This is a purely selfish post inspired by a lot of squeeing I’ve been doing with my fellow reviewers over the spooky season.
Which books speak to your inner (or outer) goth, whether it appeals to your 16-year-old self just going through a phase or your adult witchy aesthetic?
Amanda: Obviously Gideon the Ninth and Wicked Saints.
Elyse: Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake
Claudia: I’m going to be a little wide of the mark perhaps but go with my favorite Anne Stuart: The Devil’s Waltz. Perhaps not gothic per se but definitely dark. Starchy heroine undone by brooding hero. Superb first half and great banter and sexual tension. And for “soft goth” or Gothic elements, The Matrimonial Advertisement by Mimi Matthews ( A | BN | K | AB ). Marriage-of-convenience story featuring scarred hero, secrets, and cliffs!
Elyse: The Dark Affair by Maire Claremont
Amanda: Would you suggest the Hester Fox, Elyse?
Elyse: Yes! Eve Silver too.
Catherine: Maybe This Time by Jennifer Crusie? ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) It’s a Turn of the Screw retelling, so creepy and haunted, but maybe not quite goth.
Ooh, or the Demon’s Lexicon series by Sarah Rees Brennan ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) Dark broody hot demon with very funny dialogue…and yes, there is a romance in the end. You do have to wade through some dark and scary times to get there though. It’s a dystopia with evil magicians and lots of snark, basically.
Aarya: I actually think one of my current reads fits then. His Hideous Heart (edited by Dahlia Adler) is a YA anthology of Edgar Allen Poe retellings. It’s creepy as hell and very, very good. It’s slow-going because I can only handle so much darkness, so I keep on taking weeklong breaks after each story.
Holly Black has a bunch of books that may fit, but The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is my top pick. Also anything by Mira Grant.
For some reason, this prompt keeps making me think of movies and I can’t get The Addams Family out of my head. I would love a romance that made me feel as goth as The Addams Family!
Amanda: Wednesday Addams was who I aspired to be; I feel that sentiment.
Aarya: I also think that The Addams Family is a good example of how goth can be funny and romantic (albeit in a dark way). And Gomez and Morticia are what I aspire in a romantic relationship!
Shana: My goth phase was in college and coincided with my vampire obsession. I’m going to go with Better Off Red by Rebekah Weatherspoon. Vampire queens, sorority girls, and lots of sexytimes.
Lara: I’m going to go hella old-school here: Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte ( A | BN | K | G | AB | Au | Scribd ). I read it as a an angst-ridden, intense teenager and it SPOKE to me. I’ve reread it since and while I now realise their relationship is a literal cluster-fuck, the novel is so damn atmospheric!
Charlotte: I was SUPER goth in the teen years. My foundational texts were Interview with the Vampire and the Sandman graphic novels.
I had a Dream the Endless poster on my bedroom wall.
AJ: Well it will surprise no one that I’m HERE FOR THIS
Fiction: anything Neil Gaiman but especially The Graveyard Book, ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) which is The Jungle Book for goths. The Secret Casebook of Simon Feximal by KJ Charles ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) is very goth and spooky and super queer (containing my favorite trope, “We have to bone because ghosts”).
Sunshine by Robin McKinley, possibly my favorite vampire novel ever.
Graphic novels: The Courtney Crumrin series by Ted Naifeh, starting with Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things ( A | BN ). It’s fun and fantasy-ish but with some genuinely scary moments.
Non-fiction: Smoke Gets in Your Eyes (And Other Lessons from the Crematorium) by Caitlin Doughty ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). The Poisoner’s Handbook by Deborah Blum ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). Stiff by Mary Roach ( A | BN | K | G | AB ).
I can cut down the list if that’s too many, I just have…a lot of feelings about this.
Sneezy: Grace Draven anything! Well – I guess not all of her work counts as gothic, but her style is so atmospheric. There’s also Brianna Hale’s The Necromancer’s Bride ( A ) for kinky fun times with automatons (that may or may not have been made from dead people.)
Catherine: Oh, Sunshine is a brilliant choice! Seconded!
(Though it has been said that I basically like any book that has baking in it. And this might not be entirely untrue.)
Sneezy: Oh! That reminds me of Shadows. It’s another by Robin McKinley
Susan: I love Sunshine! It’s such a good book
Charlotte: Sunshine. So good.
Ellen: Ooooh I love this! My first thought is the Black Jewels Trilogy by Anne Bishop (although all the cws/tws) ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). Also Archivist Wasp by Nicole Kornher-Stace (post-apocalyptic ghost-hunting descent into the underworld story–very creepy folklore) ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). For my fellow pastel goths, the manga series Spell of Desire by Tomu Ohmi ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) has those sweet and creepy vibes. Re: Grace Draven–Master of Crows ( A | BN | K | AB ) is a gothic masterpiece, imo!
