8 gothic horror book recommendations to rule them all

I love gothic lit. Let me force you to love gothic lit. (This is a curation of my favourites - there is so much more incredible gothic lit out there!) / Head to squarespace.co... to save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code DAKOTAWARREN
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Dakota x
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[@thesecretpictureofcarmilla]

would you ever consider making a video where you really dissect your favourite books? id love to hear you go into full detail about these books and share your opinions and interpretations of the topics they touch on. books like frankenstein, the picture of dorian gray, the secret history, wuthering heights etc etc!!

[@ReadingNymph]

The Picture of Dorian Gray is my favourite book, especially the Uncensored version ♡

[@cypresscain]

i just started the uncensored version and im so excited!

[@ReadingNymph]

@Eloise-lk9jn its not widely avaliable, I found it through a website called Queerlituk

[@ReadingNymph]

@nickname8250 the title is Uncensored Picture of Dorian Gray. Its not widely avaliable which is a shame but you can find it online to purchase

[@hollyflorence2825]

is it very different to the normal/original version?

[@ReadingNymph]

@hollyflorence2825 there is an introduction that goes through in more detail about what was censored, mainly it was the clear love Basil had for Dorian, it was very poetic and explicit (for readers back then).

[@leafpile1373]

1) Frankenstein- Mary Shelly 2) Any Collection Of Edger Allen Poe - short stories and poems inclusive, emphasis on Tell Tale Heart 3) The Picture of Dorian Gray - Oscar Wilde 4) Bloody Chambers - Angela Carter 5) Carmilla - Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu 6) The Yellow Wallpaper - Charlotte Perkins Gilman 7) The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde -Robert Louis Stevenson 8) Jane Eyre - Charlotte Bronte

[@redminarocks]

thank uuu

[@deeliasherman5987]

I recommend Shirley Jackson’s “we have always lived in the castle” as well literally I love that book so much

[@isselbxng]

what’s it about if you wouldnt mind me asking. i’ve heard a lot of people talk good on it :)

[@ivyeorii]

omg yes!!! merricat is such an intriguing character to read about, and her sister too

[@deeliasherman5987]

@@isselbxng it’s about these two reclusive sisters who live in this big old house together and they’re kind of surrounded by mystery in their town and you uncover after a while why everything feels so creepy and off. immaculate vibes imo

[@ovo2185]

@@deeliasherman5987Literally any Shirley Jackson novel would be a good recommendation! Even her short stories are perfectly written.

[@mrnk3257]

I consider Jane Eyre a feminist for her time because aside from economical independence, which she tried to establish, she wanted to evolve intellectually and spiritually through her experiences. I believe that she had a feministic mindset. The end didn't satisfy me either because it doesn't ,in my opinion, depicts fully the richness of her soul and mind and her will to live all the colors of life, but I think we can't deny that her thoughts and views were unique and revolutionary

[@shooky8722]

1. Frankenstein by Mary Shelley 2. Tales of Edgar Allen Poe 3. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde 4. Angela Carter’s The Bloody Chambers 5. Carmilla Sheridan 6. Charlotte Perkin’s Gilman’s the yellow wallpaper 7. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde 8. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Bronte

[@kylebalmer3396]

*le fanu

[@mynameissiddharth]

​@@kylebalmer3396I once mistakenly wrote "Angela White" instead of Angela Carter.

[@mynameissiddharth]

​@@kylebalmer3396In an article.

[@kylebalmer3396]

@@mynameissiddharth nobody's perfect

[@privateacademymoonshine6719]

Ooh, I have a recommmendation for this one! Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen is a gothic horror satire, following a young heroine who is more or less convinced she is in a gothic novel. It's really, really good, I loved it!

[@SevenUnwokenDreams]

I loved Jane Eyre, but I only read it once. It has a lot of feminist aspects, and they're not hard to find. But it also has anti feminist aspects, like the treatment of Mr. Rochester's wife, and the fact of Jane marrying that piece of work. Still overall, I loved the writing, and the atmosphere, and Jane fighting for her independence. I love Wuthering Heights more though, if I had to choose a gothic Brontë novel; the love is so toxic, it's brilliantly written, all the characters are horrible but it's so good.

[@peachmochii7195]

Congrats on book creator of the year!!

[@Kiki-oo3bw]

babe wake up, dakota's talking about frankenstein again

[@più_lento_28_13]

Chopin’s 1st Ballade. Dear Dakota you are a connoisseur.

[@JemimaRose]

jane eyre was huge for me when i first read it as a 16 year old. jane's quiet strength was so admirable to me being so shy. she is incredibly determined but her actions remain within her nature - whilst ending the book being true to her heart and her desires! adore.

