Masterpost of Free Gothic Literature & Theory

Classics Vathek by William Beckford Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë The Woman in White  & The Moonstone by Wilkie Collins Carmilla by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu The Turn of the Screw by Henry James The Monk by Matthew Lewis The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux Melmoth the Wanderer by Charles Maturin The Vampyre; a Tale by John Polidori Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe Confessions of an English Opium-Eater by Thomas De Quincey The Mysteries of Udolpho by Ann Radcliffe The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson Dracula by Bram Stoker The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde Frankenstein; Or, The Modern Prometheus by Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley

Short Stories and Poems An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce Songs of Innocence & Songs of Experience by William Blake The Rime of the Ancient Mariner by Samuel Taylor Coleridge The King in Yellow by Robert W. Chambers The Legend of Sleepy Hollow by Washington Irving The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Pre-Gothic Beowulf The Divine Comedy  by Dante Alighieri A Journal of the Plague Year by Daniel Defoe Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe The Tragical History of Doctor Faustus by Christopher Marlowe Paradise Lost by John Milton Macbeth by William Shakespeare Oedipus, King of Thebes by Sophocles The Duchess of Malfi by John Webster

Gothic-Adjacent Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen The Wendigo by Algernon Blackwood Jane Eyre & Villette by Charlotte Brontë Lyrical Ballads, With a Few Other Poems by Coleridge and Wordsworth The Mystery of Edwin Drood by Charles Dickens The Idiot & Demons (The Possessed) by Fyodor Dostoyevsky The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas Moby-Dick by Herman Melville The Island of Doctor Moreau by H. G. Wells

Historical Theory and Background The French Revolution of 1789 by John S. C. Abbott Shakespearean Tragedy: Lectures on Hamlet, Othello, King Lear, Macbeth by A. C. Bradley The Tale of Terror: A Study of the Gothic Romance by Edith Birkhead On Heroes, Hero-Worship, and the Heroic in History by Thomas Carlyle Demonology and Devil-Lore by Moncure Daniel Conway Ancient Pagan and Modern Christian Symbolism by Inman and Newton On Liberty by John Stuart Mill The Social Contract & Discourses by Jean-Jacques Rousseau Feminism in Greek Literature from Homer to Aristotle by Frederick Wright

Academic Theory Introduction: Replicating Bodies in Nineteenth-Century Science and Culture by Will Abberley Viewpoint: Transatlantic Scholarship on Victorian Literature and Culture by Isobel Armstrong Theories of Space and the Nineteenth-Century Novel by Isobel Armstrong The Higher Spaces of the Late Nineteenth-Century Novel by Mark Blacklock The Shipwrecked salvation, metaphor of penance in the Catalan gothic by Marta Nuet Blanch Marching towards Destruction: the Crowd in Urban Gothic by Christophe Chambost Women, Power and Conflict: The Gothic heroine and “Chocolate-box Gothic” by Avril Horner Psychos’ Haunting Memories: A(n) (Un)common Literary Heritage by Maria Antónia Lima ‘Thrilled with Chilly Horror’: A Formulaic Pattern in Gothic Fiction by Aguirre Manuel The terms “Gothic” and “Neogothic” in the context of Literary History by O. V. Razumovskaja  The Female Vampires and the Uncanny Childhood by Gabriele Scalessa Curating Gothic Nightmares by Heather Tilley Elizabeth Bowen, Modernism, and the Spectre of Anglo-Ireland by James F. Wurtz Hesitation, Projection and Desire: The Fictionalizing ‘as if…’ in Dostoevskii’s Early Works by Sarah J. Young Intermediality and polymorphism of narratives in the Gothic tradition by Ihina Zoia

Michael Rougier, From the Youth in Revolt photo essay, 1964

Japan

the goldfinch (2019) // no children, the mountain goats // ocean vuong, on earth we’re briefly gorgeous: a novel // little beast, richard siken

BREATHE: After contracting polio at the age of 28, Robin Cavendish is confined to bed and given only months to live. But with the help of his wife Diana and her twin brothers, and the groundbreaking ideas of inventor Teddy Hall, Cavendish emerges from the hospital ward and devotes the rest of his life to helping fellow patients and the disabled.

TESTAMENT OF YOUTH: During World War I, a young English woman named Vera Brittain postpones her studies at Oxford University to serve as a Voluntary Aid Detachment nurse in London and abroad. After the war she returns to Oxford to read history and later becomes a writer, feminist and pacifist.

