Gothic Literature

A place for devotees of Maturin and Le Fanu, Radcliffe and Lewis, Dacre and Walpole, Poe and Blackwood, Brown and Lovecraft, Machen and Bierce, Stoker, Beckford, Shelley, Jackson, the Bronte sisters, and all the rest.

Those who prefer the mystic to the mundane and the fervid to the bloodless—those who can see the fever in the gloom and detect the delicate irony in the shadow of overwhelming dread—those who are not afraid of the brooding, pernicious cynicism that is so often the mark, or perhaps the stain, of genius: this is your group.

Where the ruins of forgotten glamours, the trappings of cobwebs and myrrh-reeking evils, meet the surprisingly modern interpretations of past inspirations—darker inspirations—a tradition of tempering the cerebral with the macabre continues to exist. The Gothic defies categorization: always fresh, always dated, always derivative, always defiantly inventive, always drivel, always absolute gold. Distinct from any other major literary movement in its bizarre capacity for allowing us to marry our inner literary snob with our inner patron of what a certain outrageously popular contemporary author once deemed 'good trash,' the Gothic constantly propels us forward as much as it beckons us back.

And so, to those many acolytes who bow at the altar where the romantic worships the repulsive, and the world is never quite what it seems, please join me in discussing and appreciating that curious genre that glosses reality as much as it illuminates the latent horror all around us, and the still more sinister things waiting within us.

(A note to new members: if you're interested in joining our fairly loquacious little reading group, please feel free to comment on older threads as well as our featured story/poem/whatever. For example, just because we finished 'The Fall of the House of Usher' quite a ways back doesn't mean we wouldn't all love to hear what somebody new has to say...)

