Gothic Classics

Sixteen modern fiction superstars shine a startling light on the romance and pain of the infamous literary pair Heathcliff and Cathy. Short stories to stir the heart and awaken vital conversation about love.

Enid Graham could only wonder why handsome, brilliant, wealthy Pierre St. John should have chosen her as his bride. But when the lovely American girl arrived with her husband at his lonely chateau, the reason become terribly clear. Pierre had a wife before Enid, a bewitching temptress who could have been Enid's twin in appearance.

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is a French Gothic novel by Victor Hugo, published in 1831. It focuses on the unfortunate story of Quasimodo, the Romani street dancer Esmeralda and Quasimodo's guardian, the Archdeacon Claude Frollo in 15th-century Paris.

Robert E. Howard’s "Pigeons from Hell" is a chilling Southern Gothic horror tale blending supernatural terror with a grim, oppressive atmosphere. It follows two travellers, John Branner and Griswell, who become stranded in the deep South and take refuge in an abandoned plantation house, the decaying remnants of the Blassenville family estate. The house is eerily silent, save for the presence of strange pigeons roosting in the rafters.

Pubblicato nel 1886, questo famosissimo romanzo di Stevenson è un grande classico della letteratura mistery e della fantascienza. Ciò non toglie che sia anche un grande opera letteraria che approfondisce la psicologia della scissione della personalità e il rapporto del uomo col suo lato ombra. Descrive inoltre mirabilmente lo stato di dipendenza provocato dalle droghe e l’illusione di potersene liberare facilmente si trova tutta nella frase del protagonista: “Posso liberarmi di Mr. Hyde quando voglio”.

The governess begins seeing a man around the house, and a woman down by the lake. The maid of the house tells the governess that the descriptions sound like the former governess and the valet. Strange things begin to happen, leading the governess to believe that the family is haunted. She is convinced that the ghosts are pandering to the children; yet the children deny being able to see or hear anything unusual.

These three tales were written for the popular literary gift annual The Keepsake in 1828, 1829, and 1831. Their "sensational" themes include exotic locations, dire misfortune, long-lost kin, stolen identity, evil redeemed, plots resolved by strange coincidences, and in one case at least, an encounter with a supernatural being. Gothic fare.

Dorian Gray, giovane e bellissimo dandy della società londinese del diciannovesimo secolo, plagiato e iniziato dall'amico esteta Lord Henry, esprime, contemplando un proprio ritratto, il desiderio di poter rimanere sempre giovane e bello. Per un terribile sortilegio è il dipinto a portare i segni dell'età che avanza e della decadenza umana e morale ...

"The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde" is a gothic novella by Scottish author Robert Louis Stevenson, first published in 1886. It is about a London legal practitioner named Gabriel John Utterson who investigates strange occurrences between his old friend, Dr Henry Jekyll, and the evil Edward Hyde. The novella's impact is such that it has become a part of the language, with the phrase "Jekyll and Hyde" entering the vernacular to refer to people with an unpredictably dual nature: outwardly good, but sometimes shockingly evil.

A dark, many-gabled mansion in a small New England village—haunted by fraudulent dealings, accusations of witchcraft, and sudden death—houses the distinguished Pyncheon family. They are plagued by a centuries-old curse that casts the shadow of ancestral sin on its last four members. The arrival of Phoebe Pyncheon from the country breathes fresh air and sunshine into their musty, decaying home, but will her arrival come too late to rescue the family from a gloomy future?

This chilling tale of a gruesome monster unleashed into the world by an unthinking scientist was first conceived by 19-year-old Mary Shelley on a dark, rainy night on Lake Geneva. Lord Byron and Percy Shelley challenged their friends to see who could come up with the most horrifying story imaginable. Mary Shelley did, terrifying them all with her nightmare-inspired tale. It is followed by "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" by Coleridge which was an early haunting influence on the young Mary Shelley.

Après un périple éprouvant en Europe centrale, Jonathan Harker, un jeune homme de loi anglais parvient au château du comte Dracula, une bâtisse isolée dans les montagnes de Transylvanie. Il s'y rend à la demande de l'inquiétant aristocrate qui souhaite l'assistance de son cabinet pour s'installer à Londres. Durant son séjour, des évènements effarants font bientôt comprendre à Jonathan Harker qu'il est probablement perdu pour sa fiancée Mina Murray qui attend son retour à Londres.

El horror de Dunwich narra la historia de Wilbur Whateley, hijo de Lavinia Whateley, una mujer albina deformada, los acontecimientos suscítados vienen como consecuencia del nacimiento de Wilbur Whateley. Todo lo que rodea a la familia Whateley está marcado por el misterio y los rumores del pueblo que afirman que el viejo Whateley, padre de Lavinia, practica la brujería.

A masterpiece of Gothic horror and suspense that inspired such writers as H. P. Lovecraft, The Three Impostors is Machen’s famous collection of “weird tales” - a string of shocking short stories woven together with a fine narrative thread. The three impostors of the title are members of a secret society devoted to debauched pagan rites who weave a web of deception in the streets of London as they search for a missing Roman coin commemorating an infamous orgy by the Emperor Tiberius and close in on their prey: “the young man with spectacles”.

Visions have always been...my pasture. I almost think there is no wisdom comparable to that of exchanging the realities of life for dreams. Old castles, old pictures, old histories take one back into centuries that cannot disappoint. I waked one morning from a dream of which all I could recover was that I had thought myself in an ancient castle and that on the uppermost banister of a great staircase I saw a gigantic hand in armour. In the evening I sat down to write, without knowing in the least what I intended to say or relate.

When Roderick Usher sends a letter begging his old schoolfriend to visit him, it becomes apparent that he is suffering from a severe mental illness caused by an extreme overload of his senses. His sister too is very ill, suffering from cataleptic deathlike trances. When Roderick announces that his sister has died, and they place her coffin in the vaults of the House of Usher for two weeks prior to burial, neither of them can imagine the horror which is to follow.Poe at his most macabre.

Sandrine Salome flees New York for her grandmother's Paris mansion to escape her dangerous husband. The house, famous for its lavish art collection and elegant salons, is mysteriously closed up. Although her grandmother insists it's dangerous for Sandrine to visit, she defies her and meets Julien Duplessi, a mesmerizing young architect. Together they explore the hidden night world of Paris, the forbidden occult underground, and Sandrine's deepest desires.

In a sleepy, little New England village stands a dark, weather-beaten, many-gabled house. This brooding mansion is haunted by a centuries-old curse that casts the shadow of ancestral sin upon the last four members of the distinctive Pyncheon family. Mysterious deaths threaten the living. Musty documents nestle behind hidden panels carrying the secret of the family’s salvation - or its downfall.

In the classic Wuthering Heights, Catherine is forced to choose between passionate, tortured gypsy Heathcliff and gentle, well-bred Edgar Linton. Catherine surrenders to the expectations of her class and sets off a domino effect with lasting consequences. As Heathcliff's bitterness and vengeance at his betrayal are visited upon the next generation, their innocent heirs must struggle to escape the legacy of the lovers tortured past.

El narrador intenta convencernos de su salud mental, diciéndonos que lo único que le pasa es que es un poco nervioso porque todos sus sentidos están extremadamente sensibilizados. El anciano con el que vive tiene un ojo azul que está velado, al que nuestro narrador describe como un ojo de buitre. El anciano realmente le cae bien pero odia el ojo de buitre....Hasta tal punto llega a odiar ese ojo que se convierte en una obsesión enfermiza, que le hace imposible no pensar en otra cosa que no sea planificar el asesinato del anciano.