ELEMENTS OF A GOTHIC NOVEL

It's that time of year when snow is falling and wind is howling through the bare branches outside. I find myself snuggled in a comfy chair, wrapped in a throw blanket, sipping hot tea or wine while I read a Gothic novel. There's something about cold winter nights that draws me into the pages of Gothic books. 

The formula of a good Gothic is a combination of elements. Atmosphere is crucial--the ancient graveyard at night, the crumbling castle or dark mansion, the misty lake, a black dog baying at the moon and gusts of wind blowing out candle flames. A woman in distress, an oppressive male threatening the heroine and a supernatural presence that might include omens, curses or ghosts are essential.

My introduction to Gothic Romance began when I was a young teenager. Staying at a friend's cottage in Muskoka and trapped inside during stormy weather, I discovered rows of leather-bound classic novels on a dusty bookshelf and immersed myself in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre. I was hooked and went on to devour other Victorian Gothic treasures including, Wuthering Heights by Emily Bronte, Dracula by Bram Stoker and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley. Even Sherlock Holmes found himself lost on the moors in Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's The Hound of the Baskervilles.

When I was a few years older, Edgar Allen Poe drew me into darker horror that led me to H. P. Lovecraft, Stephen King and Anne Rice. The first Gothic novel is considered to be The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole. I'll never know how I missed reading this one, but I'm off to the library today to borrow it. I found a list of the best 250 Gothic Books of all time on goodreads and I was surprised to find that I've read a great many of the titles with the exception of the more recent novels.

Modern Gothic novels continue to delight my love of horror. Susan Hill's ghost novels are short, but frightening. I discovered The Woman in Black many years ago in a secondhand bookstore and read it every winter. Last week I ordered two of her other ghost tales, The Small Hand and Dolly, and the former is wonderful. The Small Hand is similar to The Woman in Black in that it suggests a ghostly child touching the main character in a way that is so creepy I got goosebumps. 

Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier is another favourite novel of mine. Of course I cannot leave out one of the best Gothic horror novels of all time--The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson. 

Most of my writing reflects my love of Gothic themes and my bookshelves are filled with novels containing tales of terror and otherworldly thrills. My corner of the world is expecting a storm tonight that is predicted to be the heaviest snowfall in five years. I'm looking forward to my cozy chair, a glass of wine and losing myself in a Gothic novel.

Do you have a favourite Gothic novel?