You probably know Oscar Wilde from his iconic Gothic novel The Picture of Dorian Gray (and its unfortunate role in his trial for homosexuality). He is also widely celebrated for his comedic plays, like The Importance of Being Earnest. But less well-known is a delightful little piece that combines Wilde’s Gothic sensibilities with his biting sense of humor: The Canterville Ghost (1887) is a short story that parodies common elements of the typical ghost story while also satirizing differences in attitude and behavior between Americans and the British. Continue reading The Canterville Ghost—Oscar Wilde’s Gothic Parody
Gothic Tropes: The Naif
Every evil plot needs an innocent victim.… The naïf is one of the core stock characters in Gothic literature. From the same French root as “naive,” the naïf is someone who exemplifies innocence and has not yet been corrupted or made cynical by their encounters with the outside world. This character serves as a foil to innate evil and is usually the main victim of the story’s monster or villain. In Gothic fiction, the naïf is generally a young woman, sometimes an adolescent, who has lived a sheltered life and is suddenly thrust into an unfamiliar and dangerous environment. Because of her lack of experience, the naïf tends to underestimate evil and often trusts the wrong people. The more passive incarnations of this character resemble the stereotypical “damsel in distress,” and need to be rescued by a gallant hero. But sometimes when the naïf loses her innocence, she gains experience and agency. Continue reading Gothic Tropes: The Naif
Review of Burn the Dark–Witch Hunters and Hauntings
After wiping out witches all around the country, there’s only one place left for Robin Martine to go: home. A witch-hunting Youtube star returns to her hometown and confronts her past in Burn the Dark, the first book in S. A. Hunt’s fantasy/horror series Malus Domestica. If that title sounds familiar, it may be because the series spent several years as a self-published top-seller on Amazon. But last week, Burn the Dark finally came out in print from a traditional publisher, and can now be found on shelves at your local bookstore! Continue reading Review of Burn the Dark–Witch Hunters and Hauntings
Intro to New England Gothic
The Gothic initially developed as a European genre, drawing on that continent’s backdrop of medieval castles, crusading knights, and religious turmoil for its iconic imagery. But when this literary movement hopped the Atlantic, the American Gothic was created, which sought inspiration in the geography and local history of specific regions of the United States. The most recognizable strain of American Gothic literature is Southern Gothic, in which the corruption beneath the veneer of Southern respectability is exposed and examined. Apart the American South, another region known for producing seminal works of American Gothic literature is New England. With a history that includes some of the earliest pilgrims learning to survive in a new and unfamiliar wilderness, the infamous witch trials, and the birth of the Spiritualist movement, it’s no wonder that this region would produce tales of supernatural horror. Even the environment—full of foreboding mountains, unbroken forests, and harsh winters—lends itself particularly well to terror. Works of New England Gothic often address themes of religious fanaticism, the occult, and backwoods isolation, and many works deal specifically with the legacy of the Salem witch trials. Below are a few of the authors best known for writing New England Gothic: Continue reading Intro to New England Gothic
Books I’m Excited for in 2020
It’s a new year and you know what that means—new books! With 2019 over, it’s time to start planning out my fresh reads for 2020. There are so many great books releasing this year that I had a hard time narrowing it down to a simple list. But here are a few of the books that I’m most excited about adding to my TBR pile: Continue reading Books I’m Excited for in 2020
My 2019 Reading Challenge Recap
Let’s look back at my year of books! Every year I participate in the Goodreads Reading Challenge, setting myself a numerical goal of books to read, as well as some more abstract goals. This year I set myself an easily attainable numerical goal, though I did end up losing sight of some of my larger objectives.
Review of Spirits Unwrapped—An Unconventional Mummy Anthology
While you’re unwrapping your gifts this holiday season, how about unwrapping a few ancient mummies, as well? (Except, not literally. The Victorians used to do that, and it was a pretty sketchy practice…) Spirits Unwrapped, edited by Daniel Braum, is an anthology of fourteen unconventional mummy tales. It was released by the small indie publisher Lethe Press back in October and has finally made its way up to the top of my post-Halloween book pile. Continue reading Review of Spirits Unwrapped—An Unconventional Mummy Anthology
Go See Beetlejuice the Musical Before It Closes!
If you haven’t yet heard, Tim Burton’s beloved comedy-horror film Beetlejuice has recently been made into a Broadway musical. It opened at the Winter Garden Theatre back in April and, despite initial mixed reviews, has since become a surprise hit and one of the most popular shows of the season! The production stars Alex Brightman as the mischievous spirit Beetlejuice and Sophia Anne Caruso as the young protagonist Lydia Deetz, with lyrics and music by Eddie Perfect. In spite of the show’s popularity, the producers recently announced that it will be closing this summer to make room for The Music Man. The final Broadway production will be on June 6, and there are plans to launch a national tour in 2021. But if you’re able to get to New York City within the next six months, I highly recommend you go see it before it closes! I saw the show right when it opened back in April and absolutely loved it. Read on for my thoughts: Continue reading Go See Beetlejuice the Musical Before It Closes!
The Horrors of Hypnotism
What could be more terrifying than the idea of losing control over your own thoughts and actions? For the Victorians, not much. And with the growing popularity of a technique called mesmerism, it seemed like an increasingly likely possibility that you might encounter someone with the power to take over your mind. I’ve written before, in my review of the anthology Death by Suggesstion, about how hypnotism was a serious source of horror throughout the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Today I want to discuss how those fears played out in classic works of Gothic literature.
Intro to Southern Gothic
Since the Gothic first arose as a handful of tales about virginal young women being chased through European castles by usurping noblemen, the genre has splintered off into many different forms, some of which bear very little resemblance to the earliest Gothic stories. One of the best-known off-shoots of this mode of writing is the Southern Gothic. I touched on this topic briefly in my post on the American Gothic Tradition, but now I want to cover it in more depth. Southern Gothic is a subgenre of Gothic literature that is defined both geographically and thematically. Generally set within the southern United States, works of Southern Gothic employ the macabre and the grotesque to expose the myth of the idyllic antebellum South. Common themes include the decay and corruption that exist behind beautiful facades (both physically and metaphorically), the decline of a dispossessed aristocracy, and the scars left by slavery and a long history of racial tensions. If you’ve ever taken an American literature class, it’s likely that you’ve already encountered some Southern Gothic. Below are a few authors best known for writing in this genre: Continue reading Intro to Southern Gothic