PRIDE AND PREJUDICE: In this adaptation of Jane Austen’s beloved novel, Elizabeth Bennet lives with her mother, father and sisters in the English countryside. As the eldest, she faces mounting pressure from her parents to marry. When the outspoken Elizabeth is introduced to the handsome and upper-class Mr. Darcy, sparks fly. Although there is obvious chemistry between the two, Darcy’s overly reserved nature threatens the fledgling relationship.

SENSE AND SENSIBILITY: When Elinor Dashwood’s father dies, her family’s finances are crippled. After the Dashwoods move to a cottage in Devonshire, Elinor’s sister Marianne is torn between the handsome John Willoughby and the older Colonel Brandon. Meanwhile, Elinor’s romantic hopes with Edward Ferrars are hindered due to his prior engagement. Both Elinor and Marianne strive for love while the circumstances in their lives constantly chang

DUNKIRK: In May 1940, Germany advanced into France, trapping Allied troops on the beaches of Dunkirk. Under air and ground cover from British and French forces, troops were slowly and methodically evacuated from the beach using every serviceable naval and civilian vessel that could be found. At the end of this heroic mission, 330,000 French, British, Belgian and Dutch soldiers were safely evacuated.

HACKSAW RIDGE: The true story of Pfc. Desmond T. Doss, who won the Congressional Medal of Honor despite refusing to bear arms during WWII on religious grounds. Doss was drafted and ostracized by fellow soldiers for his pacifist stance but went on to earn respect and adoration for his bravery, selflessness and compassion after he risked his life – without firing a shot – to save 75 men in the Battle of Okinawa.

JANE EYRE: As an orphaned child, Jane Eyre is first cruelly abused by her aunt, then cast out and sent to a charity school. Though she meets with further abuse, she receives an education, and eventually takes a job as a governess at the estate of Edward Rochester. Jane and Rochester begin to bond, but his dark moods trouble her. When Jane uncovers the terrible secret Rochester has been hiding, she flees and finds temporary refuge at the home of St. John Rivers.

TWELVE YEARS A SLAVE: In the years before the Civil War, Solomon Northup, a free black man from upstate New York, is kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South. Subjected to the cruelty of one malevolent owner, he also finds unexpected kindness from another, as he struggles continually to survive and maintain some of his dignity. Then in the 12th year of the disheartening ordeal, a chance meeting with an abolitionist from Canada changes Solomon’s life forever.

THE YOUNG VICTORIA: As the only legitimate heir of England’s King William, teenage Victoria gets caught up in the political machinations of her own family. Victoria’s mother wants her to sign a regency order, while her Belgian uncle schemes to arrange a marriage between the future monarch and Prince Albert, the man who will become the love of her life.

FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD: Bathsheba Everdene catches the eye of local farmer Gabriel Oak when she arrives to live with her aunt in Dorset. Declining his offer of marriage, their lives continue to intertwine as fate brings contrasting fortunes to both of them.

LADY MACBETH: In rural England, 1865, a woman who is trapped in a loveless marriage to a much older man begins a passionate affair with a man her own age.

playlists!

i’m gonna punch some walls!!

i read a donna tartt book and now i’m gay and into dark academia

i’m mentally a 50 year old fun grandfather

womanhood and anger 

imagined movie soundtrack

goth and stuff 

i’m secretly in a coven 

Joshua Maddux was an 18 year old boy who played guitar and was described as a very kind kid.

He left his house on May 8th 2008, and told his father he was going out for a walk. Well Josh never returned home and was missing until 2015.

Josh was found in a chimney 2 blocks from his fathers home. The chimney was located in a cabin that had been abandoned for 10 years. Joshua was found when the owner decided to demolish the cabin in order to build something new.

Josh was found in fetal position in nothing but a shirt. The rest of his clothes were found within the cabin.

The medical examiner stated there were no signs of trauma and declared the death “accidental.” However Chuck Murphy the owner of the cabin isn’t convinced.

Murphy said there was a steel webbing installed over the top of the chimney to prevent raccoons and other critters from crawling into the chimney and that it’s impossible for Josh to have climbed down the chimney.

“There’s no way that guy crawled inside that chimney with that steel webbing, He didn’t come down the chimney.” Murphy believes Maddux was forced into the chimney.

Murphy said it’s ridiculous to think an 18 year old teenager stripped down to just his shirt and climbed up on the roof to slide down a chimney knowing he’d be stuck.

Theres a man who had been heard bragging about killing Maddux, saying he “put him in a hole.” The police said he did have a long history of violence and a criminal record. However they couldn’t place him in Woodland Park Colorado at the time of the disappearance.

