The Gothic genre is defined by its spooky atmospherics. Within the pages of a Gothic novel, more often than not, you may find: crumbling mansions, doomed love affairs, family secrets, ancient curses, strange hauntings and other supernatural elements.
A sense of foreboding and suspense pervades the gloomy narrative, keeping you guessing until the very end. Against all the decay and decadence, Gothic literature sheds light on societal anxieties and the complexities of the human psyche, and isn’t afraid of delving into messy topics.
From classics to contemporary reads, we bring you a selection of Gothic mystery novels that promise to be eerily immersive and utterly thrilling.
Rebecca
A suspense-driven masterpiece of Gothic romantic fiction, Daphne Du Maurier’s Rebecca is a book one can reread over and over again.
It follows the story of an unnamed woman who impulsively marries a charismatic, wealthy widower and moves to his countryside estate, only to realize that the entire household is haunted by the death of his enigmatic first wife, Rebecca.
The narrator thus feels overshadowed and struggles to regain her footing, slowly becoming obsessed with Rebecca even as gruesome secrets come to light.
Gripping, vivid and thoroughly evocative, Rebecca by Daphne Du Maurier carefully examines toxic relationships, identity crises and obsessive love in an extremely engaging fashion.
The Woman in White
Wilkie Collins and Edgar Allan Poe were some of the earlier proponents of the Gothic mystery genre, though the latter veered more towards horror, while the former was a master of suspense.
Wilkie Collins’ The Woman in White can also be regarded as one of the earliest detective novels, and skillfully makes use of multiple narrators to tell its compelling story. It follows drawing teacher Walter Hartright, who becomes involved in the affairs of Sir Percival Glyde and Count Fosco, pursuing one clue after another like a sleuth.
Packed with Victoriana and Gothic aesthetics, The Woman in White still remains a sensational read.
Mexican Gothic
A modern classic, Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic takes a post-colonial look at the Gothic genre, and shifts the action from European decadence to the remote Mexican countryside.
The readers follow socialite Noemí Taboada who receives a letter from her cousin Catalina and travels to the house of the Doyles’ determined to save her.
However, as Catalina’s health worsens, Noemí finds that the Doyles are fiercely guarding their family secrets, and the fungal rot that has spread throughout the manor may have something to do with that.
Filled with mystery, suspense, and even a bit of romance, Mexican Gothic is an utterly entertaining and engrossing book.
The Hacienda
If you’ve already read and enjoyed Mexican Gothic or you’re looking for a Gothic mystery set in a more unfamiliar setting, you’ll definitely adore the atmospheric novels of Isabel Cañas.
She draws upon her own Mexican heritage in her work. Her debut novel The Hacienda is set against the aftermath of the Mexican War of Independence and features a delicious tale of forbidden romance, eerie hauntings, family drama all unfolding in a terrifying house.
A Gothic cocktail that deftly blends history with magic, The Hacienda delivers on what it promises.
The Thirteenth Tale: A Novel
Now, if your main criterion for a compelling Gothic mystery novel is that it must be “unputdownable”, Diane Setterfield’s The Thirteenth Tale perfectly fits the bill.
Vida Winter is a successful but elusive author who finally enlists Margaret Lea, an amateur biographer to chronicle the details of her childhood and family life.
But what tumbles out isn’t a straightforward walk down memory lane but a past haunted with secrets, lies and other grisly elements. Setterfield’s prose is gorgeously evocative, filled with unexpected twists and turns, making for a very memorable and immersive reading experience.
Starling House
A great Gothic story not only requires a gripping plot, but atmospheric prose that keeps the reader immersed in the narrative throughout. And Alix E. Harrow is a writer much lauded for her vivid and descriptive prose, as seen in The Ten Thousand Doors of January and other novels.
In Starling House, she turns to the Gothic genre and reworks the haunted house trope with a refreshing candor. The story follows young Opal who is determined to help her poverty-stricken brother and pay for his education, and begins working as a maid at the mysterious Starling House.
But this crumbling mansion as well as the fiction coal town (where the story is set) both have their dark secrets, and Opal slowly uncovers the intertwined history of violence—of which, she too, is a part. Truly, a haunting book.
Featured image: Solen Feyissa / Unsplash
