The Castle of Otranto is considered the first "gothic" novel, a genre that loves melodrama, mystery, hidden places, ancestral curses, and fainting heroines. Its roots are the "romance," which was a tale of heroism (not love as it is now known), and the Romantic movement in literature, which focused on emotion and the sublimity of nature. When The Castle of Otranto was first published, it was said to be a translation of a lost medieval transcript, and received positive attention. But when it was next published, the truth was revealed--that the story was quite modern and written by a priviledged author. Critics then panned it, but it survives today as the seminal Gothic literary novel.
Gothic literature combines elements of horror and romance, generally with tones and themes of darkness.
The Castles of Athlin and Dunbayne is a Gothic story about the feud between the medieval Scottish Highland clans of Athlin and Dunbayne. It was Ann Radcliffe’s first novel.
The House of the Seven Gables, published in 1851, explores issues of class and the pursuit of wealth against the backdrop of decaying residences.
The Marble Faun is a gothic romance concerning three young Americans and one young Italian Count who meet in Rome. The book features picturesque descriptions of historic art and architecture in Rome as a backdrop to a tale of mystery, murder, and romance.
The central character, John Melmoth, is a scholar who sells his soul to the devil in exchange for 150 extra years of life and spends that time searching for someone who will take over the pact for him; the novel actually takes place in the present, but this backstory is revealed through several nested stories-within-a-story that work backwards through time (usually through the Gothic trope of old books).
by Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray is a suspense novel by Oscar Wilde, narrating the tale of Dorian Gray, and his mysterious life.
The narrator tells of how he came to live in the house. Servants believe in the haunting, and this leads to troubles, so the narrator and his sister decide to change their plans.
The narrator tells of his growing fascination with Master B, as well as the series of events following the appearance of the ghost.