The day has finally come! Here at The Gothic Library, I’ve been celebrating all month—taking my faithful readers through a tour of ghost stories, horror films, and haunted houses. Today I want to explore some of the literature surrounding the holiday itself. Below are a few works from the past three centuries that celebrate or take place during this spookiest of nights: Continue reading Halloween in Literature
Category: List
Haunted Houses in Literature
With Halloween only a week away, it’s time to really start bringing out the spooks and scares. If you’re wondering how to celebrate this spooky season, The Gothic Library already has you covered with ghost stories to read and scary movies to marathon. Another traditional Halloween activity is visiting haunted houses. This week I’d like to take you on a tour through some of my favorite haunted houses in literature: Continue reading Haunted Houses in Literature
Ghost Stories to Get You in the “Spirit” for Halloween
Now that summer is officially over, do you know what season it is? It’s Halloween season! I’m a firm believer in beginning my celebrations of the greatest holiday of the year at least a month in advance. You may be mourning the end of summer or feeling distracted by a new school year, but that’s no reason you can’t start getting excited for the night when the veil between the worlds is thinnest! To that end, I’ve complied a list of ghost stories below that will help get you into the “spirit” for Halloween. (See what I did there?)
Continue reading Ghost Stories to Get You in the “Spirit” for Halloween
Back to School Reading List
It’s that time of year again! I’m still getting used to the idea that I will no longer be heading off to school in the fall, but I can’t help getting into the back-to-school spirit. If you are continuing your formal education for another semester, be sure to check out your English class syllabus to see if you have any great gothic reads coming up. I always loved reading these books in class because you can get a lot more out of them by learning about their literary and temporal context and by engaging in analysis and discussion with others. But for those of you not going back to school, or whose reading lists are lacking in the dark and macabre—not to fear! I’ve made a gothic syllabus of my own for you. Last summer, when I first launched this blog, I made a Gothic Lit 101 list for you in my Gothic Lit Starter Kit post. Consider this Gothic Lit 102 (not necessarily to be taken in order):
Dead and Vengeful Cats in Gothic Fiction
I spend a lot of time thinking about how much I love cats. They’re cute, cuddly, clever, and just a little bit demonic. Sadly, I don’t own an adorable fluff-ball myself, so I must find other venues for my cat appreciation. This generally involves visiting friends who own cats, looking at cats on social media, and of course, reading books that feature cats. Fortunately, cats—long associated with magic, mystery, and devilry—often feature prominently in gothic literature. Less fortunately, they also have a tendency to die in these stories… But cats are not creatures to be trifled with, and they are particularly adept at exacting revenge. Below are some of my favorite tales starring dead and/or vengeful cats: Continue reading Dead and Vengeful Cats in Gothic Fiction
The Devil & Demon Literary Canon
So I’ve already done the Vampire Literary Canon and the Zombie Literary Canon. I feel like at this point, I’ve got to make one for all the Big Bads of gothic fiction. And who could be bigger or badder than the Devil himself? Devils and demons have been an important part of the tradition of disturbing and macabre literature long before Gothic even became an official genre. As the personification of all of humanity’s fears, the Devil is arguably a touchstone of the horror genre. Continue reading The Devil & Demon Literary Canon
The Zombie Literary Canon
So I’ve written before about the vampire literary canon, which granted has a bit more solid of a literary tradition. But with the rising popularity of zombies in TV shows like The Walking Dead and iZombie, as well as in the mildly uncomfortable new zombie subgenre of paranormal romance books, I figured that an examination of the literary history of these brain-eating undead was in order. While more popular with visual media like movies, video games and TV, zombies still have a strong literary presence, especially in recent decades. Below are some works that I consider to be part of the zombie literary canon.
Books I’m Excited for in 2016
It’s a new year, and you know what that means? New books! 2016 has just begun, and I’m already getting hyped about all of the amazing books coming out this year. Here are just of a few of the great-looking gothic reads coming out in 2016:
- The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater (Set to be released April 26, 2016)
I’ve been talking about this series a lot lately, especially since the first book was my favorite book I read last year. Well, I hopped on the Raven Cycle bandwagon just in time, because the fourth and final book in this series is finally coming out in April! I’m excited to see if Blue and the raven boys succeed in finding their Celtic king and to find out how exactly my favorite corvid creatures fit into this mythos. Continue reading Books I’m Excited for in 2016
Books On My Holiday Wish List
It’s almost that gift-giving time of year, and what could make a better present than a book? Books always make up the majority of my wish list, so I figured I would share with you some of the books I’d love to receive this year:
Books I’m Thankful For
With Thanksgiving just around the corner, I figured it would be appropriate to reflect on some of the books that have significantly influenced my life and my growth as a reader. From childhood favorites to more recently discovered masterpieces, here are five books that I feel extremely thankful that I’ve read:
