Let’s get one thing clear: The Gothic Library stands with Black Lives Matter and with the protests against police brutality and against the injustices done to George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and too many others. As we watch the horrors play out in the news and on our streets, it becomes clear why Black authors are some of the most poignant voices in horror fiction. To be Black in America is to live in a real-world horror story, an idea that Leila Taylor explored in depth in her book Darkly: Black History and America’s Gothic Soul. I have briefly touched before on the past contributions of African-American writers to the Gothic genre, but today I want to highlight a few living authors whom you can support: Continue reading Contemporary Black Horror Writers
Guest Appearance on Sublimely Gothic Podcast
There’s a new Gothic podcast in town! Sublimely Gothic is a Gothic literature-themed podcast hosted by Amy Sophiamehr and Jessica Znidarsic. In each episode, they discuss a single Gothic text along with its core tropes and themes. The podcast launched last month with a debut episode on Jane Eyre. And I had the pleasure of being a guest on Episode 2: The Castle of Otranto, which aired on Friday. You can find both episodes on the Pagan Poetess website!
Let me know what you think of the episode! I’m hoping to do more guest appearances with Sublimely Gothic in the future, so keep an eye out.
The Gothic Library is Five Years Old!
Happy bloggiversary! As of this Friday, June 5, I’ll have been posting weekly to The Gothic Library for exactly five years. When I started this blog the summer after graduating college, I never imagined I’d stick with it for so long or that it would become such a huge part of my life. For those of you who have been with me for all five years, thank you for believing in me! For readers who have found this blog more recently, thank you for joining! The last time I did any sort of reflecting on my blogging journey was back at my one-year anniversary, so I’d like to take this time to highlight some of the accomplishments I’m most proud of that have come out of this blog:
Review of Unspeakable: A Queer Gothic Anthology
The Gothic has always been a place where marginalized gender expressions and sexualities could be explored—though in the past, this was often either done through deeply buried subtext or in a way that punished transgression and reasserted the prevailing societal norms. Today, however, queer Gothic is one of the most lively and prolific areas of the genre, and many authors are writing stories where queer identities are overt, accepted, and even celebrated. Unspeakable: A Queer Gothic Anthology, edited by Celine Frohn, collects a whole set of stories that do just that. The anthology came out back in February from Nyx Publishing after raising money through a successful Kickstarter campaign. Continue reading Review of Unspeakable: A Queer Gothic Anthology
Gothic Tropes: The Snake Lady
Monstrous women are found throughout Gothic literature. They represent fears and anxieties around female bodies and women’s role in society. But there is one type of monstrous woman we see over and over again, whose symbolism goes back centuries: the snake lady. Part woman and part snake, the snake lady might physically be half and half—like a land-bound mermaid—or she might transform between the two forms. Either way, she inspires both desire and fear—the paradox at the heart of the Gothic.
Review of Robbergirl—A Snow Queen Retelling
How about a little queer romance to warm the icy chill of isolation? Robbergirl by S. T. Gibson, which came out last year, is a YA retelling of Hans Christian Anderson’s classic fairy tale “The Snow Queen.” While the original tale centers a young girl’s quest to save her loved one from the embodiment of winter, Robbergirl approaches the story from the perspective of the young thief who aids the other girl with her adventure and along the way learns the difference between loving someone and possessing them. Continue reading Review of Robbergirl—A Snow Queen Retelling
Review of Haunted Voices—Scottish Gothic
We’ve talked about American Gothic, French and German Gothic, and even Irish Gothic. But what about Scottish Gothic? Cultures with a strong oral storytelling tradition tend to also have a very rich tradition of horror stories, and Scotland is no exception. A recent anthology by the independent press Haunt Publishing seeks to capitalize on that connection. Haunted Voices: An Anthology of Gothic Storytelling from Scotland, edited by Rebecca Wojturska, blends traditional Scottish oral tales with dark stories from newer voices that reflect the diversity of the country. Check it out for an informative and entertaining take on Highland horror! Continue reading Review of Haunted Voices—Scottish Gothic
The Gothic Library is a Bookshop.org Affiliate!
There’s a brand new way to buy your books online and support independent bookstores in the process—Bookshop.org! Indie bookstores are the backbone of the book world, but they’ve long been fighting an uphill battle against Amazon and large corporate chains. Now, with the coronavirus pandemic slowing sales, indie bookstores need our support more than ever. Bookshop.org has recently emerged as the ethical alternative to Amazon.
Continue reading The Gothic Library is a Bookshop.org Affiliate!
Happy 90th Birthday, Nancy Drew!
The girl detective is officially a nonagenarian. Well, her book series is anyway. Tomorrow, April 28, marks the 90-year anniversary of the publication of the first Nancy Drew book, The Secret of the Old Clock (1930) by Carolyn Keene. As a young child, I devoured my way through the library’s entire shelf of Nancy Drew mysteries, and I’m sure that the gloomy settings, air of suspense, and plucky heroine had long-lasting effects on my literary taste. So, I want to take today to celebrate the legacy of Nancy Drew.
Gothic Tropes: Corrupted Clergy
“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned”—But what if the one who is supposed to absolve you is even more guilty? This is an idea explored in quite some depth and from a variety of angles throughout Gothic literature. The Gothic has had a very complicated relationship with religion, and Christianity in particular, from its earliest days. Sincere religious belief is often a virtue of the best Gothic heroes and heroines. But some of the genre’s most debased villains are those who wear the cloth of the Church. Early Gothic novels were highly critical of the horrors committed in the name of religion during the Spanish Inquisition, and these works also reflect Protestant and Anglican fears around Catholicism. But even the most obvious anti-Catholic caricatures were often a bit more nuanced, as many authors relied on the acceptable depiction of evil Catholic clergy to more subtly critique the overreach of religious authorities within their own communities. And no sect is safe! You’ll find dangers in any denomination in later works of Gothic literature. Let’s take a look at how corrupted clergymen (and a few women!) have crept through these novels.
