Recommended Media
Two Volumes: 2015, 2019
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Dracula
Bram Stoker's 1897 Gothic horror novel, Dracula, is an epistolary tale chronicling the attempt of a Transylvanian nobleman, Count Dracula, to move to England to spread the undead curse, and the subsequent battle against him by a small group of men and women led by Abraham Van Helsing. After solicitor Jonathan Harker narrowly escapes Dracula’s castle, the Count plagues the town of Whitby and attacks Lucy Westenra and Mina Harker. Utilizing modern methods, diaries, and folklore knowledge, the group tracks Dracula back to his home in Transylvania, destroying him and freeing Mina from his psychic influence.
OVERVIEW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dracula
OVERVIEW: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/dracula/plot-analysis/
OVERVIEW: https://www.litcharts.com/lit/dracula/summary
CULTURAL IMPORTANCE: https://trinitonian.com/2019/09/05/the-cultural-importance-of-dracula/
Frankenstein
Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein (1818) is a Gothic science fiction/horror novel detailing the tragic tale of Victor Frankenstein, a Swiss scientist who discovers the secret of imparting life to inanimate matter. Horrified by his grotesque creation, Victor abandons the intelligent but lonely creature, who, after being shunned by society, vows revenge against his maker. The monster murders Victor’s loved ones, prompting a relentless pursuit that leads both characters to isolation, destruction, and death in the Arctic.
OVERVIEW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Frankenstein
OVERVIEW AND ARTIFACTS: https://www.themorgan.org/collection/frankenstein/plot
OVERVIEW: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/frankenstein/summary/
IMPORTANCE AND RELEVANCE: https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20180611-why-frankenstein-is-the-story-that-defined-our-fears
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1847) is a foundational Victorian bildungsroman following the life of an orphaned girl who overcomes a harsh, loveless childhood to become a principled governess. As she falls in love with her moody employer, Edward Rochester, at Thornfield Hall, she discovers he has hidden a violent, mentally ill wife in the attic. After fleeing the failed wedding and discovering her independence, Jane returns to a repentant Rochester, establishing a mature marriage based on mutual respect.
OVERVIEW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jane_Eyre
OVERVIEW: https://www.litcharts.com/lit/jane-eyre/summary
OVERVIEW: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/janeeyre/plot-analysis/
IMPORTANCE: https://medium.com/@writers_corner/the-radical-side-of-jane-eyre-that-shocked-victorian-england-067d82425b96
Arthur Gordon Pym
Beloved (c) Joe Morse
Dorian Gray
Rebecca
Daphne du Maurier's 1938 psychological Gothic novel Rebecca follows an unnamed, insecure young woman who hastily marries wealthy widower Maxim de Winter, only to be haunted by the oppressive memory of his beautiful, charismatic first wife, Rebecca, after moving to his Cornish estate, Manderley. Intimidated by the sinister housekeeper Mrs. Danvers, who worships the deceased mistress, the new Mrs. de Winter struggles with intense jealousy and perceived inadequacy. However, the narrative shifts when it is revealed that Maxim did not love Rebecca, but rather despised her manipulative nature, leading to a suspenseful climax where the truth of her death—and Manderley's eventual destruction—is unveiled, freeing the narrator from the past's shadow.
OVERVIEW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rebecca_(novel)
OVERVIEW WITH LINKS: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/history/rebecca-daphne-du-maurier
OVERVIEW: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/rebecca/summary/
11 FACTS: https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/633629/daphne-du-maurier-rebecca-book-facts
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Robert Louis Stevenson’s Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) is a Gothic novella exploring the duality of human nature, in which reputable London scientist Dr. Henry Jekyll creates a potion to isolate his dark impulses, resulting in a physically deformed alter ego, Mr. Edward Hyde. While Jekyll intends to indulge his vices without harming his social standing, Hyde grows increasingly violent and eventually uncontrollable, committing murder and seizing control of Jekyll’s body involuntarily. Trapped and running out of the potion to transform back, Jekyll commits suicide to prevent Hyde from causing further harm, highlighting the fatal consequences of separating the moral from the immoral self.
OVERVIEW: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/jekyll/summary/
OVERVIEW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Strange_Case_of_Dr_Jekyll_and_Mr_Hyde
OVERVIEW: https://www.audible.com/blog/summary-the-strange-case-of-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde-by-robert-louis-stevenson
IMPORTANCE: https://thejesuitpost.org/2021/04/the-point-of-dr-jekyll-and-mr-hyde/
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) is a gothic philosophical novel about a beautiful young man who makes a Faustian bargain to remain eternally youthful while his painted portrait ages and records his moral decay. Influenced by the hedonistic Lord Henry Wotton, Dorian plunges into a life of libertine, cruel, and hedonistic sensations, hidden from society by his innocent appearance. As his painted image turns grotesque, reflecting his sinful soul, Dorian ultimately attempts to destroy the evidence, resulting in his death, upon which the portrait regains its beauty, and he turns into a withered, aged man.
