Lately I’ve found myself drawn to contemporary novels of the gothic nature, so my plan for this blog is to share some of those with you.  In my opinion there’s just something wonderful about curling up in bed at night, reading by a single lamplight (or a candle if you really want to go that extra mile for ambiance), and getting goosebumps from a suspenseful story.

Here are a few that, to my delight, have been dangerously close to giving me eerie dreams:

1. Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderly again.”

And so I did. I haven’t read this book since I was in eighth grade (I can tell because of the scribbles and underlined words in my old copy), and re-reading it at 22 years old I found that I still loved it.  It follows the story of the second Mrs. de Winter, a young woman who, after a very short courtship, marries the charming Maxim de Winter of the grand Cornish estate Manderly.  Sounds too good to be true, and so it is.  Mrs. de Winter finds that Manderly is haunted by her predecessor Rebecca, Maxim’s beautiful first wife.  Creepiest of all is Mrs. Danvers, the housekeeper, who keeps the house running exactly as Rebecca had when she was alive.  Danvers even keeps Rebecca’s rooms aired and her favorite pajamas laid out for her each night.  Things are not, however, always as they seem, and this book certainly keeps you in suspense about what’s really going on at Manderly.

Fun fact: The 1940 film adaptation of this novel was directed by Alfred Hitchcock and won the Academy Award for Best Picture.  I certainly recommend that you watch it after reading the book.

2. We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson

I’ve mentioned this book on the Lemuria blog before (see that mention here), but I couldn’t leave it off this list. We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a twisted, creepy little tale about Merricat and Constance, two sisters living alone in their family’s dilapidated mansion. I don’t want to give away much but let’s just say that the rest of the family died from arsenic poisoning and the people of the nearby village hate Merricat and Constance. Things get strange, and it’s hard to say who is more frightening…Merricat and Constance or the village people.

3. The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield

I’ve wanted to read this book for quite some time, and I’m happy that it finally found its way to my bookshelf and then my bedside table. The story was much darker, and well, scarier, than I’d expected. I actually thought it might give me a few nightmares (but I think stayed up too late reading to have or remember any dreams).  Margaret Lea, our narrator, is a lover of the classics, so it’s quite a surprise to her when she gets a letter from contemporary writing sensation Vida Winter.  The letter is a summons to the author’s home, an invitation to write Miss Winter’s biography. It should be noted that Vida Winter is famous for not only her many novels and short stories, but also for her habit of lying to all journalists who venture to ask her about her personal life. The story she tells Margaret about her childhood at a place called Angelfield is chilling and the reader almost hopes that she’s spinning yet another lie.

The Thirteenth Tale is full of  literary references and tie-ins to Victorian gothic classics like Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, and The Turn of the Screw. Setterfield does a great job of making these classic tales foreshadow and reflect on bits of Vida Winter’s story.

So there you have it, the books that have been haunting my bedside table as of late.  If anyone has anything spooky to recommend, I’d be happy to hear about it.  -Kaycie

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