Gothic & Dark
The Gothic is the shadow self of the Enlightenment. Where reason seeks to explain, the Gothic seeks to terrify. It is a genre of crumbling castles, windswept moors, and family curses, exploring the irrational, chaotic forces that lurk just beneath the surface of civilized life.
But this darkness is not just about scares; it is about the sublime—the feeling of awe and terror we feel in the face of something greater than ourselves. From the ghost of Catherine Earnshaw to the secret in Rochester's attic, these stories remind us that the past is never dead, and that we are all haunted by something.
Wuthering Heights
by Emily Brontë
A love story closer to a horror story. On the savage, wind-battered moors of Yorkshire, the foundling Heathcliff and the wild Catherine Earnshaw share a bond that is primal, violent, and utterly destructive. When they are separated by class and circumstance—Catherine marries the wealthy Edgar Linton—Heathcliff sets out on a path of cold-blooded revenge. The novel spans two generations, showing how Heathcliff's bitterness poisons everyone around him. It is a radical departure from the polite Victorian novels of its time, featuring characters who are cruel, selfish, and driven by raw emotion. It challenges the idea that love is always a force for good, suggesting it can also be a haunting and a possession.
Jane Eyre
by Charlotte Brontë
The original story of radical female independence. Jane, a mistreated orphan, survives a harsh childhood at the Lowood School to become a governess at the mysterious Thornfield Hall. There, she falls in love with her employer, the brooding and cynical Mr. Rochester, only to discover a terrifying secret hidden in the attic that threatens to destroy her happiness. But this is more than a Gothic romance; it is a spiritual autobiography. Jane is poor, plain, and small, yet she possesses an unconquerable soul. The novel follows her refusal to compromise her integrity for love, money, or religion. From the "Red Room" of her childhood trauma to her flight across the moors, it is a journey toward a relationship of true equals.