The mans name is Andrew Richard Newman, there are stories circulating of people who knew him personally. Apparently Andrew had been known for the vile things he had been involved in, but most charges against him in previous cases were dropped due to lack of evidence.

Multiple people have stated Josh went missing near the time Andrew had went off the deep end, and Multiple people believe Andrew is indeed the murderer.

However Andrew is out and about living his life freely still, and Joshua’s case remains and “accident.” 

‘I Feel Fantastic’ was first uploaded on YouTube in 2009 by user Creepyblog. The disturbing video of a pale, nightmarish mannequin is the sole upload ever posted on the user’s channel.

The animatronic woman is known as “Tara the Android,” who sinisterly sings through a voice-simulator program while unusual synthesizer chimes convey in the background.

If Tara isn’t already disturbing enough, the creator of the video forces the viewer to unsettlingly use their imagination. Momentarily, a camera focuses on a treeline, and zooms in on a pile of leaves and dirt. The bizarre camera shot made some viewers believe the video’s creator was a suspect of murder. To back their claim, a verse in Tara’s song goes, “Please leave, run, run, run, run…” The brief outdoor scene was believed to be were a corpse was buried, and some speculated Tara wore the victims clothes.

While it’s entertaining to theorize devilish speculations, the truth isn’t nearly as exciting as imagination.  Androidworld.com credits the creator of Tara the robot, and contains a link to various videos starring Tara (the site hasn’t been updated since 06’ and since than have been taken down). Tara cost over $2000 worth of materials, and was built with ‘world’s first Android music sensation’ in mind.

The creators intentions were to have Tara become a traveling act to lead her into superstardom. Since 2006, there has been no updates on Tara, which further ignited a new legend; that Tara killed her creator.

In the end Tara’s fame wasn’t from robot singing sensation’, but rather from people’s dark imaginations. Even if the 2 minute clip has no real profound immorality, Tara is still creepy as hell.

*~ THE JAKE BIRD HEX ~*

On October 30, 1947, 45-year-old Jake Bird happened upon 1007 South 21st Street. He decided to burgalize the home which belonged to a 53-year-old widow, Bertha Kludt, and her seventeen-year-old daughter Beverly. Armed with an ax, Bird snuck in through the back door of the home and entered Kludt’s bedroom. He stole $1.50 from Kludt’s purse and claimed that he was in the process of leaving the home until he discovered Kludt standing behind him. An alleged physical altercation took place, which ended in Bird killing Kludt with the ax. When Beverly heard the commotion and went to investigate, she too was murdered by Bird.

After Bird was sentenced to death, and his request for a new trial was denied, the judge asked whether Bird would like to make a statement. Bird obliged and addressed the court for 20 minutes, expressing frustration that he wasn’t allowed to defend himself. He ended his speech with the following eerie message: “All of you who had anything to do with my case will be punished. I am putting the Jake Bird hex on you. Mark my words, you will die before I do.”

Most of the courtroom did not take Bird’s threats seriously. But it wasn’t long before court attendants mysteriously began to die. The judge who denied Bird the right to represent himself in court and issued Bird's death sentence was the first to go. Within a month of Bird’s sentencing, judge Edward D. Hodge died from a heart attack. Hodge’s death was the first in a series of many who passed away shortly after Jake Bird cast his hex. 

After the judge died from a heart attack, everything seemed to go downhill. Joe Karpach, a police officer involved in the case, died one month after Judge Hodge. Like Hodge, Karpach also suffered a heart attack. A month later, Ray Scott, the court clerk at Bird’s trial, contracted a deadly case of pneumonia. Six months after Scott, Sherman Lyons, the police lieutenant who took Bird’s statement, also died of a heart attack. On the one-year anniversary of Bird's death sentence, his attorney James W. Selden passed away. Finally, shortly before Bird’s execution, Arthur Seward, a guard at the Walla Walla prison where Bird was being held, experienced fatal heart failure. Six people in connection to Bird’s case died before he was executed, five of them within the year he was sentenced. One could argue that the deaths were simply a coincidence, but it’s hard to shake the creepiness of the circumstances. Whatever the case may be, Bird was pleased with the deaths. Each time someone related to his case perished, he responded with a misquoted bible verse, suggesting that God had served justice. 

While awaiting his execution, Bird began confessing to additional murders in a seeming attempt to delay his death. Bird worked on the railroad and would often travel all over the United States by train. It was during these travels that Bird raped and murdered women across the country. Bird confessed to 44 murders, but the details he provided were only sufficient enough to close 11 of the 44 cases to which he confessed. If the victim count is accurate, that makes Bird not only one of the most prolific serial killers of the time but also the first black serial killer.

