Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales

The stories in this book are gothic. The compiler summarized what she thinks of gothic as, "It's probably more accurate to think of gothic as a room within the larger house of horror. Its decor is distinctive. It insists on burden of the past. It also gleefully turns our ideas of good and evil on end." While most of the short stories are gothic, a reviewer for Teen Reads said that there are stories that are both dark and funny. The authors in this novel include Joan Aiken, Vivian Vande Velde, M.T. Anderson, Neil Gaiman, Caitlin R. Kiernan, Barry Yourgrau, Janni Lee Simmer, Gregory Maguire, Celia Rees, and Garth Nix.^[1]

• "Lungewater" is about a ghost that haunts a river in the gloomy countryside.
• "Morgan Rochemar's Boy" is about a ghost that haunts a hay ride.
• "Watch and Wake" is about a boy that visits a town that does not seem normal.
• "Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Nameless House of the Night of Dread Desire" is a parody of Gothic literature.
• "The Dead and the Moonstruck" is a coming-of-age tale with a gothic twist.
• "Have No Fear, Crumpot Is Here" is about a boy that is forced to go on a summer trip to Italy that he will never forget.
• "Stone Tower" is a story that is a mix of fairy tale and gothic.
• "The Prank" is about two characters that suffer from guilt. One person from an older one, one person from a recent one.
• "Writing on the Wall" is about a ghost that haunts a house.
• "Endings" is told from the perspective of a vampire.