By Catherine Gonzalez
Features Editor
Spooky season is a fun time of year filled with suspense and scares, although haunted houses and hayrides are not necessarily for everybody. Here are a few classic novels that pair well with this season and can help you get into the Halloween spirit, whether you partake in the scarier parts of the holiday or not.
“Northanger Abbey” by Jane Austen
Written during an era where Gothic literature was all the rage, Austen pokes fun at the stereotypical dramatic “Gothic heroine” and her fantastical adventures with Catherine Morland, a pointedly ordinary girl who obsesses over such “horrid” novels, in her words. This book is a great time for those who find just a small taste of horror to be sufficient and enjoy the sarcastic humor that makes parodies so delightful. It is chock full of charm and perfect for a fun, relatively quick read!
“Frankenstein” by Mary Shelley
This novel also captures the tragic, Gothic world that Austen satirizes in “Northanger Abbey,” featuring many distraught characters in bleak, dark and suspenseful scenes. The characterization in this book is very well executed with its rotating first person narration, making it thought-provoking about human nature while also possessing many horrific elements, such as murder and a supernatural being. And hey, reading it will show you the origin of the classic Halloween character, Frankenstein’s monster!
“The Turn of the Screw” by Henry James
A story of a governess trying to save her pupils from ghosts, this novella plays ferociously with ambiguity in the governess’s narration, prompting questions about whether the reader should laugh at the governess’s ridiculous presumptions or just be concerned about her. This book is great for those who enjoy books that have more than one potential interpretation. Like “Northanger Abbey,” it is a relatively quick read and filled with Gothic allusions.
“Rebecca” by Daphne du Maurier
Wrapped in the mind of the unnamed narrator, this novel features a young woman who is haunted by her husband’s late wife, Rebecca, in all ways except for the literal. People compare her to Rebecca constantly, and Rebecca’s fate proves inescapably tied with hers. The juxtaposition between the narrator’s fanciful, straightforward innocence and the mystery surrounding Rebecca creates a very intriguing story, especially when more about Rebecca and her fate is finally revealed.
“Wuthering Heights” by Emily Brontĕ
Fans of passionate romances, supernatural elements and books that follow multiple generations are in for a treat with this novel. The first time I read it, I remember gaping at how utterly tragic the plot was. This novel is not generally high on cheer, but the ending is not entirely bleak. This novel is great if you enjoy drama, doom and suspense.
