After
Mysteries and Tales of Edgar Allan Poe
Edgar Allan Poe2015
- pace
- prose
- structure
- bleakness
5 of 6 directions open — nothing denser
More like it
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Selected Short Stories (Assignation / Berenice / Black Cat / Cask of Amontillado / Descent into the Maelstrom / Devil in the Belfry / Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar / Fall of the House of Usher / Gold-Bug / Hop-Frog / Ligeia / Man of the Crowd / Masque of the Red Death / Ms. Found in a Bottle / Murders in the Rue Morgue / Pit and the Pendulum / Purloined Letter / Tell-tale Heart / William Wilson)
Edgar Allan Poe1952
A collection of 19th-century gothic tales focused on psychological collapse, premature burial, and early detective work.
Same tense register, still gothic
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Rouge
Mona Awad2023
A woman obsessed with skincare returns home after her mother's death and enters a surreal, cult-like spa. The narrative is dreamlike and gothic.
tense → dreamlike, still gothic
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
The Yellow Wall-Paper
Charlotte Perkins Gilman1995
A woman is confined to a bedroom for a rest cure. She becomes obsessed with the patterns in the room's wallpaper as her mental state declines.
Same tense register, still gothic
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
- pace0prose-1bleak0
Dr. Jekyll en Mr. Hyde, en ander beroemde gruwelverhalen
Robert Louis Stevenson1962
A collection featuring the novella of a doctor who physically transforms into his own evil impulses, plus other gothic horror stories.
Same tense register, still gothic
pace0·prose-1·bleak0
1 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-1bleak0
The Castle of Otranto
Horace Walpole
After his son is crushed by a giant helmet, a prince attempts to secure his lineage while supernatural events plague his castle.
Same tense register, still gothic
pace+1·prose-1·bleak0
To recover
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
Thoughtful
S.C. Stephens2015
Kellan Kyle falls for his best friend's girlfriend, Anna. The story retells the events of Thoughtless from Kellan's perspective.
tense → earnest
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
The Lost Symbol
Dan Brown2009
Symbologist Robert Langdon follows a trail of Masonic puzzles through Washington D.C. monuments to save his kidnapped mentor.
tense → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
Walking Disaster
Jamie McGuire2013
This novel retells the events of 'Beautiful Disaster' from the perspective of Travis Maddox. It follows his college years and obsession with Abby.
tense → propulsive
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+1prose-3bleak-2
This Man
Jodi Ellen Malpas2013
An interior designer begins an affair with a wealthy client who demands total control over her life and schedule.
Same tense register
pace+1·prose-3·bleak-2
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
Ready Player One
Ernest Cline2008
A teenager in a dystopian future hunts for a digital easter egg inside a massive simulation. The quest relies on 1980s pop culture trivia.
tense → propulsive
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
Faster
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
Shattered
Dean Koontz1973
A man and his future stepson drive across America while being stalked by the woman's vengeful ex-husband.
Same tense register, still horror
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace+2prose-3bleak-2
Grunge
Larry Correia2016
A Marine killed in a bombing is resurrected to hunt supernatural creatures. He joins a private company that kills monsters for government bounties.
tense → sardonic, still horror
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-2
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace+2prose-3bleak+1
Intercepts
T.J. Payne2020
A worker at a government facility monitors human test subjects driven insane by sensory deprivation. The experiment enters his private life.
Same tense register, still horror
pace+2·prose-3·bleak+1
- pace+2prose-3bleak0
Infected
Bobby Adair
A slow-acting virus turns the population into aggressive predators. The story follows a survivor navigating the initial societal collapse.
tense → propulsive, still horror
pace+2·prose-3·bleak0
- pace+2prose-3bleak-1
The Undead Day One
R.R. Haywood
A supermarket manager attempts to survive the first twenty-four hours of a zombie outbreak in England. The story is told in real-time.
tense → propulsive, still horror
pace+2·prose-3·bleak-1
Slower
- pace-1prose-3bleak-1
Lady Audley's Secret
Mary Elizabeth Braddon1862
A man returns from Australia to find his friend's wife is a governess with a hidden past. He investigates her identity after his friend disappears.
tense → mysterious, still horror
pace-1·prose-3·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak0
Dhalgren
Samuel R. Delany1975
An amnesiac wanderer enters Bellona, a city cut off from the world where time and geography shift. He joins a gang and writes poetry.
tense → dreamlike, still unreliable narrator
pace-1·prose0·bleak0
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace-1prose0bleak-2
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.
tense → playful
pace-1·prose0·bleak-2
- pace-1prose0bleak-1
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.
tense → playful
pace-1·prose0·bleak-1
- pace-1prose0bleak+1
Absalom, Absalom!
William Faulkner1936
The rise and fall of Thomas Sutpen is recounted through multiple, conflicting memories. The prose uses extremely long, complex sentences.
tense → elegiac, still unreliable narrator
pace-1·prose0·bleak+1
Heavier
- pace+1prose-2bleak+1
The Lottery
Shirley Jackson1983
Villagers gather for an annual ritual in a small town. The story follows the procedural steps of a lottery that ends in a public execution.
tense → cold, still gothic
pace+1·prose-2·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
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.
tense → bleak, still gothic
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1
3 more ↓ ↑
- pace0prose-1bleak+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.
tense → dread, still gothic
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace0prose-1bleak+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.
tense → dread, still gothic
pace0·prose-1·bleak+1
- pace+1prose-1bleak+1
Tales (Assignation / Black Cat / Cask of Amontillado / Descent Into the Maelstrom / Fall of the House of Usher / Gold Bug / Man in the Crowd / Manuscript Found in a Bottle / Masque of the Red Death / Murders in the Rue Morgue / Mystery of Marie Roget / Pit and the Pendulum / Purloined Letter / Telltale Heart / William Wilson)
Edgar Allan Poe1901
A collection of short stories featuring macabre deaths, psychological breakdowns, and the first modern detective mysteries.
tense → bleak, still gothic
pace+1·prose-1·bleak+1