bulk of  Something Wicked This Way Comes   takes place in the evening, where the supernatural can sneak in. 

Burnt Offerings by Robert Marasco

Read enough Gothic novels, and you'll know to avoid offers to stay in beautiful houses that seem too good to be true. Seeking an escape from the city, the family in  Burnt Offerings   moves to a house in rural New York for a summer. The catch? They have to care for the mysterious old woman who lives there. 

Interview With the Vampire by Anne Rice

Louis has lived a full life. In fact, he's lived many lifetimes. The vampire looks back on his adventures in this decadent, racy novel by the legendary Anne Rice. As opposed to earlier Gothic books, vampires aren't the villains—they're the morally ambiguous stars of the show. Even as you're afraid of Louis and his evil maker, Lestat, you won't be able to look away. 

Melmoth by Sarah Perry

Melmoth  by   Sarah Perry is a brilliant reworking of a classic Gothic novel,  Melmoth the Wanderer.  The novel is in conversation with the long Gothic tradition that came before it, featuring (fictional) historic texts and a creeping sense of dread, as the novel's protagonist is followed by a character she reads about in a book. 

Fledgling by Octavia E. Butler

With books like  Kindred  and  The Parable of the Sower ,   Octavia Butler established herself as a master of using science fiction and fantasy to probe at social issues of race, class, and family.  Fledgling  reworks the vampire—a classic character within Gothic literature. In the book, a 10-year-old with amnesia learns she's a 53-year-old vampire, and has to unearth mysteries buried within her own psyche.

The House Next Door by Anne Rivers Siddons

The House Next Door  is an addition to the Southern Gothic tradition, set in the American South. The book follows an Atlanta couple who become convinced that the modern, stunning home next door houses an evil energy–and they're powerless to stop its energy from ruining their neighbors' lives. The book is more concerned with social issues and the idea of a "good life" than hauntings, however.

The Ancestor by Danielle Trussoni

Imagine if you found yourself smack dab in the middle of a Gothic novel. That's what happens to Alberta "Bert” Monte of  The Ancestor , when a letter arrives at her doorstop in New York informing her that she's the heir to a castle in Italy. Suddenly, she finds herself traveling to the extremely remote mountain town in Northern Italy where her family is from, and learning the secrets of her lineage. She may have been better off not knowing. 

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20 Most Famous Classic Gothic Novels That Will Intrigue You With Their Horror Stories

What is Gothic fiction?

Gothic literature (also ‘Gothic fiction’ or ‘Gothic horror’) is one of the oldest and widely studied literary genres. It encompasses novels and stories having Gothic elements such as horror, mystery, adventure, psychological torment and supernatural phenomenon. The dark atmosphere, haunted houses full of passage ways, shadowy corridors, hidden rooms and underground tunnels, the windswept moors, and the gloomy and uncertain landscapes or architecture that create an atmosphere of suspense and mystery—all are the characteristic elements of Gothicism in literature . 

The Gothic novelists, under the spell of medievalism, wrote novels of terror, suspense, and psychological thrill. The origin of Gothic novels is ascribed to Horace Walpole who wrote the first Gothic novel “ The Castle of Otranto” in 1764. This first Gothic novel skillfully combined the elements of Romanticism with horror and the supernatural. Walpole’s novel inspired a number of writers who introduced the same mechanism of ‘terror’ in their writings and earned great popularity. Among them the most famous were Edgar Allan Poe , Mathew Lewis, Mary Shelley, Ann Radcliffe, Bram Stoker and others. 

20 Most Famous Classic Gothic Novels

Since its earliest days, Gothic fiction has impressed on its audience how pleasant it is to know what to fear. Its recognizable characteristics have sustained the genre for more than two centuries. Whatever form Gothic is in (prose, poetry or movie); it deeply appeals to its audience. 

Table of Contents

1. The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole

The Castle of Otranto , subtitled ‘A Gothic Story’, by Horace Walpole is a classic Gothic novel published in 1764. It is the very first Gothic novel that actually initiated the ‘Gothic horror’ genre. This book triggered the huge burst of interest in medievalism and ‘terror’ fiction that still endures to this day. 

Filled with supernatural natural elements and gloomy atmosphere, damsels in distress and tyrannical men, The Castle of Otranto is a chilling read. Walpole has utilized a number of Gothic tropes that would eventually come to exemplify the genre. The backdrop of a medieval castle in a foreign country is the most obvious in the book, paired with elements of the supernatural and the macabre. However, Walpole’s novel is unique as it also includes humor and completely surrealistic additions that other well-known Gothic novels which followed did not. 

2. Vathek by William Beckford

A classic among Gothic novels, Vathek (1786) by William Beckford is an Arabian tale surrounded by Gothic weather and elements. Beckford originally drafted the story in French, regardless of being English himself. Later it was translated and published in English. The book centers on the reign of the Caliph Vathek whose quest for supernatural powers leads to his fall from power. Beckford’s book actually capitalizes on the popular 18th century interest in ‘ Orientalism ’ and the Eastern cultures.  

3. The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe

Set in France and Italy in the late 16th century, The Mysteries of Udolpho tells the story of an orphan girl, Emily St. Aubert. An innocent, beautiful and virtuous young woman, the orphaned Emily falls in the hands of a heartless villain named Montoni. He confines her in a grim and isolated castle full of mystery and terror. There she must cope with an unwanted suitor, Montoni’s threats, and the terrors and wild imaginings that threaten to overwhelm her. There are a number of strange occurrences in the novel which seem to be supernatural, but are revealed to have rational explanations.

