S1:E5 | Sub-genres of Gothic Literature

Le Salon Literary Discussions

There are many rabbit holes we could go down when looking at the subgenres or new areas spawned from Gothic literature. But, with the aim of keeping these episodes informational but not more than 30 minutes, we’re going to look at three key ones: the haunted house, Southern Gothic, and dark academia.

[4:46] “The Haunting of Hill House is considered a perfect example of this trope—Stephen King even said so!”

[11:42] “Much like the early English Gothic novels that placed their scary settings in hot climates, like Italy and Spain, Southern Gothic includes this ‘heat’ for the same reasons: believing that the oppressive heat made people hot tempered or unable to think clearly.”

[14:53] “In these old and shadowed places, there is the potential for a dark underbelly—usually taking the form of secret societies with often-unhealthy thirst for knowledge.”

Books mentioned in this episode:

• Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
• The Haunting of Hill House by Shirley Jackson
• The Shining by Stephen King
• The Monk by Matthew Lewis
• The Yellow Wall-Paper by Charlotte Perkins Gillman
• Home Before Dark by Riley Sager
• Beloved by Toni Morrison
• The Witching Hour by Anne Rice
• Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil by John Berendt
• The Secret History by Donna Tartt
• If We Were Villains by M. L. Rio
• Ninth House by Leigh Bardugo
• They Never Learn by Layne Fargo
• Bunny by Mona Awad
• Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
• Babel by R. F. Kuang

Connect with Marisa:

• See what books are on the virtual literary salon schedule.
• Follow me on Instagram @lesalonreads
• Visit my website.