Gothic Book Tag

It is Gothic month over at the Classics Club and to continue the spooky good times there is a new Classics Club dare: the Gothic Book Tag. As someone who has always loved the Gothic genre I simply cannot resist. The dare is to answer 13 questions about Gothic classic literature which is one of my favourite topics. So without further ado here we go:

Which classic book has scared you the most? 

This is an impossible question as there are many Gothic novels/novellas/stories I have read that are terrifying in different ways but I'll have to go with The Hound of the Baskervilles by Arthur Conan Doyle. I read it a few years ago and when I think about it I still get a shiver down my spine. I remember not being able to sleep without dreaming of the hound for a while. It's eerie and atmospheric and deeply terrifying in the best way. 

Scariest moment in a book? 

Another difficult one. There are so many. I can remember the feeling of dread I felt throughout my reading of many gothic novels. The crashing of the helmet from the rafters in the Castle of Otranto. Count Dracula climbing the walls of his castle like a lizard and the graveyard scenes. Victor Frankenstein's death at the hands of his hubris. The revelation that Dr Jekyll was, in fact, Mr Hyde. I should stop here because I could go on and on and on. 

Classic villain that you love to hate? 

I'm not sure I can say anyone else but Dracula. He is terrifying and abusive and nasty but at the same time he's compelling. We know what he is but we don't know who he is. There's a reason his character has stayed in the forefront of consciousness for the past two centuries.  

Creepiest setting in a book? 

Since I don't want to keep repeating myself I will have to go with the castle in the depths of a Spanish forest in Olalla by Robert Louis Stevenson. Most of the creepiest settings in Gothic novels are graveyards or castles. Just something about the silence and the history...

Best scary cover ever? 

I refuse to choose so these covers of Dracula and Dr Jeyll and Mr Hyde:

Book you're too scared to read? 

I mean...I am not one to not read something just because of fear but possibly Lazarus by Leonid Andreyev. He said that he hoped his stories would terrify people and that it would end up with his readers killing themselves which is...not a great start. I want to read Lazarus but I also...don't. 

Spookiest creature in a book? 

Frankenstein's Monster. I think as the years go on and science becomes more advanced and the possibility that a creature like the one Victor Frankenstein created becomes an actual possibility the scarier Mary Shelley's book becomes. I can't really think of another creature that inspires the same level of fear that Frankenstein's Monster does. 

Classic book that haunts you to this day?

Most of the titles I've already mentioned but the stand out is Frankenstein. Like I mentioned above the fact it's not far off from being possible is terrifying. When you combine the advancement of technology and science...and the hubris of humanity...okay let's not think about this. I'm writing this post during the day and even thinking about this is causing me to see shadows where there are no shadows. 

Favourite cliffhanger or unexpected twist? 

Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde. The fact that Dr Jekyll was Mr Hyde will always be my favourite twist. It was terrifying and unexpected and still strikes fear in my soul. And I very much loved the ending to Frankenstein. Victor becoming more and more like the monster he created and the fact the being he gave life to was the reason for his downfall...can anyone say one of the greatest books of all time? Or, or, the painting becoming more and more like Dorian Gray's true self in Oscar Wilde's masterpiece. 

Classic Book you really, really disliked?

Vathek by William Beckford. Not for any reason but the fact he obviously used a thesaurus of some kind to write the book because it just reeks of someone wanting to sound more intelligent than they are. Sometimes the sentences don't even make sense because of his using longer words that have no contextual meaning. One day I will finish this book...I've tried three times. It is my nemesis. 

Character death that disturbed you/upset you the most? 

I'm going to have to go with Victor Frankenstein. Although he is arrogant and his hubris became his downfall I don't think he was a bad person, necessarily. Science was his language and he became obsessive and reckless and didn't think about anything but himself and his goal of creating life but he later regretted it and tried to repent. I just find him to be a very sad character who I do pity. I feel the same way about his creation too. 

List your top five Gothic/scary/horror classic reads:

Dracula by Bram Stoker, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde and The Raven/Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe. 

Share your scariest/creepiest quote, poem or meme: 

Quote: "I have love in me the likes of which you can scarcely imagine and rage the likes of which you would not believe. If I cannot satisfy the one I will indulge the other." - Frankenstein, by Mary Shelley

Poem: The Raven by Edgar Allan Poe

Meme: (not creepy but needs to be said)