OVERVIEW: https://www.britannica.com/topic/The-Picture-of-Dorian-Gray-novel-by-Wilde
OVERVIEW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Picture_of_Dorian_Gray
OVERVIEW: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/picture-dorian-gray-oscar-wilde
6 REASONS TO READ DORIAN GRAY: https://the-artifice.com/read-the-picture-of-dorian-gray/
Dracula (c) Vlad Kucherov
Frankenstein (c) Paul Renaud
The Haunting of Hill House (c) Angie Hoffmeister
The Haunting of Hill House
Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House (1959) is a Gothic horror masterpiece focusing on Eleanor Vance, a fragile, repressed woman who joins a supernatural study at a notoriously haunted mansion led by Dr. Montague. Alongside psychic Theodora and heir Luke Sanderson, Eleanor experiences intensifying paranormal activity, with the sinister, "insane" house targeting her vulnerable psyche. The boundary between reality and madness collapses as Eleanor becomes increasingly attached to the house, culminating in a tragic, fatal car crash.
OVERVIEW: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/haunting-of-hill-house/summary/
OVERVIEW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Haunting_of_Hill_House
OVERVIEW: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/haunting-hill-house-shirley-jackson
The Turn of the Screw
Henry James’s 1898 Gothic novella, The Turn of the Screw, follows a young, inexperienced governess hired to care for two children, Miles and Flora, at a remote English estate called Bly. She soon becomes convinced that the children are being corrupted and haunted by the malevolent apparitions of two former employees—Peter Quint and Miss Jessel—who died under mysterious circumstances. As the governess frantically attempts to "save" the children, she faces strange behavior from her young charges and alarming skepticism from the housekeeper, Mrs. Grose, fueling a profound ambiguity about whether the phantoms are real or manifestations of her own descending insanity. The tense narrative culminates in a tragic climax where the governess’s attempts to protect Miles result in his sudden death, leaving the reader to decide if she was a guardian against evil or a destroyer of innocence.
OVERVIEW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Turn_of_the_Screw
OVERVIEW: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/turn-screw-henry-james
OVERVIEW WITH TEXT: https://americanliterature.com/author/henry-james/book/the-turn-of-the-screw/summary
WHY IT STILL HAUNTS US: https://lithub.com/why-the-turn-of-the-screw-haunts-us-125-years-later/
Interview with the Vampire
In Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire (1976), a vampire named Louis de Pointe du Lac narrates his 200-year existence to a reporter in modern San Francisco, beginning with his transformation in 1790s New Orleans by the charismatic Lestat de Lioncourt. Haunted by guilt over his brother’s death, Louis struggles with his moral conscience, finding himself at odds with Lestat's murderous, hedonistic nature. The duo creates a child-vampire named Claudia, who becomes a surrogate daughter but ultimately loathes her trapped existence, leading her to plot against Lestat. After escaping to Europe, Louis faces further tragedies, including Claudia's death and a search for their origins, eventually returning to a solitary existence, having learned that immortality brings immense loneliness, moral decay, and a devastating loss of humanity.
OVERVIEW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interview_with_the_Vampire
OVERVIEW: https://www.sparknotes.com/lit/interview-with-the-vampire/summary/
OVERVIEW: https://www.coursehero.com/lit/Interview-with-the-Vampire/plot-summary/
INTERVIEW AS ALLEGORY: https://mountiespectrum.com/1599/entertainment/interview-with-the-vampire-evil-remorse-and-allegory/
Interview With The Vampire (c) Anne Yvonne Gilbert
Jane Eyre (c) Santiago Caruso
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (illustration by Edmund Joseph Sullivan 1927)
Beloved
Set in the aftermath of the Civil War, Toni Morrison’s Beloved (1987) is a haunting masterpiece centering on Sethe, a formerly enslaved woman living in Ohio, who is emotionally shackled by the trauma of her past and the literal ghost of the infant daughter she killed to save from a life of slavery. When a mysterious young woman calling herself Beloved appears, she embodies the traumatic past that Sethe tries to suppress, disrupting the lives of Sethe and her daughter, Denver, and forcing them to confront the devastating legacy of slavery. Through a narrative blending memory, magical realism, and intense psychological exploration, the novel depicts the painful process of reclaiming one's life from the trauma of "rememory" and the enduring, destructive power of slavery's dehumanization.
