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. 

“The Queen of Spades” by Alexander Pushkin

This strange little ghost story by Russia’s premier novelist and poet is an excellent example of the Russian Gothic fantastic, a unique subgenre that is often weird, unsettling, and at times even humorous. You can read an English translation of the story here. In this tale, a cautious and pragmatic German-Russian soldier, who has until now resisted the urge to gamble with his fellows, hears about an old woman who knows a special trick involving three specific cards that when played in order are guaranteed to win every time. The soldier decides to get this knowledge from her by trickery or force, whatever it takes. But the old woman has a vengeful streak, and his get-rich-quick plan quickly falls apart.

“The Ghost at the Cross-Roads” by Frederick Manley

I just read this cozy Christmas tale by a fairly obscure author in the British Library’s collection Sunless Solstice, which you’ll hear more about next week, and as far as I can tell that’s the best place to find the text. Set in Ireland, this story has an air of traditional folklore to it. On Christmas night, a house party of feasting peasants is interrupted by a terrified aristocrat who stumbles in out of the blizzard. He tells them a tale of sitting down to play cards in the blinding snow with an oddly compelling companion. When the gentleman runs out of money he makes an ill-advised wager, but luckily is saved from entering into a Faustian bargain at the last moment. 

“The Rocking-Horse Winner” by D. H. Lawrence

This is a short story by the English writer best known for his infamously erotic novel Lady Chatterly’s Lover, and you can read the story in full at the Short Story Project. The tale centers on a middle-class woman who is perennially dissatisfied with the lack of money and luck in her life. Her young son Paul, on the other hand, is very lucky and begins to win large sums of money by betting on horse races. He seems to learn the names of winning horses clairvoyantly as he rides hard upon his toy rocking horse. But no matter how much he wins, Paul and his mother are never quite satisfied, leading Paul to push himself beyond his limits…

“A Terribly Strange Bed” by Wilkie Collins

You may know Wilkie Collins as the author of sensation novels likeThe Woman in White and The Moonstone, but he has also written a number of short stories. You can listen to a free audio version of “A Terribly Strange Bed” (also titled “The Traveller’s Story of a Terribly Strange Bed”) on Librivox here or read it online here. In this mysterious tale, a young man named Faulkner decides to venture into a disreputable gambling house in Paris and finds himself winning big at a card game called Rouge et Noir all night. At the end of the evening, Faulkner is giddy with his winnings but wary of the danger of traveling the dark streets with such a large sum of money. On the advice of a solicitous old soldier, he decides to stay the night in a room at the gambling house. But the terribly strange bed there may put him in more danger than he would have been on the streets…

Have you read any of the stories above? Can you think of any other examples of Gothic gambling tales? Let me know in the comments! And remember, if you’re planning to play any games of dreidel this Chanukah, just be wary of the dark side of gambling and make sure you’re not getting too greedy or wagering against supernatural entities for ambiguous stakes….