[@Sayantika_Sarkar]

Get well soon Dakota ! I was just thinking of picking up something gothic and I received your notification : )

[@moonlit_serendipity]

i absolutely adore your recommendations for books. Frankenstein by mary shelley is exquisite its so wholly gothic and well written i'll never shut up about it and poe is remarkable. Also congratulationss for the book creator of the year 2023 award, you totally deserved it

[@WestCoast_99]

I know this one is might be basic, but Dracula by Bram Stoker. It’s a classic and it’s really good.

[@hannahsutherland9329]

I just read Carmilla to get myself hyped for Halloween! 🧛‍♀️ (Also, I miss the book club picks, I was enjoying the push to read a few more classics.)

[@ocdtdc]

Congrats on getting book creator of the year! Well deserved. My favorite gothic novel is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. The Picture of Dorian Gray is a close second.

[@salifscott4664]

Distorted chopin music 😍 And I knew Frankenstein would be on here!

[@nedludd7622]

In relation to "Dorian Grey" there is a similar theme in the earlier book by Balzac, "Peau de Chagrin"(The Magic Skin in English).

[@LaraAvellaneda]

I loooooove gothic literature, this is amazing

[@amolove24]

Frankenstein is my favorite book of all time omg like I think about the relationship between the creature and victor like at least once a day

[@mercedeshawks9425]

Oh my goodness! The Yellow Wallpaper is so excellent in this video, I was hoping you would put it here

[@alysechandler3150]

I liked Jane Erye bc Jane was definitely ahead of her time and wanted to be independent and make her own way in the world. **spoilers next paragraph*** so when she ended up going back to Mr Rochester at the end, I liked it bc she was making it her decision and not his. Everything in the book was her decision and I loved that aspect of the book.

[@JemimaRose]

agreed!!!

[@morganpony2]

I always think that Jane Eyre is about power. I love Charlotte Bronte for this, her flawed desperately pathetic protagonists have to learn to boundary and protect themselves, and fight against bullying and misery to find not love... but kind of inner truth. Something they can settle with and on. I can highly recommend the professor by Charlotte Bronte for this, the male protagonist takes away from the anachronistic feminist perspective, and leaves just the raw feeling of injustice that comes from class and social inequality.

[@drezdendolla.9143]

I would recommend "Wide Sargasso Sea" by Jean Rhys. It's the story of the infamous "madwoman in the attic" from Jane Eyre. It's been described as a "Carribean Gothic". It's very lyrical and dark and beautiful.

[@lunaginebra]

I’m so happy I get to say I love or at least know every single book you mentioned and that’s because I know you have amazing lit taste and I also know I can rely on everything you recommend!! Gothic lit was also what made me choose a degree on literature and has been my favorite genre ever since highschool so watching your videos feels like home!

[@annamels2392]

I recommend Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys - it's a postcolonial, feminist masterpiece that serves as the prequel to Jane Eyre focussing on the life of the 'mad-woman in the attic'. It gives voice to Rochester's first wife and empathetically recounts her descent into madness (hysteria) following abuse, racism and oppression. The book explores the complexity of racial identity and womanhood.

[@ArtemAstafev-v4k]

That fact that yellow wallpapers slowly leads to madness reminds me about of Rodion Raskolnikov's (from Dostoevsky's novel "Crime and Punishment") room . This character was also quite out of his mind (as many of Dostoevsky characters...)

[@Abby0807]

Pls give us poetry recommendations for beginners!!

[@viiviieennee]

i would genuinely watch an hour long video from dakota on any singular book of her choosing

[@mirandy03]

My favorite Poe read is "The black cat"

[@Odilevee]

I was littteraly watching ur video, when this notification popped up! Perfect video for perfect autumnal evening

[@morgannerose7856]

frankenstein is probably my favorite book of all time. i reread it recently and fell in love with it even more 💕

[@1ittlejay]

The Yellow Wallpaper is my favorite Gothic narrative, perhaps my favorite story of all time, she's beautiful, and the writing and symbolism is breathtaking, I couldn't recommend it more

[@RoamingTime]

Okay, I have read all of these except Carmilla (I haven't read all of Edgard Allen Poe, mind you). Since I loved all the ones I read, I can trust Carmilla will be amazing. Thanks for the recommendation. Also, I do love Jane Eyre, but it is definitely not much of a romance unless you want one filled with red flags...