OVERVIEW: https://www.britannica.com/topic/Beloved-novel-by-Morrison
OVERVIEW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beloved_(novel)
OVERVIEW: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/beloved-toni-morrison
WHY WE READ BELOVED: https://medium.com/@lizrioshall/why-you-should-read-beloved-df7e1afb295a
The Woman in Black
Susan Hill's Gothic horror novel The Woman in Black (1983) follows Arthur Kipps, a young solicitor sent to a remote English town to settle the estate of the deceased Mrs. Drablow at the isolated Eel Marsh House. While working, Kipps is haunted by a vengeful spectre—the Woman in Black—who is identified as Jennet Humfrye, a woman whose child died in a tragic drowning accident. Despite trying to escape the traumatizing, atmospheric hauntings, Kipps later discovers that the spirit's presence brings death to local children. The horror concludes with a devastating, ironic twist where the ghost takes vengeance on Kipps' own wife and child.
OVERVIEW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Woman_in_Black_(Hill_novel)
OVERVIEW: https://www.bookrags.com/studyguide-the-woman-in-black/#gsc.tab=0
OVERVIEW: https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-woman-in-black/summary
SUSAN HILL INTERVIEW: https://www.theguardian.com/books/2012/feb/17/woman-in-black-book-club-susan-hill
Dolores Claiborne
Set on a small Maine island, Stephen King’s Dolores Claiborne (1992) is a gripping psychological drama presented as a single, uninterrupted confession from a 65-year-old housekeeper suspected of murdering her wealthy, demanding employer, Vera Donovan. While protesting her innocence regarding Vera's death, Dolores reveals the true story of her life, detailing the horrific domestic abuse she suffered from her husband, Joe St. George, and her premeditated plot to kill him thirty years earlier during a solar eclipse. Through her gritty, resilient voice, the novel explores themes of trauma, sacrifice, and survival, ultimately painting a sympathetic portrait of a woman driven to extremes to protect her family, which connects to the events of another King novel, Gerald's Game.
OVERVIEW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dolores_Claiborne
OVERVIEW: https://stephenking.fandom.com/wiki/Dolores_Claiborne
OVERVIEW: https://www.supersummary.com/dolores-claiborne/summary/
AS PSYCHOLOGICAL PORTRAIT: https://tangledyarnsblog.wordpress.com/2022/12/08/dolores-claiborne-by-stephen-king/
Rebecca (c) D. G. Smith
Edgar Allan Poe
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Mary Shelley
I Am Legend
Richard Matheson's I Am Legend is a seminal 1954 post-apocalyptic horror novel following Robert Neville, the apparent last human on Earth after a pandemic turns the rest of humanity into nocturnal, blood-drinking vampires. By day, Neville relentlessly hunts and kills the sleeping creatures; by night, he fights off their attacks, battling extreme isolation and despair. Through scientific investigation, Neville discovers the bacterium-driven cause of the affliction, transforming his survival from mere panic to calculated research. However, the novel culminates in the realization that his violent acts against the new dominant species have made him a feared, monstrous "legend" in their eyes, prompting a profound existential shift regarding who is truly the monster.
OVERVIEW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/I_Am_Legend_(novel)
OVERVIEW: https://www.litcharts.com/lit/i-am-legend/summary
OVERVIEW: https://www.coursehero.com/lit/I-Am-Legend/plot-summary/
ANALYSIS: https://zsoro.medium.com/i-am-essay-85371d2fe72f
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Arthur Gordon Pym
Edgar Allan Poe’s only novel, The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym of Nantucket (1838), is a harrowing Gothic adventure following the titular character who stows away on a whaling ship, the Grampus. The journey quickly descends into horror, marked by mutiny, shipwreck, starvation, and cannibalism, leaving Pym and a few companions, including Dirk Peters, to survive at sea before being rescued by the Jane Guy. As they explore the Antarctic, they encounter mysterious, hostile natives before the crew is massacred, leaving Pym and Peters to navigate a surreal, supernatural landscape farther south, culminating in a mysterious, abrupt ending.
OVERVIEW: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Narrative_of_Arthur_Gordon_Pym_of_Nantucket
OVERVIEW: https://www.ebsco.com/research-starters/literature-and-writing/narrative-arthur-gordon-pym-edgar-allan-poe
OVERVIEW: https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-narrative-of-arthur-gordon-pym-of-nantucket/summary
THEMES: https://greghill.medium.com/race-terror-and-surrealism-in-poes-the-narrative-of-arthur-gordon-pym-a0c02236b2ba
Honorable Mentions
The Exorcist
The House on the Borderland
The Hellbound Heart
'Salem's Lot
Something Wicked This Way Comes
At the Mountains of Madness
The Collector
Carmilla
The Castle of Otranto
The Yellow Wallpaper
The Changeling
Last Days
A Head Full of Ghosts
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Let the Right One In
Blood Crime
Heart Shaped Box
Fisherman
