The Tell-Tale Heart and Other Writings

Florence Giles

John Harding2010

A young girl in a remote 1890s mansion invents her own language to process her isolation. She becomes convinced a ghost is threatening her brother.

Same tense register, still gothic horror

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The Tell-Tale Heart

Edgar Allan Poe1958

A narrator details the meticulous planning and execution of a murder to prove their sanity. The story is a short psychological monologue.

Same tense register, still unreliable narrator

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My Darling Dreadful Thing

Johanna van Veen2024

Roos Beckman, a medium with a spirit companion, moves into a crumbling estate with a wealthy widow. She discovers physical rot and secrets.

tense → dreamlike, still gothic horror

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Into the Darkest Corner

Elizabeth Haynes2011

A woman with OCD struggles to rebuild her life while haunted by her past with an abusive ex-boyfriend. The timeline shifts between then and now.

Same tense register, still unreliable narrator

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The Doves Necklace

Raja Alem2014

A detective investigates an unidentified woman's body found in a Mecca alleyway. The city itself narrates parts of the story.

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Nouvelles histoires extraordinaires (Berenice / Black Cat / Cask of Amontillado / Colloquy of Monos and Una / Conversation of Eiros and Charmi / Devil in the Belfry / Fall of the House of Usher / Four Beasts in One / Hop-Frog / Imp of the Perverse / Island of the Fay / King Pest / Lionizing / Man of the Crowd / Masque of the Red Death / Oval Portrait / Pit and the Pendulum / Power of Words / Shadow / Silence / Some Words with a Mummy / Tell-Tale Heart / William Wilson)

Edgar Allan Poe1857

A collection of gothic tales focusing on obsession, guilt, and the macabre. Many stories feature unreliable narrators and doppelgängers.

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Craven Manor

Darcy Coates2018

A man takes a job as a groundskeeper at a decaying estate. He finds a crypt, a strange employer, and evidence that the house is not empty.

Same tense register, still gothic horror

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On a Pale Horse

Piers Anthony1983

After accidentally killing the personification of Death, a man must take over the office. He navigates the bureaucracy of the afterlife.

tense → playful

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The Da Vinci Code

Dan Brown2003

A symbologist and a cryptologist flee the police while solving puzzles hidden in art. They search for a secret regarding the Holy Grail.

tense → propulsive

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The Housemaid's Secret

Freida McFadden2023

A housemaid with a criminal record takes a job for a wealthy couple. She becomes obsessed with the wife she is forbidden from seeing.

tense → propulsive, still unreliable narrator

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Blood on the dining-room floor

Gertrude Stein1948

A repetitive, circular narrative about a death in a country house. It uses experimental prose to obscure the facts of a traditional mystery.

tense → playful

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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

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The Raven and Other Tales [15 stories, 1 poem]

Edgar Allan Poe2013

A collection of gothic stories and poetry focusing on obsession, burial, and decay. The narrators are often unstable or dying.

tense → elegiac, still gothic horror

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American Psycho

Bret Easton Ellis1991

A wealthy investment banker details his daily routines, consumer habits, and graphic murders. The narrative is cold and repetitive.

tense → cold, still unreliable narrator

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