[@RJayStreet]

Hell yeah Carmilla!!!!! Solid recommendations. I still need to read Jane Eyre. I tried reading it when I was younger, but thought it was boring (I was 14). I want to try reading it again now that I’m older. I recommend a different Brontë sisters’ book: Wuthering Heights. It blends romance and horror really well, and I love that how the later characters do their best to break the cycle of abuse and miscommunication they learned from their parents, even if the results are questionable (to put it mildly) here in the modern era. Also Cathy and Heathcliff as a romance is exciting to read, both them terrible people for different reasons, and yet somehow you still wanna see them together.

[@alexorpen3382]

I love Jane Eyre 🖤 it is feminist and gothic, no she wasn’t perfect and should’ve left him and found someone nicer. But that’s why the best feminist gothic book is The Tenant Of Windfell Hall, because it is serious about leaving someone and she finds someone that genuinely cares. She also earns a living by selling art on the side while figuring out how to escape her toxic husband. I love this book because as a feminist, it gives you hope that not all men are toxic especially in a world where women (even today) are oppressed. This novel was way ahead of its time and underestimated. I picked up this book because I felt drawn to the title and resonated so deeply with it, first Brontë book I ever read and favourite.

[@darkclaw3296]

Well, I'm all set! I have 6 of the 8 books already! Lol. Nonetheless, thank you for the recommendations. Poe is my favorite writer as well!

[@everydayeldritch]

Great selection! Was interested in giving "Carmilla" a go and you've convinced me.

[@mouettee]

literally all on my tbr or already read,,, really great recs

[@ashparrish2963]

I am sick as well Lady Dakota and this made me feel so much better 💕

[@Maybekivy]

Your book tastes is impeccable , also I really love the fitttt . U look so good

[@laurenschenck5355]

Hope you feel better soon Dakota ❤❤❤❤

[@anacastro2018]

dakota you should read the monk by matthew gregory lewis, it´s unhinged and scary and disturbing and i think its better if you dont know what to except but i believe you would really appreciate its themes of corrupction and religion

[@sweetviolents29]

Read this after playing Immortality! Great read and great game!

[@apocalypsereading7117]

i love the way you talked about "indoctrinating yourself into hating" Jane Eyre; I had that experience in uni when i had to write a lot of counter essays ~ my recent fav gothic of all time is the Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner, it inspired Stevenson to write Jekyll and Hyde, and for my money it's the better of the two 💀

[@RamonaGelosi]

The Tell Tale Heart is EVERYTHING I LIVE FOR

[@ClaireScarrott258]

Dakota, thank you for this video in which you explain what the Gothic genre is. (A Victorian counter culture.) I have been watching the 2007 film version of Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and its interpretation of Catherine Morland (played by Felicity Jones) as a reader of Gothic romance. This was giving me cognitive dissonance and I couldn't work out why. I realise now from watching your video that this was because the film makers were incorporating a Victorian genre into their interpretation of a Jane Austen, Georgian era novel. The Gothic novel had not yet been invented.

[@sherlyspipe]

A video about my favourite genre? Lady Dakota knows what to feed her lambs.

[@veronicaapav8975]

The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole ( 1764 )

[@cutie11711]

Dakota, if you haven’t already I would like to highly recommend you read Our Hideous Progeny by C.E. McGill it’s a queer feminist novel inspired by Frankenstein that follows Dr. Frankenstein’s great niece as she slowly starts to uncover her uncle’s mistakes from the past. As a fellow Frankenstein fanatic I absolutely loved it, and I think it might be right up your alley!

[@laurenschenck5355]

Carmilla the cover is gorgeous I can’t wait to read it sounds unique and extraordinary ❤

[@The_WriterVerse]

Great list. Comment on Jane Eyre and feminism: no, it’s not a romance, but there is romance. Yes, vehemently yes, it is feminist (more accurately proto-feminist). It’s also queer. Jane could only marry Rochester once he became effeminate, mirroring a female/female relationship (like the ones she had with Helen and Ms, Temple). Her first erotic feelings were for girls, but when they died/got married, only then did she consider going out into the “wide world” in search of “real knowledge” (heterosexual relationships). But when she found that, it nearly destroyed her because Rochester is a psycho. She leaves him knowing their power balance is too wide. When he’s blinded and loses a hand and needs assistance running his estate (loses his masculinity), that’s when Jane steps in (also with her own inheritance) and decides that it’s safe and satisfying to marry him. She holds the power in the relationship at the end, which for me makes it feminist. Was it an odd choice to marry a man who kept his wife in the attic? That’s inarguable. But damn did it make for a good time.

