11-11-2007, 10:27 PM
I've never read The Ninth Guest, but probably will soon! I included And Then There Were None because of the hints of insanity and a supernatural killer that float through the book. it's the only Agatha Christie I would include.
Here are some other recommendations...
1. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. Creepy even though written in the late 18th/early 19th century. It's the infamous story of the Headless Horseman. The movie Sleepy Hollow by Tim Burton has great atmosphere, but beware, it is very different than the original story and you need a strong stomach to get through it.
2. The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe. Horror and a big, creepy house. Roderick Usher's sister has died. Or has she? Great movie with Vincent Price.
3. Dracula by Bram Stoker. The story of the vampire from Transylvania. There are two damsels in distress, a castle in Transylvania, and Carfax Abbey and an asylum in London. Best movies are the Bela Lugosi version and the one with Gary Oldman as Dracula. The first half of the book is great, the beginning of the second half drags into melodramatic Victorian weeping, and the last quarter flies again.
4. Murcheston: The Wolf's Tale by David Holland. What Dracula did for vampires and Frankenstein did for, well, Frankenstein's monster, this book does for werewolves. Very disturbing book about a young lord during the Victorian era who becomes a werewolf and his descent into madness as he gradually justifies to himself each murder and depravity.
5. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Okay, probably not Gothic, but dark and disturbing. It's about a French ferry boat captain transporting ivory along the Congo river who decides to search for Kurtz, an ivory trader who has gone mad and made himself the leader of a local tribe. It's as dark as any Gothic novel to me, although also very political. Apocalypse Now is the modern retelling of the story.
Here are some other recommendations...
1. The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving. Creepy even though written in the late 18th/early 19th century. It's the infamous story of the Headless Horseman. The movie Sleepy Hollow by Tim Burton has great atmosphere, but beware, it is very different than the original story and you need a strong stomach to get through it.
2. The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe. Horror and a big, creepy house. Roderick Usher's sister has died. Or has she? Great movie with Vincent Price.
3. Dracula by Bram Stoker. The story of the vampire from Transylvania. There are two damsels in distress, a castle in Transylvania, and Carfax Abbey and an asylum in London. Best movies are the Bela Lugosi version and the one with Gary Oldman as Dracula. The first half of the book is great, the beginning of the second half drags into melodramatic Victorian weeping, and the last quarter flies again.
4. Murcheston: The Wolf's Tale by David Holland. What Dracula did for vampires and Frankenstein did for, well, Frankenstein's monster, this book does for werewolves. Very disturbing book about a young lord during the Victorian era who becomes a werewolf and his descent into madness as he gradually justifies to himself each murder and depravity.
5. Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad. Okay, probably not Gothic, but dark and disturbing. It's about a French ferry boat captain transporting ivory along the Congo river who decides to search for Kurtz, an ivory trader who has gone mad and made himself the leader of a local tribe. It's as dark as any Gothic novel to me, although also very political. Apocalypse Now is the modern retelling of the story.