When Justine arrives at the house she’s been seeing in her dreams, it quickly becomes the house of her nightmares… Amanda DeWees is one of the few authors I can rely upon to regularly supply me with a good, solid Gothic suspense. Her style is old school and full of the classic tropes, but the stories themselves are always fresh and interesting. I first discovered Amanda through her Clara Blackwood duology, With This Curse and Cursed Once More, which were delightful Gothic romances. I’ve also enjoyed her darker suspense novels like A Dangerous Observer and many of her short stories. It’s been a few years since Amanda came out with a full-length book, but now she’s back with a Victorian Gothic, Darkness at Shadowside, which came out back in March and was well worth the wait. Continue reading Review of Darkness at Shadowside—Gothic Suspense
Tag: haunted house
Review of Japanese Gothic—Beautiful Hauntings
“In the house behind the sword ferns, there was a man, and a murderer, and a stain.” Kylie Lee Baker, the author of Bat Eater and Other Names for Cora Zeng, builds a beautifully haunting tale in her latest horror novel, Japanese Gothic, which came out in April. The title of this novel is, I assume, playing upon Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s highly successful Mexican Gothic, which heralded the current resurgence of the Gothic in popular horror literature. But while Mexican Gothic is a sweeping tale of family drama, generational sins, and colonialism, Japanese Gothic is a quieter story in which the entangled lives of an American college dropout and a young samurai woman play out in a small house tucked away at the edge of reality. Continue reading Review of Japanese Gothic—Beautiful Hauntings
Review of Play Nice—Demons and Dysfunctional Families
Every family has their demons. But for the Barnes family, theirs are a little more literal… Rachel Harrison, best known for her monster stories Such Sharp Teeth and So Thirsty, tackles the haunted house and demonic possession genres in her latest horror novel, Play Nice, which came out back in September. If you like horror that centers on messy women and dysfunctional families, don’t miss this one! Continue reading Review of Play Nice—Demons and Dysfunctional Families
Review of Cinder House—A Haunting Fairy Tale
“A ghost was how a building held a grudge.” What if Cinderella was a ghost, murdered by her stepmother and only able to interact with the world outside the home she haunts for the three precious nights of the prince’s ball? Freya Markse (whose The Last Binding series I absolutely loved) puts a delightful, eerie spin on this classic fairy tale in her bite-size novella Cinder House, which came out earlier this fall. Continue reading Review of Cinder House—A Haunting Fairy Tale
Review of How to Fake a Haunting
Here’s a recommendation for all of you looking for a good haunted house story this Halloween. What happens when a faux haunting becomes all too real? Christa Carmen (whose Poe-laced thriller Beneath the Poet’s House I reviewed earlier this year) explores this concept and more in her latest horror novel How to Fake a Haunting, which came out on October 7. Continue reading Review of How to Fake a Haunting
Review of Staircase in the Woods—A House that Haunts
If you came across a mysterious set of stairs in the middle of a forest, would you climb them? Doing so might not be such a good idea, as a group of friends are quick to discover in Chuck Wendig’s latest horror novel, The Staircase in the Woods, which came out last month. This is some of the most chilling horror I’ve read so far this year, and it takes a truly unique approach to the concept of a haunted house. Continue reading Review of Staircase in the Woods—A House that Haunts
Review of The Artist of Blackberry Grange
It’s been an established trope from the very first Gothic novel The Castle of Otranto: portraits of the dead that can come to life and roam the halls. In Paulette Kennedy’s The Artist of Blackberry Grange, the home of an elderly painter living with dementia is haunted by her portraits of figures from her past. This historical Gothic, which came out last week, uses traditional tropes of the genre to explore themes of generational trauma, temptation, toxic relationships, regret, and overcoming all of these obstacles to find true love and contentment. Continue reading Review of The Artist of Blackberry Grange
Review of Beneath the Poet’s House—A Poe-inspired Thriller
It’s not unusual these days to see modern horror stories inspired by the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Here on The Gothic Library, I’ve reviewed such books as T. Kingfisher’s fantastical reimagining of “The Fall of the House of Usher” and a YA anthology that retells a variety of Poe stories for the next generation. But Christa Carmen takes this idea a step further by drawing not just on Poe’s fiction but also from his real life—and even more obscurely, his romantic and literary relationship with the poet Sarah Helen Whitman—in her suspense novel Beneath the Poet’s House, which came out back in December. Whether you’re a hardcore Edgar Allan Poe nerd or you just like your fiction paired with fun facts about fascinating historical figures, Beneath the Poet’s House is a great way to learn some literary history while also experiencing some serious thrills and chills. Continue reading Review of Beneath the Poet’s House—A Poe-inspired Thriller
Review of The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years—Multi-faceted Hauntings
Looking for a beautiful, lyrical haunted house story unlike anything you’ve read before? The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years by Shubnum Khan came out last January and was first on my list most anticipated 2024 reads, but I didn’t get to it until the end of the year. However, I’m glad I waited until I was able to take my time and savor this slow and atmospheric story! Continue reading Review of The Djinn Waits a Hundred Years—Multi-faceted Hauntings
Review of The Spite House—An Emotional Haunting
Need a good haunted house book for Halloween that will genuinely send shivers down your spine? Johnny Compton’s debut horror novel, The Spite House, which came out last year, features a desperate dad who moves with his two daughters into a strangely built house haunted by a handful of ghosts and generations of spite. Continue reading Review of The Spite House—An Emotional Haunting