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After

Harrow County, Vol. 1

Cullen Bunn2015

6 of 6 directions open

More like it

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  • Usher's Passing

    Robert McCammon1984

    The descendants of Edgar Allan Poe's Usher family live in a North Carolina estate. The story follows the inheritance of a dark family legacy.

    dreamlike → tense, still southern gothic

    pace0·prose0·bleak0

Denser prose

Same dreamlike register

3 more ↓

  • Gormenghast

    Mervyn Peake1950

    A young heir and a social climber navigate the rigid rituals of a decaying, labyrinthine castle. The prose is dense and descriptive.

    dreamlike → dark, still gothic

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

  • Racconti [55 stories]

    Edgar Allan Poe2011

    A collection of 55 stories featuring unreliable narrators and gothic settings. Themes include obsession, premature burial, and the macabre.

    Same dreamlike register, still gothic

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak0

  • The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner

    James Hogg1824

    A religious fanatic becomes convinced he is predestined for salvation and commits crimes at the behest of a mysterious stranger.

    dreamlike → cold

    pace-1·prose+2·bleak+1

To recover

3 more ↓

  • Brownies and Broomsticks

    Bailey Cates2012

    A baker moves to Savannah and discovers her aunt uses magic in her recipes. She must find a killer when her uncle is accused of murder.

    dreamlike → warm

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Head Over Heels

    Jill Shalvis2011

    A woman returns to her small hometown and reconnects with a man she once knew. They navigate their differences while working together.

    dreamlike → warm

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

  • Crazy

    Adriana Locke2019

    Two acquaintances in a small town enter a fake relationship to solve their individual problems. They navigate the public ruse and private feelings.

    dreamlike → playful

    pace0·prose-1·bleak-2

Faster

3 more ↓

  • The Rising

    Brian Keene2003

    A father travels across an apocalypse where the dead are possessed by malevolent, intelligent demons. The world is ending permanently.

    dreamlike → bleak

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1

  • Shattered

    Dean Koontz1973

    A man and his future stepson drive across America while being stalked by the woman's vengeful ex-husband.

    dreamlike → tense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak-1

  • The Executioner

    Chris Carter2010

    A Los Angeles detective hunts a serial killer who murders victims using their specific phobias. Each crime scene features a blood-scrawled number.

    dreamlike → tense

    pace+1·prose-1·bleak0

Slower

3 more ↓

  • Gödel, Escher, Bach

    Douglas R. Hofstadter1979

    An exploration of how cognition emerges from hidden neurological patterns. It uses math, art, and music to explain self-referential systems.

    dreamlike → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-2

  • Ulysses

    James Joyce1914

    Three characters wander through Dublin on a single day in 1904. Each chapter uses a different literary style to mimic thoughts and sensations.

    dreamlike → playful

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

  • Either/Or

    Søren Kierkegaard1992

    A collection of papers presents two life philosophies: the aesthetic pursuit of pleasure and the ethical commitment to duty.

    dreamlike → meditative

    pace-2·prose+2·bleak-1

Heavier

3 more ↓

  • The Monk

    Matthew Gregory Lewis

    A celebrated monk is seduced by a woman in disguise and descends into a cycle of rape, murder, and sorcery. He eventually makes a pact with Satan.

    dreamlike → bleak, still gothic

    pace0·prose+1·bleak+1

  • The House Next Door

    Anne Rivers Siddons1978

    A couple watches as a newly built house next door causes a series of tragedies for its occupants. The house preys on the flaws of those inside.

    dreamlike → dread, still gothic

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1

  • The Elementals

    Michael McDowell1981

    Two families vacation at a coastal estate where one of three houses is slowly being buried by sand and inhabited by a malevolent presence.

    dreamlike → dread, still gothic

    pace-1·prose+1·bleak+1