A lot of people love horror, and a lot of people love romance. And then there are the ones that love both, and for those, nothing is closer to being their cup of tea than classic gothic novels. It is not for nothing that the Romantics of the 18th century drew inspiration upon the genre like Dracula did with the blood of victims.
The stories might not always have the HEA (happily ever after) ending that a lot of romance readers/viewers are used to. Still, good endings are not scarce, especially if said reader/viewer gets free from the expectations of the romance genre as it is known and takes a walk on the dark and gloomy - but perfectly lovely - side.
5 The Mysteries Of Udolpho
The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe is the quintessential gothic novel, period. First published in 1794, new readers might find its language and exhaustive descriptions a bit hard to get used to at first, but once the novel grabs them, it doesn’t let go until the last of the almost 700 pages. For gamers that like gothic castle settings, this novel would give them a very detailed account of how it would be to live in one.
There is a love story, there are deaths, there are machinations from Italian brigands, and there is a castle. The plates are on the table and the dinner is ready to be served: in this gothic story, Emily, a young noblewoman who loses both her parents, falls in love with a young man called Valancourt. But her aunt and two Italian men have other plans for Emily than a marriage with Valancourt, and she ends up in Udolpho – a very remote and scary castle.
4 Wuthering Heights
There are a lot of people unfamiliar with the genre who might think that Wuthering Heights is just a love story. This is not only their fault since the many adaptations for the screen have portrayed this story in multiple ways. And yes, love plays a big part in it – probably the biggest, but this is far from what the readers are left with after reading the book. Written in 1847 by Emily Bronte, this superb novel has earned its place in the pantheon of gothic books.
Heathcliff is an orphan whom Mr. Earnshaw brings to his house to raise as his own. Catherine, his daughter, falls in love with him and he with her. But social circumstances make Cathy marry another man, even if she still loves Heathcliff, who is seeking revenge on all those who have wronged him – apart from Catherine, and so, when she dies, he asks for her spirit to stay with him.
3 Rebecca
First published in 1938, Rebecca has become a synonym for gothic book lovers. Daphne Du Maurier has a lot of novels that became very well-known and with movie adaptations that are now considered classics. The Birds, Jamaica Inn, My Cousin Rachel, Frenchman’s Creek, and Rebecca, among others. Rebecca was recently adapted again in 2020. Among its many achievements, it has also one of the most memorable first lines in literature: "Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again..."
A young lady (who remains nameless throughout the book) marries Maxim de Winter and goes to live with him in Manderley, his ancestral home. But as beautiful as the estate is, the memory of Maxim’s dead wife is still very much present, and it seems like the heroine can’t compare with Rebecca, who everybody loved.
2 Northanger Abbey
A lot of people might think that parodies of love stories are a relatively new thing, but nobody has done it better than Jane Austen when she wrote Northanger Abbey and openly mocked the whole genre of gothic novels and their readers (herself included). Written in 1803, it was the first novel the famous author wrote in full, but it was published in 1817. Funnily enough, as categories go, Jane Austen’s brainchild is actually a gothic novel, albeit somewhat “lighter”.
Catherine Morland is a 17-year-old lady that has an obsession with gothic novels and hasn’t been very much “out in the world”. When she meets Henry Tilney and falls madly in love with him, she can’t refuse to go to his estate, Northanger Abbey. But something sinister happens there – or is it all in her mind?
1 Jane Eyre
The readers that wonder where the whole thing with the “woman in the attic” originated from, can rest assured that after reading Jane Eyre, they would have their answer. Written by Charlotte Bronte and published under the pen name Currer Bell in 1847, this Bildungsroman* has become a classic not only in the gothic genre but as a book that one simply must read. A lot of modern gothic horror films have borrowed elements from the masterful novel, so reading it for the first time even after so many years from its publication would not really “throw the reader out”.
Jane Eyre is an orphan who was always ostracized in childhood. When she goes to Thornfield Hall to work as a governess for the ward of Mr. Rochester, she realizes that love is a thing she can hope for. And when her boss proposes marriage, she also realizes that people (and houses) can have many secrets, and some of them are too dark.
*Literary genre that follows the protagonist from childhood to adulthood and focuses on the psychological and moral growth.