[@HappyG1lm0re]

I love videos like these

[@openlybookish]

I still remember being given a list of words to use in writing a story in 8th grade. Those words were from the Tall Tale Heart before I even had read this story and what I wrote was somewhat similar to the actual story that it freaked me out.

[@laurenschenck5355]

Love ur recommendations Dakota! ❤❤❤❤

[@バーンズエリック]

I like most of 'Jane Eyre,' but I find the part with her 'good' cousins a real drag and a slog to get through. I just reread 'Villette,' which I don't think has that problem. There's also the sister['s] book 'Wuthering Heights,' which I think is even more gothic than either. Besides Poe, what about Americans like Hawthorne ('Rappaccinni's Daughter') and Melville ('Benito Cereno')? Or a German like Hoffmann ('the Sandman')? I haven't read it in a while, but how about Dickens' 'The Cricket on the Hearth'? 'Great Expectations' is pretty gothic at that.

[@devildriverrule111]

My go to pick is always The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Short and ambiguous, very easy to read.

[@violetbickerton3840]

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde gives me GCSE flashbacks I had to write a whole paragraph on fog. FOG!!

[@efects7429]

Switched off pretty quickly as noone needs your underwear staring at them in the face...seriously!! Not ok...

[@awawa5594]

Could you make a gothic romance reccomendation video plspls? Bonus for anything with vampires or masquerade ball themes

[@HarleyyyDean]

The amount of people I've seen recommend Dorian Gray in multiple videos makes me feel like I probably should reread it I remember hating it when I first read it, but then again it was for school and maybe I was just having a bad time in general so I just subconsciously decided I wouldn't like the book? So many people speak so highly of it and I've never heard anyone else say they hated it

[@margaridaisabel-bz7gb]

we love active on youtube dakota

[@celestialcowboy8337]

I feel Jane Eyre has a lot of feminist thought in terms of the themes of independence...but it's undercut (perhaps purposefully) by the nature of women's freedom existing only within the bounds of patriarchal structure and never transcending those limitations. Jane has work, shelter, and food due to a man providing or advocating on her behalf; and if she wants for better, she must abandon the established support system and run into the wilderness not knowing if she'll make it. She loses friends and connections because they only exist through a shared relation to a man, which makes her more dependent on men than you'd initially realize. Jane returns to Rochester because her life and freedom outside of him is immediately restricted by the desires of a different man who also shows her kindness as a means to pursue her to solve his own loneliness...the difference between St-John and Rochester is that St-John is more aggressive and uncompromising in his pursuit which is terrifying. Rochester is a liar and a cheat who pursues Jane for her meek and chaste disposition, but St-John demands marriage so that he may whisk Jane far away (from Britain) to India which is a much more isolating prospect. It is the choosing of the better of two creeps rather than culminating in Jane finding (or founding) a truly stable and loving home she would never need to fear or run from-since she was afraid and running the entire novel and by extent her entire childhood and young adulthood-that disqualifies Jane Eyre as a feminist novel to me.

[@GaryPoindexter-w6z]

I just came upon you Page. Damn you extremely interested.nim Gary Poindexter jr Long Beach CA, nice to meet you even though you haven't been introduced to me yet.

[@veronicaapav8975]

Edgar Allen Poe' s short story " The Cask of Amontillado" ( 1846)

[@Nxox_]

I've picked up wuthering heights recently but I'm having a hard time getting through it :( any tips ??

[@Name-sl2gb]

Hi I’m starting my English coursework and I need some books ideas to compare with Frankenstein I was reading brave new world but I’m not sure if the dystopia is a bit of a stretch so I wanted to get someone’s opinion on good books to use 😊

[@veronicaapav8975]

Congratulations, Dakota, and thank for sharing with us.

[@jorgelopez-pr6dr]

Have you read The House and The Brain by Edward Bulwer Lytton? I find that Victorian novel about a haunted house seems interesting.

[@arundevsingh6058]

why is nobody talking about her panty in background.

[@julia_violet]

Hi queen this video was so well done- I could listen to you talk about books all day !!

[@arabian800]

the people demand more gothic and philosophical book recommendations

[@1984isnow]

The sorrows of satan by marie corelli. Still in my top 10.

[@ic3peak276]

god, you make my day so much better

[@ACFBANJ]

The lingerie on the background 😅

[@kariikosmos3005]

Came to the comments looking for this

[@mynameissiddharth]

_To become the spectator of one's own life is to escape the suffering of life_

[@kanika6868]

Just blessed my day

[@chaitea_333]

I just finished the picture of Dorion Gray and it changed me as a person. Justice for Sybil Vane!!!!