The trial of Jake Bird began one month after the Kludt murder. Bird asked to represent himself, and the judge denied his demand. His attorney requested that the trial be moved to a different county, as it would be difficult to find jurors who were unfamiliar with the popular case. That request was denied as well. The trial was only three days long, and juror deliberations lasted just 35 minutes. Bird was found guilty and sentenced to death by hanging.

On July 15, 1949, witnesses arrived at the prison to watch Bird’s execution. In total, 125 people came to view the hanging. Bird wrote a note asking for forgiveness. The prison chaplain began to read it aloud, but before he finished, the trapdoor was sprung on the gallows, and Bird was hanged. Bird was buried in the prison cemetery in Walla Walla. His grave was marked with the number 21520, his Department of Corrections identification. In Bird’s Last Will and Testament, he left his fortune of $6.15 to the attorney who filed his appeals. Bird lives in infamy not only because he’s considered the first black serial killer, but also because his hex oddly worked, and it’s totally spooky.

In September 1978, 15-year-old Mary Vincent, an aspiring dancer, ran away from her Las Vegas home and began hitchhiking across the state of California en route to Corona, California, where her grandmother lived. While hitchhiking in Berkeley, she entered the van of 50-year-old Lawrence Singleton after accepting his seemingly kind offer to drive her close to her destination. Sometime during the ride, Lawrence made a stop to use a restroom, so Mary decided to step out of the van to stretch out her legs. As she bent over to tie her shoes, she was suddenly being pummeled in the head by Lawrence until she fell to the ground. He then dragged her into the back of the van and viciously raped her, threatening to kill her if she emitted a scream. He subsequently tied her up and resumed the drive, coming to another stop eventually and untying her just so he could force her to drink from a drugged alcoholic beverage. Once again, he sexually violated her over and over again until she lost consciousness. When the teen girl came to, her attacker ordered her to lie down on the edge of the road. As she begged to be freed, he coldly responded, ‘’You want to be free? I’ll set you free,’’ then hacked off both of her forearms with a hatchet. Afterward, he shoved the poor, unconscious girl into a concrete culvert and left her for dead. 

Miraculously, Mary survived. She woke up, naked and bleeding profusely, and mustered enough strength to pull herself up and walk to the nearest freeway. A passing couple stopped when they saw her and summoned help. By the time of her attacker’s arrest, Mary wore prosthetic arms. Lawrence Singleton was outrageously only sentenced to 14 years in prison, of which he served half. 19 years later, Lawrence struck again, stabbing a woman to death in Florida. Mary unflinchingly traveled all the way across the country to testify against him, describing the horrific attack and impact it had on her life. The judge sentenced him to death, and he died of cancer in 2001.

‘I Feel Fantastic’ was first uploaded on YouTube in 2009 by user Creepyblog. The disturbing video of a pale, unsettling mannequin is the sole video ever posted on the channel.

The animatronic woman is known as “Tara the Android,” who sinisterly sings through a voice-simulator program while unusual synthesizer chimes convey in the background.

If Tara isn’t already disturbing enough, the creator of the video forces the viewer to unsettlingly use their imagination. Momentarily, a camera focuses on a treeline, and zooms in on a pile of leaves and dirt. The bizarre camera shot made some viewers believe the video’s creator was a suspect of murder. To back their claim, a verse in Tara’s song goes, “Please leave, run, run, run, run…” The brief outdoor scene was believed to be were a corpse was buried, and some speculated Tara wore the victims clothes.

While it’s entertaining to theorize devilish speculations, the truth isn’t nearly as exciting as imagination.  Androidworld.com credits the creator of Tara the robot, and contains a link to various videos starring Tara (the site hasn’t been updated since 06’ and since than have been taken down). Tara cost over $2000 worth of materials, and was built with ‘world’s first Android music sensation’ in mind.

The creators intentions were to have Tara become a traveling act to lead her into superstardom. Since 2006, there has been no updates on Tara, which further ignited a new legend; that Tara killed her creator.

In the end Tara’s fame wasn’t from robot singing sensation’, but rather from people’s dark imaginations. Even if the 2 minute clip has no real profound immorality, Tara is still creepy as hell.

lighters

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𝕽𝖆𝖓𝖉𝖔𝖒

lighters

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Gravestone PNGs ⚰️

the gays won of course