Cursed Gifts in Gothic Literature

‘Tis the gift-giving season! As the days grow cold and dark here in the northern hemisphere, giving your loved ones presents for the holidays can be an excellent way to warm each other’s hearts. But if you’re living in a Gothic story, you should probably be wary of any gifts you receive…. What seems like a gift often turns out to be a curse instead. Here are a few of my favorite examples of ill-fated gifts in Gothic literature:

The Moonstone

The titular item in Wilkie’s Collins’s 1868 novel The Moonstone is a large diamond that was looted from a Hindu temple in India long ago. Mystery surrounds this precious stone, and local legend says that the Moonstone is cursed, presumably by the Hindu mystics or even the gods themselves, angered at the sacrilege done to their temple. Ever since the theft, whoever possesses the moonstone comes to an unfortunate end. Eventually, a British soldier named Herncastle murders a man for the jewel, and—in an example typical of the prophecy/curse trope—the victim uses his final breaths to proclaim: “The Moonstone will have its vengeance yet on you and yours!” That soldier, perhaps with malicious intent, then gives the Moonstone as a birthday gift to his young niece Rachel Verinder. Rachel proudly wears the diamond at her birthday party, but it is stolen from her room that very night—which is perhaps fortunate for her, considering the stone’s deadly associations. The mystery plot of the novel then ensues as various characters try to piece together what became of the Moonstone. When they finally find the current possessor of the Moonstone, he has been murdered! That’s what you get for messing with stolen artifacts….

The Picture of Dorian Gray

Once again, we find a cursed object in the title of a Gothic novel, Oscar Wilde’s The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890). Dorian seems to inadvertently cast the curse himself when he utters an ill-advised Faustian bargain, declaring that he would give his soul to stay as young and beautiful as he is in the portrait, while the painting grows old and ugly. This utterance occurs just moments after the painter Basil Halliward announces his intention to gift the portrait to Dorian. Basil himself admits to putting a bit of his own soul into the painting, which is perhaps what gives it such power. For, indeed, Dorian retains preternatural youth and beauty while living a life of debauchery. Meanwhile the painting is transformed, not just with age but with physical manifestations of Dorian’s corruption. Like the possessors of the Moonstone, Dorian too meets an untimely end. Driven into a rage by the physical reminder of his sins, Dorian tries to destroy the painting but instead destroys himself.

The Monkey’s Paw

This cursed object is one that bestows gifts—though the “gifts” it gives will make you wish you’d never received them. “The Monkey’s Paw” is a 1902 short horror story by W. W. Jacobs that exemplifies the aphorism “be careful what you wish for.” The story concerns a mummified monkey’s paw, which like the Moonstone has come from India, where legend has it that a powerful fakir cast a spell on curious object intended to punish those who dare to interfere with fate. After the paw’s first possessor uses it to wish for his own death, it falls into the hands of a British officer. After making his own wishes, the officer then brings the paw into the home of the White family—not quite giving it to them as a gift, but rather attempting to destroy it in their hearth and then reluctantly allowing them to rescue and keep it. The family receives it as a gift, though, eagerly asking Sergeant-Major Morris to instruct them on how to use the paw to grant their wishes. Their very first wish, however, results in tragedy with an ironic twist. In trying to rectify the first wish, the results of the second wish are implied to be even more horrible. The third wish is left unstated, but one can only imagine that Mr. White uses it to reject the second “gift” that the monkey’s paw seeks to bestow.

With these examples as cautionary tales, be careful what gifts you accept this holiday season! If any of your friends or relatives return from foreign climes with cursed objects in tow, perhaps politely excuse yourself from the gift exchange. And for goodness’ sake don’t taint any gifts you do receive by invoking your own curse with a poorly thought-out bargain! 

How are you celebrating this holiday season? Let me know in the comments! And if you’re still looking for gifts to give your loved ones that won’t result in their untimely demise, may I suggest you buy them one of the many books I’ve recommended over the years? You can find each book I’ve reviewed, along with other themed recommendation lists on my Bookshop.org affiliate page. Happy reading!