ThemaThemaPosteingangLetzter Beitrag 
Phantasmagoria and Haunted Screens: Gothic Films (and more) - Nine145 ungelesen / 145alaudacorax, Samstag 8:09pm
So whatcha readin' now, kids? - Volume Four241 ungelesen / 241housefulofpaper, Dienstag 8:22pm
Gothic gossip in the new new Carolean era85 ungelesen / 85housefulofpaper, März 11
Folk Horror193 ungelesen / 193housefulofpaper, Februar 17
Conrad Veidt (OT)272 ungelesen / 272alaudacorax, Februar 12
Goth music-post 1970s117 ungelesen / 117benbrainard8, Februar 10
Interesting Editions140 ungelesen / 140housefulofpaper, Januar 24
Gothic in Dickens34 ungelesen / 34housefulofpaper, Dezember 30, 2023
Dracula153 ungelesen / 153alaudacorax, November 2023
Mary Shelley's Frankenstein234 ungelesen / 234housefulofpaper, Oktober 2023
Southern Gothic27 ungelesen / 27housefulofpaper, Oktober 2023
Off Topic, mostly1 ungelesen / 1LolaWalser, Oktober 2023
M. R. James4 ungelesen / 4Rembetis, Juli 2023
The Gothic gossip goes on183 ungelesen / 183benbrainard8, Juli 2023
Reading Group #13 (Lovecraft's Birthday: 'Dagon,' 'The Rats in the Walls,' 'The Haunter of the Dark'71 ungelesen / 71LolaWalser, Juli 2023
Phantasmagoria and Haunted Screens: Gothic Films (and more) - Eight408 ungelesen / 408LolaWalser, Juni 2023
Dark Shadows Trivia2 ungelesen / 2LolaWalser, März 2023
A dream I had last night102 ungelesen / 102LolaWalser, Januar 2023
Editions of "Dracula"86 ungelesen / 86housefulofpaper, November 2022
The Haunting of Hill House — Easton Press limited edition3 ungelesen / 3housefulofpaper, November 2022
So whatcha readin' now, kids?--vol. 3427 ungelesen / 427benbrainard8, Oktober 2022
German Gothic?9 ungelesen / 9housefulofpaper, September 2022
E. T. A. Hoffmann35 ungelesen / 35housefulofpaper, September 2022
Arthur Rimbaud9 ungelesen / 9benbrainard8, Juni 2022
Gothic music?226 ungelesen / 226alaudacorax, Mai 2022
OT - Treasures, or possibly interesting items in our collections - new thread50 ungelesen / 50housefulofpaper, April 2022
Mrs. Radcliffe29 ungelesen / 29pgmcc, Februar 2022
Do you like Anne Rice's books ?27 ungelesen / 27housefulofpaper, Dezember 2021
The Monk: A Romance77 ungelesen / 77benbrainard8, November 2021
Vathek.34 ungelesen / 34benbrainard8, November 2021
Yet more Gothic gossip.428 ungelesen / 428housefulofpaper, Oktober 2021
Scary Stories: An Invitation to Join LT's October List of the Month7 ungelesen / 7alaudacorax, Oktober 2021
Ray Bradbury book covers24 ungelesen / 24alaudacorax, Oktober 2021
Frankenstein remix19 ungelesen / 19alaudacorax, August 2021
Jane Austen Horrid Novels17 ungelesen / 17alaudacorax, Juli 2021
The Three Impostors (Machen)42 ungelesen / 42housefulofpaper, Juni 2021
OT - Treasures, or possibly interesting items in our collections194 ungelesen / 194housefulofpaper, Mai 2021
Reading Group #27 ('King Pest')20 ungelesen / 20LolaWalser, Mai 2021
Seeking an Admin for this Group31 ungelesen / 31Bob_Reader, April 2021
New fine editions of Gothic Literature3 ungelesen / 3Bob_Reader, April 2021
Reading Group #36 (Poe: 'The Cask of Amontillado,' 'Ligeia,' 'The Pit and the Pendulum')55 ungelesen / 55alaudacorax, April 2021
Reading Group #30 (The Island of Dr. Moreau)31 ungelesen / 31alaudacorax, März 2021
The crow 1994 - the greatest movie I've ever seen!14 ungelesen / 14benbrainard8, Januar 2021
Poe by Lee12 ungelesen / 12WeeTurtle, Dezember 2020
Mexican Gothic (book)3 ungelesen / 3WeeTurtle, Dezember 2020
Gothic Films - episode seven182 ungelesen / 182alaudacorax, Dezember 2020
Gothic Artworks26 ungelesen / 26housefulofpaper, Oktober 2020
Reading Group #3 ('The Horla')35 ungelesen / 35alaudacorax, Juli 2020
Exorcists and Exorcism - Books/Films18 ungelesen / 18frahealee, Juli 2020
The Haunting of Hill House42 ungelesen / 42LolaWalser, Juni 2020
Shirley Jackson29 ungelesen / 29frahealee, Juni 2020
Canadian Gothic - who knew?!35 ungelesen / 35frahealee, Juni 2020
Hawthorne Impressions8 ungelesen / 8frahealee, Juni 2020
Gothic D&D!: Ravenloft8 ungelesen / 8WeeTurtle, Mai 2020
The short stories of Walter de la Mare12 ungelesen / 12LolaWalser, Mai 2020
Seven Gothic Tales - Karen Blixen28 ungelesen / 28frahealee, Mai 2020
The Castle of Otranto13 ungelesen / 13frahealee, März 2020
Gothic Background, Definitions, Motifs, etc.58 ungelesen / 58frahealee, März 2020
Yet more Gothic gossip.1 ungelesen / 1alaudacorax, März 2020
More Gothic gossip.309 ungelesen / 309alaudacorax, März 2020
Reading Group #20 ('Pigeons from Hell')38 ungelesen / 38frahealee, Februar 2020
Reading Group #14 ('The Repairer of Reputations')43 ungelesen / 43frahealee, Februar 2020
Christmas Ghost Stories17 ungelesen / 17frahealee, Februar 2020
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu's 200th birthday30 ungelesen / 30housefulofpaper, Januar 2020
Reading Group #33 ('The Judge's House')44 ungelesen / 44frahealee, Januar 2020
Reading Group #35 (The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner)13 ungelesen / 13frahealee, Januar 2020
Gothic Films - episode six213 ungelesen / 213frahealee, Januar 2020
How to tell you're reading a gothic novel9 ungelesen / 9frahealee, Dezember 2019
Gothic Poetry38 ungelesen / 38frahealee, Dezember 2019
Modern Gothic writers?36 ungelesen / 36Rembetis, November 2019
Shirley Jackson - Fine Editions5 ungelesen / 5Emily_Jones51, September 2019
Gothic Films - episode five203 ungelesen / 203WeeTurtle, September 2019
So whatcha readin' now, kids?260 ungelesen / 260frahealee, September 2019
Bloodborne: Gothic video game?12 ungelesen / 12housefulofpaper, August 2019
Paperbacks from Hell3 ungelesen / 3LolaWalser, Juli 2019
Earth Hour 20182 ungelesen / 2frahealee, März 2019
Reading Group #6 ('The Minister's Black Veil')29 ungelesen / 29frahealee, März 2019
Reading Group #25 (Lovecraft: 'The Outsider' & 'The Call of Cthulhu')25 ungelesen / 25frahealee, März 2019
Reading Group #8 ('Young Goodman Brown')23 ungelesen / 23frahealee, März 2019
Melmoth the Wanderer24 ungelesen / 24frahealee, März 2019
Vampire stories9 ungelesen / 9frahealee, März 2019
'The Grove of Ashtaroth' by John Buchan (1912?)15 ungelesen / 15frahealee, März 2019
Reading Group #18 ('The Vampyre')31 ungelesen / 31frahealee, März 2019
Varney the Vampire7 ungelesen / 7frahealee, Februar 2019
Sheridan Le Fanu's Carmilla34 ungelesen / 34frahealee, Februar 2019
Hello!100 ungelesen / 100frahealee, Januar 2019
Reading Group #12 (M. R. James' Birthday: 'The Mezzotint,' 'Casting the Runes,' 'Rats')65 ungelesen / 65frahealee, Januar 2019
Reading Group #5 ('The Listener')46 ungelesen / 46frahealee, Januar 2019
Reading Group #6: 'Green Tea'42 ungelesen / 42frahealee, Dezember 2018
Gothic for Children45 ungelesen / 45frahealee, Dezember 2018
Uncle Silas: A Tale of Bartram-Haugh9 ungelesen / 9frahealee, Dezember 2018
Reading Group #19 ('The Masque of the Red Death')20 ungelesen / 20housefulofpaper, Dezember 2018
Reading Group #28 ('Rapaccini's Daughter')38 ungelesen / 38frahealee, Dezember 2018
Reading Group #4 (Poetry: 'Ulalume,' 'Darkness,' 'The Rime of the Ancient Mariner')41 ungelesen / 41frahealee, Oktober 2018
Reading Group #24 ('The Wendigo')15 ungelesen / 15frahealee, Oktober 2018
Reading Group #10 ('The Yellow Wallpaper')49 ungelesen / 49frahealee, Oktober 2018
Reading Group #9 ('Canon Alberic's Scrapbook')35 ungelesen / 35frahealee, September 2018
Reading Group #16 ('The Kit-Bag')16 ungelesen / 16frahealee, September 2018
Reading Group #15 ('The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar')16 ungelesen / 16alaudacorax, September 2018
Caleb Williams16 ungelesen / 16frahealee, September 2018
This is a feature balloon