Amanda: Last additions are two books I’m current reading! Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo ( A | BN | K | G | AB ) and The Bone Houses by Emily Lloyd Jones ( A | BN | K | G | AB ). Clearly my reading brain is in a mood.
Tell us what titles you’d recommend to your goth selves!
My goth years were in the late 80’s and I devoured everything by Ann rice. I would read her books while sitting in my bedroom, which my parents allowed me to paint one wall a very dark red, burning incense and listening to bauhaus and the sisters of mercy. Good times!
LOL, Jen! I am a huge SoM fan, and there’s no one quite like Peter Murphy (of Bauhaus fame). As long as we’re talking music, does anyone remember Cry Little Sister from The Lost Boys soundtrack? I love the original as well as several covers, but Blutengel’s cover might be one others haven’t heard of.
As for books, I’ve been meaning to re-read The Thirteenth Tale. I also really enjoy Simone St. James haunting novels, and I’ve had good luck with some of the gothic historicals by Amanda DeWees.
I loved the Graveyard Queen series by Amanda Stevens. Main character Amelia restores old graveyards in the American south and there are all sorts of ghosts and supernatural mystery. (Not Romance, but there is a romance arc throughout).
Almost forgot (and I was interrupted) — I’ve also enjoyed some of Marie Treanor’s books. I like (as in comfortably enjoyable, works when I’m in the mood for them) her Darke of Night historical series.
Ooh, what a great Rec League! My recs will be generally witchy, with some cursed manuscripts involved:
The Physick Book of Deliverance Dane, about women and inheritance and finding yourself, and also romance.
The Historian, Elizabeth Kostova. Two great romances, and lots of spooky atmosphere.
Sunshine, Robin McKinley. Vampire romance, a woman discovering her magic, and literal cinnamon rolls.
The All Souls Trilogy, Deborah Harkness. These tend to be love-or-hate books, but I… liked them. There are a lot of great women characters in them, including the protagonist’s lesbian witch aunts, whom I love.
the Hester Fox book mentioned above is only 99p in the UK – not sure if its on sale in the US as well but i just one clicked!
Apparently I missed out on not being goth in high school, all these books sound like exactly what I want right now.
I read about the Johannes Cabal books by Johnathan L Howard on this site and that recommendation did not lead me wrong. Spooky and funny.
Linda G Hill’s The Great Dagmaru series is great! You’ve got curses, secret rooms, covens, sex, and a ghost. The first book is called The Magician’s Curse and the 2nd is The Magician’s Blood.
Maybe Simone St. James’ novels? Ghosts! Inter-war setting! Romance! They’re really great.
Not a book, but I highly highly recommend the Adult Wednesday Addams series. Hilariously deadpan performance by Melissa Hunter. You can watch the whole series here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gYQE9dh6f78&t=190s
@RND – I really loved The Thirteenth Tale. Unreliable narrators for the win.
Another Robin McKinley that might fit the mood is Rose Daughter, a darker retelling of the Beauty and the Beast story that has a sense of mystery and sorcery.
What about the Charley Davidson series from Darynda Jones?
When I’m in the Gothic mood, I tend towards the classics: Daphne du Maurier, Wilkie Collins, and can we talk about Victoria Holt and Mary Stewart? They were my meat and potatoes 50 years ago with the occasional side of Dorothy Sayers and Shirley Jackson.
I cannot day enough good things about Archivist Wasp. It is not a romance, but it has such cool worldbuilding, and great plotting and action. I read an interview where the author said that playing exploration video games inspired a lot of the book, and it definitely has that feel to it.
Awww, yeah. I LOVE this song.
I’ve read two Ruth Ware books, and of them, The Death of Mrs. Westaway definitely has a gothic feel. Rotting manor, suspicious characters all about.
The Court of Thorns and Roses series, particularly A Court of Mist and Fury. Rhys is rated capital G for Hot Goth.
The Cruel Prince and The Wicked King by Holly Black. Scary Faeries always strikes me as Goth. I mean, come on. The dad is a Redcap. He wears blood on his head.
Anna Dressed In Blood by Kendare Black – a genuinely scary and kind of heartbreaking ghost story. Anna is both a sweet, tragic girl and a vengeful fury.
The Dark Descent of Elizabeth Frankenstein by Kiersten White – girl carefully projecting innocence and fragility by swanning about in white even though she’s cunning AF, possibly (definitely) sociopathic madman, scary old house with a whole bunch of whispered secrets. You can’t get gothier if you played Nine Inch Nails and had them watching The Crow.
The Diviners series by Libba Bray – Roaring Goth 20s.
Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs – holy hell the photos though.
The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern – Goth magic circus that I’m still a little put out doesn’t actually exist.
