Howard Phillips Lovecraft is the kind of writer who provokes mixed emotions. On the one hand, he has become the face of the cosmic horror subgenre and his influence on modern horror in general is undeniable. When you sit down to actually read his stories, however, you’ll find that they tend to be permeated by his rampant bigotry—extreme even for his own time—and many of his plots fall into repetitive, predictable patterns. Even his best stories (I particularly enjoyed The Shadow over Innsmouth and “The Thing on the Doorstep”) have at their core an intense xenophobia and complete disregard for women. But whether you’re a hardcore Lovecraft fan or uninterested in ever reading anything from the man himself, you can enjoy the many new stories coming out from authors who play in Lovecraft’s sandbox while critiquing some of his views and adding new perspectives into his worlds. Here are just a few examples of books that put a fun, new twist on Lovecraft’s immortal mythos: Continue reading Fresh Takes on Lovecraft
Category: List
Books with Nonbinary/Ungendered Protagonists
Happy Pride Month, dear readers! I’ve written a few times on this blog about how Gothic literature has been used to explore marginalized genders and sexualities, both in joyful, celebratory ways and as a way of exploring societal and personal anxieties about not conforming to the norm. Many queer authors have found their place in the field of Gothic fiction, and you’ll also find many queer characters both as villains and as protagonists (or sometimes, both). Today I want to highlight a few of my favorite recent reads in Gothic-descended genres that are written from the point of view of a nonbinary or ungendered protagonist: Continue reading Books with Nonbinary/Ungendered Protagonists
Books I’m Excited for in 2024
Happy 2024! First things first: as I mentioned at the end of last week’s post, I will be moving to an every-other-week posting schedule this year. But though I’ll be posting less often, I am still just as excited as always about all of the new books coming out this year! Here are just a few of the new releases I am most looking forward to:
1) The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan (set to be released January 9)
This Gothic horror novel is set off the coast of South Africa in a ruined mansion haunted by a djinn. When a young girl named Sana moves in with her father, she uncovers the estate’s long-buried secrets and a tragic tale of lost love. I always love to see classic Gothic tropes in new, unfamiliar settings. Continue reading Books I’m Excited for in 2024
Gothic Gambles
Gambling is as pervasive in the world of Gothic literature as it is in the real world. Gothic novels are full of dissolute villains whose dastardly dealings at the card table are just one facet of their poor behavior and hapless heroes who find themselves in dire straits after running up debts. But today I want to highlight a few pieces of short fiction with gambling at their center. These tales warn not just of the ordinary dangers like debt and addiction, but also of potential supernatural consequences for those who gamble excessively or unwisely.
Unique Halloween Costumes Inspired by Gothic Literature
Tired of wearing the same costumes as everyone else? Why not show off your literary knowledge and find something unique by plumbing the depths of Gothic literature! Of course, Count Draculas and Frankenstein’s monsters are common enough costumes, though usually based more on the film adaptations than their source texts. But there are plenty of other monsters, apparitions, and dramatic characters to be found within the genre. Here are a few ideas I’ve come up with: Continue reading Unique Halloween Costumes Inspired by Gothic Literature
Folk Horror in Literature
Something ancient has been awakened in the woods…. This premise encapsulates the essence of many folk horror stories. I have briefly touched on folk horror before in my review of the YA folk horror anthology The Gathering Dark, but as this deeply rooted subgenre of horror experiences another wave of popularity, I figured it was time to dive into it more deeply and give you a few recommendations through which to explore the genre.
In my earlier post, I defined folk horror as “any horror tale that draws on regional folklore,” but this is a bit of a simplification. As with the Gothic, folk horror is difficult to nail down and define. Works in this category tend to deal not just with folklore but also with folk religion, customs, and rituals. In Western literature, this often involves elements of some pre-Christian pagan practice that has persisted in isolated communities despite the pressure to Christianize. Works of folk horror may draw on real life folklore, beliefs, and practices from a particular culture or region, or they may feature a fictional community with lore of the author’s own creation. Common themes and tropes in works of folk horror include a rural setting, a supernatural entity associated with the natural environment, and worship of or sacrifice to this entity. Continue reading Folk Horror in Literature
Flowers in Gothic Literature
Spring is finally here in the northeastern U.S.! Magnificent magnolia trees and sunny daffodils have been bringing a smile to my face as I go on my lunchtime walks. But beautiful things can have a dark side, and if the film Midsommar has taught us anything, it’s that you can still experience intense terror while surrounded by colorful flowers. Flowers pop up in all sorts of unexpected places in Gothic literature. Here are just a few examples below:
Carnival Celebrations in Gothic Literature
It’s Carnival season in the Catholic liturgical year—a time for wild celebration and indulging in excess before the restrictions and solemnity of Lent. The holiday is celebrated mainly in regions with large Catholic populations, including parts of Western Europe and the Americas, but historically it has been especially associated with Italy. Celebrations usually involve parades, colorful costumes, extravagant parties, and indulgent foods and beverages. Though ostensibly a time of joy and merriment, this boisterous atmosphere can also be disorienting, overwhelming, and even frightening, and the holiday’s associations with disguise and mischief create an excellent opportunity for dastardly plots and misdirection. This—combined with Gothic literature’s love/hate relationship with all things Catholic—makes the frenetic festivities of Carnival the perfect backdrop. Below are just a few examples of works of Gothic literature that take place during Carnival or Carnival-like celebrations:
Ghostly Brides and Bridegrooms
It’s nearly Valentine’s Day and love is in the air. But before you tie the knot with your beloved, you might want to make absolutely sure they are still among the living. For centuries, ghostly brides and bridegrooms have been common figures in folklore across cultures and have since worked their way into ghost stories and Gothic literature. From folk ballads of the eighteenth century to YA novels of the twenty-first, here are a few of my favorite nuptial specters: Continue reading Ghostly Brides and Bridegrooms
Books I’m Excited for in 2023
Happy New Year! One of my favorite parts of this celebratory season is researching all of the exciting new books that will be coming out in the new year. This year, I found so many intriguing titles that I had trouble narrowing them down. Here are just a few of the books coming out in 2023 that are immediately going on my to-read list:
1) Hell Bent by Leigh Bardugo (set to be released January 10)
At last, we are getting a sequel to Ninth House, Leigh Bardugo’s dark academia novel about the occult societies of Yale! At the end of the first book, Alex learned that her mentor Darlington had disappeared through a portal into Purgatory and is still trapped on the other side. In this book, she embarks on an impossible rescue mission. Even the esteemed Lethe organization isn’t willing to risk their resources to save one of their own. But if anyone can get to hell and back with only her wits, some arcane texts, and a ragtag band of allies, it’s Alex Stern. And sure, why not throw in a series of unexplained murders for her to solve, as well?