[@arakontube]

Hi Dakota, you may be interested by Ron Edwards's description of the Frankenstein 1818 text and the history of its censorship in his book "the Edge of Evolution". He shows how the first version of the text explicitly quotes how she was influenced by William Laurence's biology lectures at that time. The 1831 version is the censored version under the church's influence. This change a lot the meaning of the text and the creature's purpose at the philosophical level. The edition you show is the 1831 version. So if you like the book, go for the 1818 and maybe Ron Edwards's interpretation - whose book is about the critic of human exceptionalism.

[@biancaonisor9645]

I recomment you "Wide sargasso sea " about Rochester's wife before being Rochester's wife. I think you'll like it 🔮🖤

[@howardffleck]

i want to marry with you

[@rinvarga6366]

This is the first video of yours I've found, and after this I'm so excited to look up more of your gothic horror/book recommendations!! I've been obsessed this fall with reading some of the classic gothic horror stories, and I'm pleasantly surprised by how much there is to unpack and discuss in all of them...and the genre as a whole! I especially LOVED Carmilla (I had to get my hands on a physical copy after listening to the audiodrama on Audible) and I'm almost finished with The Picture of Dorian Gray. If you love Frankenstein so much, I think I'll definitely be reading that one soon to see what good spooky things about morality and humanity can be found, hehe (wow, I can't believe Mary Shelley was only 19 when she wrote it, how amazing is that??)

[@JazzMaven]

Love your work.

[@traciecardone6778]

I love all of these books. I would recommend anything by Shirley Jackson. I love her subtle insidious horror. And I would recommend Flannery O Connor for southern gothic horror. ❤

[@Blondie101010100]

I've just finished The Bloody Chamber. ( I love the movie, The Company of Wolves), and Carmilla. Interesting how all the best spooky books are short ones!

[@The_Gothic_Bookshelf]

Just discovered your channel and will definitely check out the older videos as well :) I started my channel on Gothic & Romantic Literature only recently so I can relate very well to your love for the gothic stories!! 🖤☺

[@SmallSpaceCorgi]

Have you ever read any of M.R. James' ghost tales? Edwardian rather than Gothic, but I think you'd quite like them.

[@morbidswither3051]

I think I have suggested this book to you before, but I want to reiterate how much I think you would adore the poet Laurie Sheck’s novel A Monster’s Notes. Please consider. Thanks, as always, for the charming content. ❤

[@beckylanaway51]

If you ever get the chance to visit Bath while in the UK you should visit the frankenstein House. Its phenomenal! Facts about Mary shelly in each room and its very atmospheric! Sounds, smells and everything you could want to see regarding Frankenstein. ❤❤

[@Lena-if3pg]

Read the Yellow wallpaper and it's due for a reread. I also read Jane Eyre and it was such a long time ago and I need to reread it again. I loved the atmosphere in the book and I liked Jane a lot in the beggining. I don't think that she's a feminist icon really, however I do understand why people would think so, especially considering the time it was written in, I just think you can find better examples in literature than her. The main thing I remember vividly is that i H • A • T • E • D the "romance" aspect of it. Immensly. I hated every second of it from the get go. I don't understand why people would like it and Mr. Rochester rubs me the wrong way. Hated him - profoundly. But I enjoyed the atmosphere a lot!

[@ic3peak276]

never clicked faster

[@leafsonata]

MS Frankenstein is the Best Fiction Book Ever Written. There, I said it. New to your channel and loving your content. We have the same taste in classics, and I'm excited for you to share more.

[@nereasanchezpedraza6063]

I've recently read a book called "The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society" and i couldn't not imagine you as the main character. You are exactly how i Imagine her phisically and shes how I image you personally

[@ld7050]

So i'm a English literature student and honestly I'm really struggling with doing a deep analysation of strories, any tips and tricks?

[@aliamarshall5008]

Your recommendation of Frankenstein convinced me to buy it and (shock horror) I fell in love with reading again, so please keep telling people to read this book!!!

[@books_and_heels]

I have been thinking about The Yellow Wallpaper a lot lately for some weird reason. I want to read it again, especially since I barely remember any details of the story. I am so in love with Goth Lit 🖤

[@elinamakela8435]

I got into the genre trough Sarah Waters’ The Little Stranger and it was so creepy and luxurious to read that I need MORE!

[@amistrecer]

My favorite work by Allan Poe is also The Tale Tell Heart, I always feel like it so underrated but I love it soo much

[@filialekarakou]

recommendation: bluebeard's castle by anna biller

[@hellenkristinabilling6987]

Jane Eyre