I think we all squee the Sunshine book by McKinley. If you like the historical setting but want to go outside the V.Holt crowd I liked Lydia Joyce. Very gothic like mood settings.
I just spent my afternoon reading Maybe This Time because Catherine recced it. I wouldn’t call it goth but it was creepy AF & I felt a delicious dread as the story moved forward. There were also flashes of the trademark Crusie humour & a great twisty ending. Thanks for the great rec, Bitch!
I didn’t have a goth phase, but I like spooky stuff in October. I read The Uninvited by Dorothy Macardle back in college because of my soft spot for the Ray Milland movie from the ‘40s and Jennifer Crusie mentioning it on her blog. It’s been years, but I remember it being a good ghost story. A brother and sister buy a house in Cornwall and discover the haunting stories are true. They look into it with the help of the granddaughter of the man who sold them the house, who believes the ghost is her mother. I recommend the movie too.
Downside Ghosts series by Stacia Kane. It’s what I thought of first. Been awhile since I read them, and I think the series is unfinished. But I remember being very drawn into the world and enjoying the heroine’s growth despite an overall sad and dark tone. Cw/tw for substance abuse and I’m sure other things I’m forgetting
@Katie, I am watching The Uninvited right now on TCM. It is one of my favorites.
My first thought when reading this post was Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. Also, Jane Eyre.
Charles de Lint? Creepy, dark, lots of folklore elements and damaged characters. Content warnings for everything, but lots of healing and eerie storytelling. Not romances.
Barbara Michaels’ The Dark On The Other Side. Still makes me nervous.
Born too early to be goth as a teen, alas. I do, however, have a strong and abiding memory of Dark Shadows which is kind of my idea of goth heaven.
Books, well, Bishop and Bronte, as mentioned above. I read Justine Musk’s books, Blood Angel and Lord of Bones as goth, too. For some reason, Dinner at Deviant’s Palace by Tim Power reads that way, too. None of these are romances.
I know there are more I’ve read; need to try to remember. Or maybe do an HABO.
Sheridan Le Fanu’s Carmilla is my ultimate goth-y autumn read, it doesn’t get any more goth than that. Then there’s anything by Mary Stewart. I don’t much care for her heroes – they’re of their time – but I love the mood and the atmosphere of her novels. The short stories by M.R. James are also quite fabulous, I’m particularly fond of Christopher Lee’s readings (which you can find on youtube – do yourself a favour and look them up!!), but then I would be fond of Christopher Lee reading anything. Susan Hill’s The Woman in Black is wonderful, and I think there’s a radio play based on it on youtube as well.
For something more romance, I’d go for Judith Merkle Riley’s The Oracle Glass.
The Changeover by Margaret Mahy is still amazing nearly 40 years after it was written (there’s a small amount of problematic stuff in there but for a book written in the early 80’s it holds up pretty well).
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The influences that come to mind are not ones I would recommend to other children:
“Balyet” by Patricia Wrightson. I loved the cleverwoman, but Wrightson isn’t “own voices” (far before the “Ten Canoes” etc flowering) and the ghost story was deeply disturbing.
I don’t know if it was what Wrightson was driving at, but I was indignant about the hungry, angry ghost. It felt like how dangerous she is as a ghost discredited her stance in the backstory somehow. She did trangress core cultural rules, and I wasn’t sure if it was a ‘ghost Juliet gone wrong, worse than Shakespearean tragedy’ story, or the writer victim-blaming the girl.
“The Devil’s Own” by Deborah Lisson. It’s pretty straight history iirc, apart from the timeslip/portal stuff that brings a modern perspective onboard. But it’s the horrific, triggerific BATAVIA wreck aftermath history. I bet that makes a lot more sense as an opera than as YA, and I think I read it even younger than recommended.
I loved the Wiccan “Wise Child” by Monica Furlong. Probably the antagonist was a bit Evil Other Woman though. I liked the writer calling out neglect and emotional abuse using that villain; I didn’t assess the gender politics so clearly.
I prefer my fiction not so spooky, or sharp but with humour to leaven it. I read dark non-fiction.
So generally my fiction Goth-icity is more at Beetlejuice the TV series than the movie level. More Terry Pratchett, Eva Ibbotson…
I guess I do know something more authentic than Wrightson in that lighter line. The bit in “Stradbroke Dreamtime” about the carpet snake, given the run of young Oodgeroo Noonuccal (formerly Kath Walker)’s house due to its spiritual significance, lurking around until it lurks out its welcome.
Adding another non-fiction option, similar to Mary Roach: Will My Cat Eat My Eyeballs? Big Questions from Tiny Mortals About Death by Caitlin Doughty.
I can accept a lot of things but I can’t accept that there will probably never be a Sunshine sequel. And I usually don’t care about sequels.