are you up for providing some gothic fiction recs?? i have been in the mood lately, specifically for southern gothic horror but also just the wider genre 👀
Omg I'm so glad you asked, I've got plenty of recs. (For those uninitiated, I'm currently working on a master's degree in gothic film as an evolution of gothic literature.)
We gotta start with the classics for good measure, even though I'm sure you've heard of these plenty/read them already:
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë: A young orphan girl takes a job as a governess at a crumbling British manor run by Mr. Rochester, a brooding wealthy man with dangerous secrets.
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë: Two generations of two families crumble under their toxic relationships with each other and the scheming of a mysterious man called Heathcliff.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson: Two young sisters have been ostracized by their New England town after being accused of poisoning their entire family.
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter by Carson McCullers: Here's a southern gothic one! It follows six misfits in a small town in 1930s Georgia, as they deal with people's prejudices, their own insecurities, and the rise of fascism.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier: A young American woman meets a wealthy older man who whisks her away to his English estate as his new wife, only for her to be plagued by the feeling that the house is haunted by everyone's reverence for his first wife, Rebecca.
Now for the contemporary ones:
Funeral Songs for Dying Girls by Cherie Dimaline: A teen girl accidentally fuels rumours of a haunted cemetery while grieving her mother, and also befriends the ghost of a murdered teen.
Home Before Dark by Riley Sager: A woman inherits the supposedly haunted house that she lived in as a child and which made her father famous for his memoir about the haunting... but when she returns to the house, she uncovers more secrets than she was expecting.
If You're Seeing This, It's Meant For You by Leigh Stein: A former journalist investigates the disappearance of a young influencer who had been staying at a haunted-mansion-turned-hype-house, led by clues in the influencer's online tarot readings.
Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia: A young Mexican heiress ventures to a rotting estate above a silver mine to investigate her sister's claims that her new English husband is trying to kill her.
Mister Magic by Kiersten White: An allegory for Mormonism, a woman from Utah returns to investigate the children's show she had been a part of which has become eerie lost media, and reconnects with her fellow child stars, all dealing with their own strange trauma from the show.
Starling House by Alix E. Harrow: A young woman in rural Kentucky unexpectedly gets tangled up with the town's notorious haunted house (and home of her favourite 19th century children's author) and its only heir, Arthur Starling... uncovering dark secrets that rot the town to its core.
A Sweet Sting of Salt by Rose Sutherland: In nineteenth century Nova Scotia, a young midwife helps a reclusive woman with her labour while suspicious of the husband's cruel nature... only to discover the woman is a selkie trapped on land. (This one's gay!)
Wow, this came out longer than I'd expected. I hope you find something you like!