“Forgive me, Father, for I have sinned”—But what if the one who is supposed to absolve you is even more guilty? This is an idea explored in quite some depth and from a variety of angles throughout Gothic literature. The Gothic has had a very complicated relationship with religion, and Christianity in particular, from its earliest days. Sincere religious belief is often a virtue of the best Gothic heroes and heroines. But some of the genre’s most debased villains are those who wear the cloth of the Church. Early Gothic novels were highly critical of the horrors committed in the name of religion during the Spanish Inquisition, and these works also reflect Protestant and Anglican fears around Catholicism. But even the most obvious anti-Catholic caricatures were often a bit more nuanced, as many authors relied on the acceptable depiction of evil Catholic clergy to more subtly critique the overreach of religious authorities within their own communities. And no sect is safe! You’ll find dangers in any denomination in later works of Gothic literature. Let’s take a look at how corrupted clergymen (and a few women!) have crept through these novels.
Do we really need another Dracula adaptation? I say, if it does something new and clever, then yes! And I think the new miniseries released earlier this year on Netflix and BBC One delivers on that. Dracula, created by Mark Gatiss and Steven Moffat, is a very loose retelling of Bram Stoker’s novel that takes the vampiric Count in a unique direction and explores his relationship with a new, original character: Agatha Van Helsing. If you’re looking for something quick to watch during quarantine, I definitely recommend it! 
How do you know if you’re the hero or the villain of your story? Sigourney Rose certainly sees herself as the hero in Kacen Callender’s adult fantasy debut Queen of the Conquered, but by the end of the novel we’re not quite so sure. Remember this book? It was one of the ones I highlighted back in October in my 
