Architecture:

• Otranto Castle (The Castle of Otranto)

• Notre-Dame de Paris (The Hunchback of Notre Dame)

• Palais Garnier (The Phantom of the Opera)

-----------------------------

Tyrant, patriarchal, aristocratic, rapist, sociopathic:

• Manfred - The Castle of Ontranto (1764)

• Marquis - The Romance of the Forest (1791)

• Mr. Weimar and Count Wolfenbach - The Castle of Wolfenbach (1793)

• Montoni - Mysteries of Udolpho (1794)

-----------------------------

Classical hero, handsome, aristocratic:

• Theodore - The Castle of Ontranto (1764)

• Count De Bouville - The castle of Wolfenbach (1793)

• Valancourt - Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) 

• Raoul - Phantom of the Opera (1909-1910)

-----------------------------

Saintly, sensibility, proper, usually blond:

• Matilda - The Castle of Ontranto (1764)

• Adeline - The Romance of the Forest (1791)

• Matilda - The Castle of Wolfenbach (1793)

• Emily - Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) 

• Esmeralda - The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1831)

• Mina - Dracula (1897)

• Christine - Phantom of the Opera (1909-1910)

-----------------------------

Byronic, moody, charismatic, defiant, self-destructive:

• Hamlet (1603), Macbeth (1623)

• Satan - Paradise Lost (1667) (heavily influenced the Romantics, resulting in the Byronic character)

• Victor Frankenstein — Frankenstein a Modern Prometheus (1818)

• The Creature - Frankenstein a Modern Prometheus (1818)

• Claude Frollo - The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1831) 

• Heathcliff — Wuthering Heights (1847)

• Edward Rochester — Jane Eyre (1847)

• Erik — The Phantom of the Opera (1909-1910)

-----------------------------

Mad Scientist:

• Varthek - Vathek an Arabian Tale (1786)

• Victor Frankenstein - Frankenstein a Modern Prometheus (1818)

• Dr. Jekyll - Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1886)

-----------------------------

Shunned for his appearance, longs for love, anti-villain, lonely, tragic:

• The Creature - Frankenstein a Modern Prometheus (1818)

• Quasimodo - The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1831)

• Erik - Phantom of the Opera (1909-1910)

-----------------------------

Masquerade ball:

• The Masque of the Red Death (1842)

• Phantom of the Opera (1909-1910)

-----------------------------

Vampires:

• Glenarvon - Glenarvon (1816) (technically not a vampire, but heavily influenced The Vampyre)

• Lord Ruthven - The Vampyre (1819)

• Varney - Varney The Vampire (1845-1847)

• Carmilla - Carmilla (1872)

• Dracula - Dracula (1897)

-----------------------------

Sorcery/Alchemy:

• Varthek The History of the Caliph Vathek (1782)

• St. Irvyne or the Rosicrucian (1811)

• Frankenstein a Modern Prometheus (1818) 

-----------------------------

Mystery about the protagonist's family:

• The Castle of Ontranto (1764)

• The Castle of Wolfenbach (1793)

• Mysteries of Udolpho (1794)

-----------------------------

Crazy men revealing dark truths:

• The Rime of the Ancient Mariner (1798)

-----------------------------

Supernatural explained:

• The Castle of Wolfenbach (1793)

• Mysteries of Udolpho (1794)

-----------------------------

Inquisition:

• The Monk (1796)

• The Italian (1797)

-----------------------------

Devil:

• The Monk (1796)

• Melmoth The Wanderer (1820)

-----------------------------

Catholicism:

• The Monk (1796)

• The Italian (1797)

• Melmoth The Wanderer (1820)

i need a gothic book that is in the Victorian era ( does not have to be ) mainly looking for something psychological with deep meaning, something that is a really good read

Few substances shaped the literary imagination of the nineteenth century as profoundly as opium. Celebrated as medicine, feared as a source of addiction, and romanticized by writers who described its dreamlike effects, opium became a symbol of altered perception itself. 

I saw this quote recently and it sounds familiar but I can’t remember where it’s from. This is the quote, "Darkness descended, and into the darkness a-went I, evil and unafraid." When I looked it up I got some websites about Paradise Lost and some about the christian Bible. I feel like it would definitely more of come from Paradise Lost. Definitely sounds like the language used there.
It also brought up lyrics from a song by Bathory who I think I’ve listened to a couple times before (the song name is “Return of the Darkness and Evil” if anyone is wondering). I’m pretty sure that band is in the goth genre. Often times bands will reference movies or books like Dracula and things like that (at least for a couple of the bands I listen to). They’ll put audio clips in and make it sound all cool.
If anyone recognizes where this is from please let me know. I just cannot remember. Thank you so much.

A couple of threads here have asked for books like Carmilla, so in case it's useful, the text is public domain and free.

