You can call my ‘Love and Danger in St. Claire’ series a lot of things (if you read and hated it, don’t feel obliged to put it in the comments. I’m all about honesty, but you know… feelings.) But one thing you definitely can’t call my series is Gothic. There are no spooky castles, whispering spirits, or vast and rainy moors. And yet, Gothic fiction is one of my favorite genres to read. 

It’s weird, I know, but I suspect I’m not the only author who reads outside the genre they’re currently writing. Sometimes, reading something completely different from my current work-in-progress feels like a coffee break for the mind. But when it comes to the Gothic classics, I’ve been reading and loving those all my life. Specifically, the female Gothics. 

Most readers and literature nerds agree that Horace Walpole’s ‘The Castle of Otranto’ was the first Gothic novel. But while a man may have lit the match of the genre, I think the female Gothic authors who followed set ablaze the real fire for it in me and many others. And I think that my and many others’ enduring interest in the genre is due to the fact that—even hundreds of years later—the struggles of the characters are still equally relatable and haunting. 

Otranto may have had a murderous helmet and a dancing portrait, but the female Gothics proved they could take a haunting to a whole new level. Look at Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein.’ The violence of murder and reanimated corpses is scary enough on its own, but the fear that claws into and sticks in the mind of the reader long after they finish the story comes from the characters’ internal turmoil. The creature—rejected and feared, utterly isolated in the world—understandably craves connection, his loneliness pulling on our heartstrings, only to strangle us with them as the creature’s pain turns into violence again and again. I find nothing scarier in a novel than a villain just as human as me. 

The scene when the creature sees his reflection in the water and is forced to confront his own ugliness alone is a heart-wrenching reflection of our own personal journey to face the weakness and shame within us.  The creature’s creator, Victor Frankenstein, is no less relatable as the consequences of his actions plague him and everyone he holds dear. Blood and guts may abound in ‘Frankenstein,’ but an even deeper horror plays out in the characters themselves and thereby plays out in our hearts.

And beyond being relatable for human beings, female gothic authors crafted novels that speak specifically to women. Enter the beloved Brontë sisters. Anne, Emily, and Charlotte Brontë authored my favorite Gothic fiction novels as it relates to the experience of being a woman. Today, just like centuries ago, many women feel isolated and trapped by circumstances, and so reading Jane Eyre lament being trapped in Thornfield Hall by a society which prevents her from experiencing the world feels like reading about our own struggles against the current gender pay gap, workplace discrimination, and healthcare gaslighting. 

I felt Jane in a real way this past year. In her story, Jane saw and heard evidence of something strange haunting Thornfield Hall, but she was disabused of her beliefs at every turn by everyone in the house including the hero, Mr. Rochester. In my story, I went to the emergency room, told the doctor what was wrong, and told him what I needed, only to have him outright dismiss my claim because I wasn’t presenting the way ‘guys’ did in the same situation. Twenty-four hours in the hospital and an expensive procedure later I was proven absolutely and conclusively right. On top of that, the delay in treatment had worsened my condition. I am grateful that—unlike in Jane’s time—I was able to connect with a patient advocate and have the hospital administration address the incident as well as the doctor, but it’s upsetting that some of the darkness haunting my favorite Gothic stories still haunts women today. 

The female Gothics were frightening and poignant centuries ago, and they haunt us even still. What is a better tribute to and example of the Gothic genre than that?

What about you? Is there a genre with a special place in your heart too? Tell me about it in the comments. While you’re here, be sure to stop on my CONTACT page and sign up to get the newsletter! And if you are in the mood for a light read, check out DUNKED IN TROUBLE!