Exploring Gothic & Victorian Horror

How modern horror has been shaped by these 4 classic novellas

Many of the modern horrors we know and love have been shaped by classic Victorian horror. Blending the supernatural with emerging scientific and psychological ideas, Victorian literature reflected social anxieties, from madness and mortality to repression and gender roles.

From penny dreadfuls to modern literary horror, see how these four novellas carry the gothic tradition through modern interpretations and social commentary, exploring moral and philosophical depth through supernatural events and atmospheric dread.  

These four stories offer psychological horror through unreliable narration, building unease through the isolation of our protagonists. Each explores traditional feminist themes through a female protagonist or apparition where we begin to question whether the ghostly encounters are real or projections of the mind.

The Yellow Wallpaper – Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1892)

This short tale follows a woman confined to a room after childbirth, where the garish wallpaper becomes her obsession. It's a raw portrayal of mental descent, rooted in Victorian medical misogyny - the infamous "rest cure" that Gilman herself endured. Themes of entrapment and descent into madness became more common in Victorian writing as scandals around the treatment of patients in Victorian asylums were revealed.  

Read the full story on our blog here.

The Turn of the Screw – Henry James (1898)

A governess arrives at a secluded English estate to care for two children, only to encounter apparitions that may threaten the children in her charge - or reveal her own distorted perception of reality. This novella captures late-Victorian fixations on class and corrupted purity, with its ambiguous ghosts drawing from traditional gothic tales. The unreliable narrator adds layers of doubt, a hallmark of the period's psychological depth. Today, it sparks debate on trauma and child psychology, influencing adaptations like The Haunting of Bly Manor.

The Haunting of Hill House – Shirley Jackson (1959)

“To learn what we fear is to learn who we are” - Shirley Jackson. The Haunting of Hill House is a quintessential haunted house story which explores the ghosts of our own minds as much as it explores the world of the supernatural. In this book, we witness Eleanor’s psychological deterioration as her relationships with the Hill House inhabitants become more fraught. Through suspicion, jealousy and inexplicable events, we watch Eleanor become more of an outsider, despite her wish to fit in. Loneliness and the desire to belong are central to this story.

The Woman in Black – Susan Hill  (1983)

A young solicitor is sent to a desolate house where he encounters the presence of the woman in black.

This book is a wonderful revival of the classic ghost story. Set in the Edwardian era, this story explores grief, vengeance, and the social stigma experienced by women in Edwardian society. The story unfolds against the backdrop of an isolated, decaying country home built on a tidal island. Our protagonist becomes cut off from the world at high tide when the sea floods in, both literally and figuratively, and must confront the sins of the past.    

The Evolution of Themes

Starting in the 1890s, the themes of the books written in the Victorian era continue through more modern works with some adaptations for the modern reader. Through time, ghostly encounters become more metaphorical, representative of our own internal struggles and trauma. Gothic settings remain and horror is used as allegory for a critique of social norms.

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