Tag: Lovecraft

Lovecraft’s “Supernatural Horror in Literature”—A Survey of the Genre

The Annotated Supernatural Horror in Literature coverH. P. Lovecraft is best known for his short stories and elaborate mythos of eldritch gods and unspeakable horrors. But we sometimes forget that writers don’t create in a vacuum. Before being a world-famous writer of horror fiction, Lovecraft was first a fan of the genre, reading everything from his predecessors and contemporaries that he could get his hands on. Much like what I do here on The Gothic Library, Lovecraft put many hours into researching the history of the genre and developing his own philosophies about how to define, categorize, and evaluate it. The fruits of his labor became the essay “Supernatural Horror in Literature,” which was first published in 1927 in the one-issue magazine The Recluse and subsequently updated and republished several times throughout his life.

I was recently sent an annotated edition of this essay by Hippocampus Press, a small publisher that specializes in works related to Lovecraft and other classic horror and sci-fi writers. This annotated edition comes with an introduction by Lovecraft scholar S. T. Joshi, an extensive bibliography, and plenty of explanatory footnotes. Reading Lovecraft’s essay combined with this supplemental material was a truly informative experience. Continue reading Lovecraft’s “Supernatural Horror in Literature”—A Survey of the Genre

Gothic Tropes: Madness

Madness is the monster that lurks inside our own minds. And in some ways, it is the most terrifying monster of all. Its intangibility means that it cannot be fought, and its irrational nature makes it nearly impossible to understand. Perhaps this is why insanity crops up as one of the most common themes in Gothic literature. I present it in this post as one trope, but madness is explored in many different ways in both the victims and the villains of Gothic literature, and the way it is presented has changed over time. Continue reading Gothic Tropes: Madness

Halloween in Literature

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

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

iClassics Kickstarter—Interactive Gothic Lit for Students!

A brand new Kickstarter just launched last week with the hopes of using technology to make classic literature fun and accessible for students. iClassics is a Barcelona-based company that works to create an “interactive, illustrated, digital library,” as they explain on their website. At present, they already have several interactive literature collections available as apps for iOS devices. With the Kickstarter, they hope to raise enough funds to make the apps available to Android users, make them available in more languages, create new content, and make them free for as many students as possible.

iClassics Kickstarter image Continue reading iClassics Kickstarter—Interactive Gothic Lit for Students!

The Best Bars for Gothic Lit Nerds (NYC Edition)

Some of you may know that I recently moved to New York City to begin my career in publishing. NYC is a great place to be a book nerd. Aside from the career prospects, it’s got amazing libraries, innumerable bookstores–including book-buyer’s heaven: Strand Bookstore, and constant opportunities to meet your favorite authors at book signings and events. The city is also a great place to be a goth, what with its diverse nightlife and themed bars and events. Since moving here, I’ve been looking for places where I can combine these two loves, and I discovered a surprising number of dark, literature-themed bars! Whether you’re specifically obsessed with gothic lit like me, or just a general literature nerd with a bit of a dark side, these bars provide the perfect atmosphere for indulging in languid literary musings over a decadent cocktail. I haven’t made it out to all of them yet, but I’m making my way down the list. If you’ve been to any of these before, let me know your thoughts in the comments! Continue reading The Best Bars for Gothic Lit Nerds (NYC Edition)

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.

Continue reading The Zombie Literary Canon

Gothic Tropes: The Unreliable Narrator

This is one of my favorite gothic tropes. Often used in horror or mystery, an unreliable narrator is a first-person narrator of a story whose words the reader is not meant to take at face value. The narrator may be deliberately lying or their words may be influenced by unconscious bias or delusions. In the case of gothic fiction, it is most often this last reason that causes many narrators to be considered unreliable. Continue reading Gothic Tropes: The Unreliable Narrator