Gothic Literature Book Reviews

Godless Cosmologies by Christy Theodoulou, published 2026 by Hawkwood Books. This is not the easiest book to get into, due partly to the poetic nature of the writing. The story itself becomes lost in the language, but perhaps that is the point. Pear Ponsonby finds himself in a mental asylum after the deaths of his parents in an accident. He escapes reality by becoming a violet whale in a place called the Water, where he befriends an octopus and a seahorse. In the asylum he meets Mystery, a girl with almond eyes, hair buns and a thirst for revenge. Pear is captivated by her. He initially sees her as a replacement for his beloved mother, but  the relationship develops into a sexual one. As the two become involved in discovering what is causing deaths in the real world and Pear's Water world, the boundaries between reality and fantasy become thin. What, thus far, has seemed a slightly disturbing fantasy novel, takes a darker turn into Gothic realms. There is a fire in the asylum and f...

The Sundial by Shirley Jackson, first published in the USA in 1958 by Farrar, Straus and Cudady. Paperback Penguin edition of 2014 reviewed. In an odd sense, this reminded me of Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf. In The Sundial, Mrs Halloran, a woman prone to internalising events, prepares for a party in her house, but that may be where the comparison ends. Mrs Halloran is expecting the world as we know it to end, with only the inhabitants of her house being saved. Her sister-in-law, Aunt Fanny, has been given a prophetic message of doom by Fanny's dead father, and the family, friends and retainers must prepare for the apocalypse. Mrs Halloran inherited the house on the death of her son, as her husband is paralysed and confined to a wheelchair and also suffers from dementia. Her son died after falling down the stairs in the house, giving rise to rumours of foul play among her relatives, not least because Orianna Halloran is a tyrant, presiding over the lives of her sick husband, daug...

  The Resurrection Club by Christopher Wallace, published by Flamingo (1999) If you like graveyards and the weird tales associated with them, you'll like this Gothic novel set in Edinburgh. There are two directly connected strands, the first set in 1827 involving the maverick surgeon Alexander Brodie, who is developing a medical instrument to capture the soul. He is acclaimed as a medical genius, but his methods leave much to answer for. Like many surgeons of the time, he relies on buying bodies from grave robbers, or resurrectionists as they were known. He not only turns a blind eye to murder, but is actively involved when it suits his cause. The second story is in the present day (1999 when the story was published). Charlie Kidd is a PR guru tasked with promoting an unusual artistic experience at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. The creator of the show, Peter Dexter, has rediscovered Brodie's contraption and aims to use it to raise the dead. To do so he needs the help of gulli...

Gwendy's Button Box by Stephen King and Richard Chizmar was first published in a hardcover version by Cemetery Dance Publications in 2017. This is an odd novella of magical realism with a Gothic vibe running through it. The story begins in 1974, when Gwendy Peterson is twelve. Having been teased at school for being chubby, she has taken to running up a series of steps, known as the Suicide Steps, to the top of a hill. One day she meets a strange man in a black hat at the top, who introduces himself as Richard Farris. Farris offers Gwendy a strange button box and although she has been taught not to accept gifts from strangers, she believes the box was meant for her. The box has eight coloured buttons and two levers. The levers dispense chocolate treats and valuable silver dollars, but Gwendy is warned pressing the buttons will cause chaos. She takes the box and becomes its custodian. Gwendy's life improves dramatically. She can effortlessly achieve good grades, is good at sports...

  Near the Bone by Christina Henry first paperwork edition published in 2022. At first glance this horror story may not seem particularly Gothic, but it ticks many of the boxes. The isolated location is not a castle or monastery, but in the American Gothic tradition of using the wilderness, this novel is set on a snowy mountain. Imagine Frankenstein's creation escaping in the Arctic and you have something of the picture. An unnatural, possibly supernatural beast is living on the mountain, one which hangs its victims by their entrails before eviscerating them and separating out organs and bones. Readers should be warned there are some truly gruesome scenes. For Mattie, who lives in a cabin on the mountain, there is another beast much nearer home - her husband William. William is a cruel man who keeps Mattie under his thumb by physical brutality and psychological manipulation. He is a religious fanatic, or gives the impression of being such, but his beliefs verge on madness. He belie...

The Castle by Franz Kafka, first English publication in 1930 translated by Edwin and Willa Muir. The title alone gives credit to the novel's Gothic credentials, although neither the reader, nor the protagonist, K, ever gain entry to the castle. Although unfinished, the novel is a masterpiece of petty bureaucracy, frustrations, a ludicrous class system, secrets, jealousies, futility and, of course, doomed love. K, a land surveyor arrives in the village beneath the castle, seemingly having been offered work by castle officials. He quickly discovers that the appointment was a mistake and there is no work for him. He is neither needed nor wanted. Having come so far, K is unwilling to accept the situation and decides to stay and attempt to speak with the official in charge, believing he can resolve the problem. Most of the petitioning of officials takes place in the Herrenhof inn, often at night. K is informed that he cannot stay at the inn, the rooms are only for castle officials, and ...