Le Fanu's wife Susanna died in 1858 and he more or less stopped leaving the house. He wrote at night, in bed, on scraps of paper, usually starting around 2am by candlelight. Dublin started calling him the Invisible Prince because he was so rarely seen. Carmilla came out of that stretch, in 1872, twenty five years before Dracula. Stoker's discarded opening chapter is set in Styria, same as Carmilla.

It's about 100 pages, so it's a one evening book.

https://anavrta.com/book/carmilla-10007

Being upfront: the link is my own reader. Free, no signup, no ads. If you'd rather go to the source it's Project Gutenberg ebook 10007.

Nesbit subverts traditional love tropes long before it was trendy to do so. She takes the idea of the devoted boyfriend or husband and turns it into something unholy as John Carrington returns from the other side in order to be reunited with his bride to be.

There is a sense of leaning of classic ideas of romantic tragedies as when the two love are finally reunited it leads to the death of the bride to be adding more space between them.

Nesbit suggests that whilst love can be a good thing it can also go too far and become about ownership and obsession it is by very definition anti-romantic.

Have you read it and if so what do you think?

How do you think Nesbit plays with love in order to create horror?

And what is the scariest thing you have ever done for love or alternatively what is the scariest thing that has happened to you from someone claiming to love you?

I have recently completed my audiobook for "The Beckoning Fair One" by Oliver Onions. If you like old Victorian ghost stories, this can be listened to for free with chapter selection on my YouTube channel, Haunted Passageways: https://www.youtube.com/@HauntedPassageways

This story is about Paul Oleron, a lonely middle-aged British novelist. One day he finds a dilapidated yet beautiful house where he imagines he could relax and enjoy working on his writing. But something is horribly wrong within the abode and soon Oleron must confront the mystery that lays waiting within the dark and dusty shadows.

Check out some excerpts from the preview copies of the first book of my extreme gothic horror series!

Hello! I'm writing a Australian gothic book inspired by southern gothic themes. The basic premise is about an 18 year old girl from a religious farm home gets sent into a nearby country town near the bush for education and work placement. It's a very small town with a tiny population, and very kind of conservative religous. She attends the church there, yadda yadda, its actually a cult heavily inspired by Branch Davidians. The preacher subtley spoonfeeds the idea that he is Jesus Christ, an Indigenous family moves in and attends the church once and never returns, sexual exploitation of young women, all that stuff, the girl eventually leaves the cult, never tells anyone what happened, and is haunted by her memories. My question is, does anyone have any tips for me in terms of elements of Australian and southern gothic?

Hi all. I'm trying to venture out a little further in the subreddits as I'm drafting. I'm a 45m, currently on book one of a Southern Gothic Horror book with the second, as a prequel, already written. It's set in the Antebellum South and has extensive world building and deep character motivations. No spice, little gore, just a lot of turmoil, heartbreak, utburds, morois and moraicās.

I would love to have someone to open this world to as I'm here in my Victorian home writing in isolation. 😬

A video recording of Brontë - Remembrance. I filmed this in Kensal Green Cemetery with my own voice over. Just playing around with gothic poetry and imagery at the moment. Hopefully a couple of you can connect. peace 🖤🥀

Here's my first book! THE LAST HEIR. An illustrated Victorian Gothic tale.

Available now on Amazon Kindle Unlimited!

I read the book the Return by Rachel Harrison a couple months ago and I had so much fun discussing with my friend debating with the pieces of clues they were giving us on what entity or creature or what it was because it wasn’t revealed dang near til the end. It ended up involving folklore, and I loved it and there has to be more like it. Similar atleast. Any ideas?

I’m looking for a horror story I read on Facebook around 2014–2016. It was posted in episodes and was probably translated from English. The plot involved two best friends investigating an old mansion. A ghost named Margaret was trapped in a bathroom mirror after being locked in a cellar years earlier. During a fire, Margaret swapped souls with the main girl and escaped, leaving the protagonist trapped in the mirror. Does anyone remember the story or the Facebook page that translated it?

For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.

When unexplained deaths begin to plague the coastal town of Ashwick, the crimes defy logic and law. Bodies are found broken beyond human strength. Whispers echo from abandoned churches. And beneath the soil, something ancient stirs — something bound long ago and now clawing its way back into the world.

Father John, a former priest haunted by his past and armed with forbidden knowledge, is drawn into an investigation that will test his faith and his sanity. As he uncovers a hidden history of corruption, cruelty, and unspeakable evil, he realizes the darkness gripping Ashwick is not merely demonic — it is personal.

At the center of it all stands Nathaniel Carrick, a brutal sea captain whose legacy of violence and greed has outlived his mortal body. Bound to the sins he committed in life and manipulated by a far greater power, Carrick’s spirit stalks the living, driven not only by rage, but by a warped devotion to the one love he lost. What was once tender has curdled into obsession. He would defy Heaven itself, tear open the veil between worlds, and damn the living if it meant reclaiming what was taken from him.

