So I try to indulge in other ways. The gothic genre is atmospheric, imbued with ghosts and the haunting visages of bad men, foggy moors, and haunted homes and dark corners. It’s all just enough to leave me unsettled, questioning, and in a vivid October mood, without leaving me unable to fall asleep (here, we flash back to my two separate, misguided screenings of horror film Sinister, or the weeks tween me couldn’t sleep after reading the prologue of Cujo). Not all of these book recommendations are supernatural, not all of them are spooky in the traditional sense, but they all invoke the gothic, the shadowy, and that rich ghostly October feeling that gets into your soul. Here are nine gothic books to read this autumn with a good cup of tea (or a warm glass of whiskey), a chunky sweater keeping you warm, and a cat at your feet.
