A lot of gamers find themselves falling in love with psychological horror games and their atmosphere. It is only normal that they would seek for another medium to create similar levels of excitement and horror in movies, TV series, and books. And there is no better genre for this than gothic.
Gothic horror novels balance the thin line that mixes insanity and the paranormal, and they are full of tortured heroes, unexplained events, and, of course, dark and gloomy castles that might or might not be haunted. There are many new novels in the genre that are absolutely wonderful, but sometimes, one just can’t beat the classics, especially for someone that’s new to the genre.
6 The Haunting Of Hill House
Before it became a Netflix sensation, The Haunting Of Hill House was a book. And what a book it was! Shirley Jackson wrote this masterpiece in 1959 and it is still considered to be one of the best literary ghost stories of the 20th century. It might be only 246 pages, but inside those, there are so many things happening (or not happening, wink, wink) that the reader will be forever changed after reading it.
Dr. Montague is a scholar that is obsessed with finding a haunting. Luke is the heir of Hill House. Eleanor has some experience with ghosts. Theodora is Dr. Montague’s assistant. These four characters find themselves in Hill House and find that it is more, way more than what they bargained for.
5 The Castle Of Otranto
This is the boss – the very first gothic novel written in the history of literature. Authored by Horace Walpole in 1764, The Castle Of Otranto has left its mark on a lot of modern-day horror films and has made the setting of a gothic castle almost an essential part of the genre. Even before the book was written there were gothic elements to it, as Horace Walpole was inspired to write it after a nightmare he had while living in a gothic house in London.
Manfred is the prince of Otranto, and he is dealing with an ancient curse that threatens to leave him with no descendants. When his son dies before he gets married, meaning, before securing that the family line will continue, Manfred decides to abandon his wife who is too old to have children and try to marry the absolutely terrified Isabella, who was to marry his son. Chases, misunderstandings, and giant parts of a knight’s armor follow.
4 Dracula
This is one of the books that feature most frequently in the lists named “books you have lied about reading”, and it is totally understandable. Most of the people who don’t live under a rock have heard about Dracula, even if they just know that he was a bloodthirsty vampire or even if they have just heard about the many movies that have been adapted. Published in 1897 and written by Bram Stoker, this epistolary novel made vampires even more popular than Twilight did.
The solicitor Jonathan Harker goes to Transylvania to visit Count Dracula in his castle and help him with the purchase of a house in London. But weird things start happening in the castle, that Jonathan has no explanation for. Simultaneously, in England, even more bizarre things occur – one of those being two small bite marks on the neck of a young lady.
3 Frankenstein
There are many, many movies about Frankenstein and his monster, but there is only one book, and, well, many others that were written after it and feature either one or both characters. The book was written by Mary Shelley in 1818 and has not ceased to amaze every new reader to it since.
Doctor Victor Frankenstein is a man with an obsession: he wants to bring the dead back to life. And he succeeds. But his human is not who he imagined he would be – he is a creature, a monster, that Victor is terribly afraid of and casts away. The monster, naturally, seeks revenge.
2 Dr. Jekyll And Mr. Hyde
The variations the viewers have watched this story over the years are countless, and it is only normal since the topic of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is one that has been discussed by everyone- at some point in their lives: how do people manage their dark side? Published in 1886 and written by Robert Louis Stevenson, this novel is a very atmospheric and psychological gothic representation of things people keep wondering about (and probably always will).
John Utterson is a friend and lawyer of Dr. Jekyll, and he learns that his very respected friend has dealings with a murderer named Mr. Hyde. John thinks the deplorable Mr. Hyde is blackmailing his friend and tries to help him, but he fails to discover the truth until it is too late.
1 The Turn Of The Screw
Not many people know this, but Mike Flanagan’s Netflix superhit The Haunting Of Bly Manor is actually a retelling of the famous gothic novella The Turn Of The Screw. Written in 1898 by Henry James, this novel has been deemed one of the scariest psychological stories that horror fans could read.
A young governess takes on two children, Miles and Flora, that act strangely but are nevertheless lovely. Her instructions for the job are simple: do not abandon the children, do not ask any questions about the house, and never write to the absent guardian. But when the house proves to be haunted, all those things are going to be really hard to resist.