2) Don’t Fear the Reaper by Stephen Graham Jones (set to be released February 7)
Here’s another sequel, this time to Stephen Graham Jones’s My Heart Is a Chainsaw, which I read last year. Book one introduced us to young Jade Daniels, a high schooler in the rural Idaho town of Proofrock who views the world through the lens of her favorite slasher movies. The first book left the reader wondering just how unreliable of a narrator Jade might be, right up until the bodies start dropping during a big party on Indian Lake. Unfortunately, Jade was left on the hook for these murders, and this second book picks up after she’s spent a few years in jail. Jade’s return to Proofrock happens to coincide with the escape of a local serial killer set on seeking vengeance.
3) The Foxglove King by Hannah F. Whitten (set to be released March 7)
I haven’t read any of Hannah F. Whitten’s other books yet, but the description of this first book in a new YA fantasy series caught my eye. In it, a young woman with illicit death magic is thrust into court politics when the king needs her to solve a series of mass deaths.
4) Lone Women by Victor LaValle (set to be released March 21)
I heard Victor LaValle read a few pages from his manuscript of this book at the Fantastic Fiction at KGB Bar reading series in NYC last year and am excited for this book to come out so that I can finally read the rest! LaValle blends horror with western in this tale of a woman trying to outrun her secrets as she journeys from California to become a homesteader in Montana in the early twentieth century.
5) A House with Good Bones by T. Kingfisher (set to be released March 28)
I read my first T. Kingfisher book last year—What Moves the Dead—and absolutely fell in love. Now the author is back with her own spin on the haunted house genre, A House with Good Bones. In this Southern Gothic, a woman arrives at her mother’s house for an extended visit, only to discover that neither the house nor her mother are quite how she remembers them. The house has been painted a sterile white and is littered with unsettling objects like jars of teeth and creepy paintings. Meanwhile, her mother is nervous and jumpy but won’t explain why. Sounds like this family has some buried secrets that are ripe for discovering.
6) Witch King by Martha Wells (set to be released May 30)
Earlier in the pandemic, I absolutely devoured Martha Wells’s Murderbot books. But though I’ve only known her for her science fiction, I’m excited to check out her first fantasy novel in over a decade. And how could I resist the premise of a powerful, long-dead demon who is accidentally resurrected by a foolish lesser mage?
7) The Reformatory by Tananarive Due (set to be released June 27)
To my great shame, I have not yet read any of Tananarive Due’s works, despite how many times she’s been recommended to me. But this book looks like it would be a great place to start! The Reformatory explores the horrors of racism and injustice in a segregated reform school in Jim Crow Florida.
8) Silver Nitrate by Silvia Moreno-Garcia (set to be released July 18)
Since first picking up Mexican Gothic in 2020, I have yet to be disappointed by a Silvia Moreno-Garcia novel. Her newest book is a dark thriller that combines the horror cinema scene of 1990s Mexico City with Nazi occultism. When overlooked sound editor Montserrat and fading opera star Tristán are roped into helping a washed-up director finish a film allegedly shot using magic-imbued silver nitrate stock, they discover that sorcerers and magic are not just the stuff of movies….
9) Alecto the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir (set to be released October 10)
Perhaps one of the most anticipated books coming out next year is the conclusion to Tamsyn Muir’s Locked Tomb series. Gideon the Ninth, Harrow the Ninth, and Nona the Ninth have all been among my favorite books of the last three years, so I can’t wait to see what Alecto the Ninth has in store. Little information has been released yet about the finale to this epic science fantasy series, if the pattern of the previous books and the final chapter of Nona are anything to go by, this book will likely be told from the perspective of Alecto, the first entity to be resurrected by the Emperor Undying at the end of the world. And it seems like she has some scores to settle.
10) The Pomegranate Gate by Ariel Kaplan (set to be released Fall of 2023)
I’m so excited to see more and more Jewish-inspired fantasy coming out these days. This first foray into adult fantasy by heretofore YA author Ariel Kaplan draws on Jewish folklore and the history of the Spanish Inquisition. Set in a fantasy world with parallels to fifteenth-century Spain, the story centers on Toba and Naftaly, who each have strange abilities and secrets. Toba can write faster than she can speak, in multiple languages, with both hands at the same time, while Naftaly has unusual dreams of square-pupiled strangers in a magical world. While struggling for their survival, both uncover hidden truths about their own identities, their histories, and the connections between the human and magical realms.
What books are on your reading list for 2023? Are you planning on reading any of those listed above? Did I miss any upcoming releases you think should be on my list? Let me know in the comments!