Category: gothic horror

  • One of my favourite Victorian Christmas traditions is the telling of ghost stories on Christmas Eve, and M. R. James is the undisputed master of it. A prolific author of short horror stories, much of his work was written for the specific purpose of reading aloud at his annual Christmas Eve party, where select staff…

  • I was inspired to write this post at the beginning of November, watching the post Halloween despair sweep it’s way across my social media feeds. Christmas creep has come for us, and now everything is covered in twinkly lights, unsettling nutcracker statues, and exhortations to shop your way to happiness the moment the ghosts and…

  • Did you know that a good deal of the classic gothic novels and short stories are now available for free on various parts of the internet? This is perfectly legal, they’re out of copyright now, and extremely convenient when you’re trying to get at the rarer ones. Back in my daaaaay in the oughts you…

  • You’ve likely come across the story of the girl whose head is held on with a ribbon at some point in your journey as a horror fan, but what if I told you it has surprisingly dark origins? The roots of this tale go back to the French Revolution, and the urban legends and folklore…

  • A little while ago it occurred to me it might be fun to create tea pairings for gothic novels. A cup of tea and a book are classic combination, but what if you carefully selected your tea to match the aesthetic and vibes of whatever you were reading? Think of me as your tea sommelier,…

  • Where to Start With Classic Gothic Novels

    Gothic literature has a timeless appeal. As long as people are horrible to each other in grand, sweeping ways, as long as there are unbalanced power dynamics and people willing to exploit them, as long as people decide to psychologically torture each other instead of going to therapy, gothic literature will be there — offering catharsis, or…