While decades have passed since the first modern interpretations of the classic gothic novels, two of the of the most genius horror directors of the twenty-first century have decided that it’s time to remake them from scratch. With Guillermo Del Toro’s “Frankenstein” coming out in 2025 and Robert Egger’s “Nosferatu” set to hit the big screens in December, here is my list of five popular gothic novels to indulge you in the thrills of the uncanny.
1. “Dracula”
Bram Stoker
Almost all the popular vampire lore and adaptations today embody the core concepts of Bram Stoker’s 1897 fiction, but it is Stoker’s sincere and spine-chilling exploration of Gothic culture’s most infamous character that makes the vampire more than just a bloodthirsty being. The novel is a culmination of all popular Gothic traits, and at its center is Count Dracula, a character equally formidable and deceiving. Without spoiling much, it’s safe to say that you would be petrified to look in a mirror at night after you are done with Stoker’s magnum opus.
2. “Frankenstein”Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley
Amidst the Industrial Revolution and Napoleonic Wars, Shelley wrote one of the greatest Gothic novels of all time and was only 18 years old. It is as much a tale of caution against unchecked scientific progress as it is about the inherent narcissism that humans’ shelter inside them. At the story’s center is the creator, Victor Frankenstein, and his creation, named The Creature. After Victor retreats from a successful experiment in granting life to the inanimate, the story turns into a chase between the defiled and the defied. However, the novel poses a question in the end that has largely been the concern of the modern world, do you hold society accountable for making a criminal, or do you only convict the one whose hands have done the deeds?
3. “Poor Things”
Alasdair Gray
The Frankenstein storyline has fostered countless spin-offs and, unlike modern Hollywood’s excessive obsession with a misinterpreted, green-skinned monster, some authors have explored the critical themes that make the Frankenstein-esque subgenre so riveting. Alasdair Gray’s “Poor Things” well-captures the identity crisis that Shelley’s fiction so sincerely explored. Here, the female version of Frankenstein’s creature, Bella Baxter, embarks on a quest to find her identity and purpose in a rapidly industrialized yet ferociously patriarchal world. Though Yorgos Lanthimos’s 2023 adaptation does justice to this hugely underappreciated tale of thrill, comedy, and underlying grief, you will miss out on one of the greatest metafictions of recent times without reading this masterpiece.
4. “The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde”
Robert Louis Stevenson
Stevenson’s novella is a thrilling tale about physical deformity in relation to crimes. The story starts with a lawyer, Mr. Utterson, whose curiosity about a strange individual named Hyde leads him to pursue the secrets his friend, Dr. Jekyll, is sheltering. Hyde is seen as a deformed person without any visible deformity, therefore causing a repulsion that others cannot back up with details. However, underneath this terror of deformity lies the untamable desire of every human to entertain their profanities. How exactly that happens is for you to read and discover and, just so you know, the novella has a shocking twist.
5. “Wuthering Heights”
Emily Bronte
Bronte’s work is a tale of love and revenge. The story follows the ferocious love between Heathcliff and Catherine. When that love is challenged by Catherine’s choice to marry someone else, Heathcliff vows revenge on everyone he thinks has caused this misery upon him. It is safe to say that this novel is a thrill ride for anyone who is seeking good Gothic novels.
Saugata Debnath can be reached at [email protected]