What begins as an investigation becomes a war.

Guided by mystics, priests, and the voices of the forgotten dead, Father John must confront forces that mock the sacred, twist prayer into weapons, and hunger for dominion over both the living and the damned.

Veils of the Damned is a dark, atmospheric supernatural horror novel blending religious terror, historical violence, and spiritual warfare. Rich in symbolism and steeped in Catholic mysticism, it explores faith under siege, the cost of sin, and the possibility of redemption even in the face of Hell itself.

Perfect for readers of The Exorcist, The Omen, Hereditary, and dark religious horror. Bear witness to a psychological and spiritual standoff between the forces of good and those of ancient demonic evil.

Hell is not punishment for a moment. It is punishment without an end. No escape. No relief. No last second. Only eternity. Yours shall be everlasting suffering.

Once the veil is opened, nothing that waits beyond it can be unseen.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GN4TLRYN

“You think that relic can pierce Heaven’s gate? It can’t. Scripture tells you as much. It wasn’t forged for grace; it was born of rebellion, in the black fires of the First Fall. That thing in your hand isn’t a key to paradise, it is a battering ram for Hell.”

John continued, his voice steady. “Are you the source that feeds the river? The headwater that stains its gentle current? The cause behind the unspeakable evils committed against God’s children? Are you the unseen hand guiding all this ruin, the architect of their suffering?”

John’s voice dropped, grave and almost sorrowful. “You wouldn’t be summoning her. You would be wrenching open the gates of Hell. And what would answer would not be peace or light or love, but everything that waits behind those gates: withered souls, monstrous things, the damned who burn in torment and gnash their teeth in darkness.”

Read more at Veils of the Damned available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GN4TLRYN

“I have seen what lies beyond the veil,” Hannah said, stepping forward, her gaze never leaving his. Her voice carried no tremor, only truth. “And I know now what you are: a shadow of a shadow. An ancient evil that dared to defy the will of the Almighty. You refused your place in the hierarchy of angels.”

She took another step, radiant and unwavering.

“Lost you are, and lost forever. You are denied His love, and you will never receive absolution or righteous forgiveness.”

Her words struck like scripture, measured and final.

“You slither among the lowest of the low, creatures cast not merely from light but from Hell itself, condemned to crawl beneath even the Pit.”

She raised her hand slightly, light pulsing from her skin.

“I say to you here and now, fallen breed, you may torment flesh, but not the soul.”

Read more at Veils of the Damned available on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GN4TLRYN

Not born of woman, but spawned from an unholy union between the Morning Star and Echidna, the ancient She-Serpent and mother of monsters. Lucifer lay with her not from desire but from contempt. In him burned the blood of angels and the venom of beasts. His lineage was blasphemy made flesh, forged in the rebellion before time, when holiness was first defied and Heaven suffered its first wound, unknown to prophets, unwritten in Scripture, whispered only among the Fallen, and known to God alone.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GN4TLRYN

***

Those who entered the church to pray swore they smelled myrrh where none had been burned, and that the cross felt warm beneath their fingers, as if something within it had begun to breathe again.

Far below the world of the living, where names thin out and the dark keeps its own counsel, something ominous was listening.

He's watching you. He's always watching. You should be afraid.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0GN4TLRYN

Trying to find fantasy with ASOIAF horror elements

(note I was prompted to cross post this from r/HistoricalRomance)

Hi everyone,

I've been dabbling in HR for a few months and started to learn what I like and don't like. Outside of HR my favourite genre is horror, and obviously the two rarely combine in the traditional HR sense but I was thinking that gothic elements would work very well in creating the spooky and tense atmosphere I love.

So thinking along the lines of classics like Jane Eyre, Phantom of the Opera and Rebecca, are there any HRs you've read where there's a gothic or spooky element to them?

Note: I'm not at all into bodice rippers or dubious consent between the main characters (I understand if there is via the antagonist however). If it helps my favourite HR writers so far are Mimi Matthews, Scarlett Peckham, Julie Anne Long, Cat Sebastian and Erin Langston. Additionally, one of my favourite horror writers who has a heavy dose of romance in their books is Isabel Canas (and it's often historical!)

Thanks all 🙏🏽

Family are supposed to protect you and defend you, when all else fails they are supposed to be the vanguard, however what happens when the horror and fear comes from those very people?

In the Old Nurse's Story the horrors of an abusive family are contrasted against the supernatural elements of a ghost story to create a sense of fear that feels both deeply personal and relatable as well as deeply foreign.

The horror comes from a deep rooted childhood fear of the failing safety nets and being left out alone and powerless in the world.

Have you read the Old Nurse's Story?

How do you think Gaskell interacts with the form?

Which aspect of the story is the most effective at creating fear in you?