4. The Fall of the House of Usher and Other Gothic Tales by Edgar Allan Poe

Edgar Allan Poe’s other famous Gothic stories include The Tell-Tale Heart and The Cask of Amontillado . The Tell-Tale Heart is a disturbing and creepy look at the psychological torment. The main character is suffering from madness and possesses evil thoughts. He believes he hears the constant heartbeat of a man he once killed. As the story escalates, he is constantly thinking of violence and murder in order to silence the noise. His full blown psychosis ultimately leads him to disastrous consequences. 

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5. The Monk by Matthew Lewis

The novel takes us to the time of the Spanish Inquisition. The story revolves around a highly respected young monk named Ambrosio who spends the first thirty years of his life in strict piety. He is sure that there is no one stronger to face the temptation of sin than him. Until the real temptation comes to him… After an incident, Ambrosio is led down a dark path of sorcery, murder, incest, and torture. The book is full of visits from beyond the grave, moist dungeons, mutilated bodies, and occult practices. besides, long and detailed descriptions make this dark scenery literally appear before your eyes, which is a true feast for your imagination. 

6. Wieland by Charles Brockden Brown

Wieland is the main character, but the story is narrated by his sister, Clara. Coming from a troubled, chaotic lineage, filled with suicides and mysterious deaths, they are the only survivors of the Wieland family. Their family history begins in Europe, then we get to know about the life of their father, a man with very firm religious conceptions. He comes to America, setting in Philadelphia, and has a tragic destiny, which will influence the lives of the two characters. And then the family saga begins, involving religious and supernatural issues. Clara’s confessions of how much she is struggling with reliving the terror of her tragic experience whilst writing it down added to our investment in the mysterious events to follow. The terror stands in the atmosphere and the suspense is firm in the characters’ dubious actions and in the null understanding of what is happening.

The ventriloquism central to the novel is employed for sinister purposes, creating competing false narratives in the minds of various characters. Everything becomes so complicated and obscure for the family that they become uncertain as to whether they can trust their own senses. And when one of them blindly trusts the manipulative voice they hear, chaos descends and gory senses ensue. The main themes of the plot are religious fanaticism, psychological manipulation, and unexplainable phenomena. Filled with suspense and mystery, Wieland is a book worth reading for its historical context and importance to Gothic literature.

7. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley

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8 . Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Robert Maturin

Melmoth the Wanderer is a violent story about a man who sold his soul to the devil for a longer life. But he repented of his covenant, and now hunts the destitute people, in their most desperate moments, offering to relieve their sufferings if they accept to exchange places with him and free him from the centuries of tortured wanderings. Maturin’s book deals not just with visceral horror, but existential, spiritual, and intellectual horror as well. It is a truly and surpassing Gothic book that nearly obviates the need for all other books in the genre. 

9. The Vampyre: A Tale by John William Polidori

10. Carmilla by Sheridan le Fanu

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Written by the Irish author Sheridan le Fanu, Carmilla (1872) is one of the earliest vampire stories, one that predates Bram Stoker ’s Dracula . The book is intense, romantic, brief, well written, pioneering, and ahead of its time.  

Carmilla is loaded with Gothic touches, mystery, and sometimes the scenes that put hair on end. This is a classic that deserves reading by the approach made in the vampire figure and also by the form of the approach to homosexual love that was previously a taboo for the time of the original publication of the work. Furthermore, the theme of the femme fatale reaches its top exponent here, and the echoes of this magnificent Gothic novel make it one of the main references of today’s horror.  

11. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson

Stevenson’s book does spread out a lot of detailing yet concealing quite a few things which keeps the reader pondering. Moreover, the disconnected ends of the strings of the weaving of the story reveals the gaping holes of the Victorian society and it’s terrible stigmas of homosexuality, prostitution, and split personality because of schizophrenia. It’s definitely one of the most immortal stories that should be read at least once in a lifetime. I recommend it to everyone who loves Gothic atmospheres and search for a short but intense story.

12. Dracula by Bram Stoker

13. The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Around the fireplace of an old house on Christmas Eve, a group of friends share stories of their experiences regarding supernatural phenomena. A man named Douglas recalls the most chilling story of all, the story of his sister’s governess who experienced many horrifying things after being hired to care for two young pupils named Miles and Flora at an eerie estate rumored to be haunted. She sees malicious figures lurking in the dusty windows of dark towers and the presence of phantoms closing in on her. Moreover, the strange behavior of the family itself baffles her. She does everything in her power to protect the children from the mysterious forces, but the children themselves seemingly want to go closer to the looming dead things as much as they want them. 

14. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde

15. The Woman in White by Wilkie Collins

Unlike much of the classic Gothic novels, The Woman in White is written in a comparatively clear and concise manner. The language is still distinctly from that era but gone are the confusing conversations and wordy paragraphs with very little to say. Moreover, the interaction between the characters feels believable, the setting of the scenes timely and the rate of narrative development just right. 

16. The Italian by Ann Radcliffe

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18. The Woman in Black by Susan Hill

19. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

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The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is a classic Gothic story about love and loss, about a beauty that is lost forever. The setting of the book is one of the most magnificent historical attractions in the world, Notre-Dame de Paris. It’s a story about people, and about their feelings that can’t stick to rules. 

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