Maybe it’s the loam in the air, the low-slung clouds, like a curtained ceiling, the promise of a good strong brew (Yorkshire and Welsh Gold are good choices), the frequent, but innocent grumbles over the weather, or the way we respect a queue. There’s something to be said for the particular feeling that the British Isles conveys, especially when a Gothic story is at play—and always when local folklore is infused into the story. I set The Madness in bustling (sometimes shady) London, and rural (always witchy) North Wales—where a woman must return to her home village to confront an evil from her past, and which may be haunting her present. In honor of its release, I’ve collated some of my favorite gothic novels set on the British Isles, perfect for a rainy day of reading by the fire under a fleecy throw. Enjoy!
The Coffin Path by Katherine Clements
There’s something delicious about the Yorkshire moors, as though it is built from the spirits of those departed. Anyone who has spent any time there can feel the palpable energy radiating from those rolling, peaty highlands. The Coffin Path follows the slow-build story of Mercy Booth, who lives in a farmhouse on the moors and who has never been afraid of the strange atmosphere there… until strange things begin happening around her home and in the land itself. This novel reminded me, atmospherically, of Michelle Paver’s Dark Matter, which is no bad thing! Written in a beautiful, poetic way, The Coffin Path is a perfect choice for readers who love to be absorbed in the atmosphere of a sinister Gothic.
Ghost Wall by Sarah Moss
Tautly written and beautifully researched, Ghost Wall follows Silvie and her family, who have been dragged to the north of England by Silvie’s stern father to live as the Britons did in the Iron Age. They wear what those ancient Britons wore, eat what they ate, and use the tools they used—all in Silvie’s father’s quest to satisfy his obsession. As Silvie and the anthropological students that have accompanied her family on the trip begin to build a ghost wall, an ancient defense against enemy invaders, something spiritual and sinister begins to work itself up from the land. This short, sharp literary gothic gem is perfect for a flavour of ancient Briton.
River of Destiny by Barbara Erskine
River of Destiny follows Zoe and Ken, a couple that moves to rural Suffolk for a change of pace. Of course, like all good gothic thrillers and mysteries, everything seems fine at first, until Zoe begins to feel a presence in her home and see figures within the mists down by the nearby river. When human bones are unearthed by farmers at the water’s edge, things just get stranger. This novel has everything I love: a triple timeline, ancient artifacts, ghosts, ancient grassy mounds containing who-knows-what, and a rich thread of history haunting the present.
The Thirteenth Tale by Diane Setterfield
This novel is simply delicious. When Margaret Lea is summoned to write the biography of reclusive author Vida Winters, famous for writing a book of thirteen stories (which only contains twelve…), she decides to meet Vida—if only to explain why she intends to refuse the commission. Both women carry wounds around their birth, and Margaret feels a peculiar kinship with the aged author. There is also curiosity. Why has Vida told so many contradictory stories about her past to various reporters over the decades? And is she really willing to disclose the truth after so long? With nothing but a story to discover and her own personal traumas to confront, Margaret is drawn in by the secretive, enigmatic Vida, and takes on the mammoth task of dissembling truth from lie. This novel is glorious. With a dual timeline, a thrilling gothic mystery, and a cast of intriguing characters, you couldn’t ask for better.
The Secret of Crickley Hall by James Herbert
A year after their young son goes missing, Gabe and Eve Caleigh travel to Crickley Hall for a short stay as a way to manage the anniversary of their most painful day. Like all good Gothic novels, Crickley Hall is gorgeous… but somehow wrong, and the caretaker seems overly concerned about the safety of Gabe and Eve’s remaining children. And then, Eve hears the voice of her missing son echoing in the hallway. Decades in the past, Crickley Hall is an orphanage for children evacuated from the Blitz, children who are trapped with a man of unspeakable cruelty. Like all great Gothic supernatural stories, The Secret of Crickley Hall reveals the past via the present in a twisting, atmospheric narrative that leads to an inevitable and explosive conclusion.
White is for Witching by Helen Oyeyemi
There’s something about houses that I can’t get enough of. A dilapidated house? Yes, please. A haunted house? Definitely. A sentient house? Take my money now. White is for Witching is a twisty, unique delight, and follows the Silver family who run a bed and breakfast in Dover. When Lily Silver passes away, the rest of the family begin to disintegrate… and so does the seemingly sentient house. White is for Witching follows several potentially unreliable narrators (a favourite trope), including the children of the deceased Lisa Silver, as well as the ancestral home itself—all of whom reveal the events of the novel from their perspective. The main character of this twisty gothic tale is undoubtedly the house itself, as well as the ever-descending-into-madness Miranda, Lisa’s pica-ridden daughter. While the ending may be described as a void (I loved it!), the journey is well worth the read.
The Death of Mrs Westaway by Ruth Ware
Hal is a tarot reader who works on the Brighton pier, suffering through the slow winter season by degrees. This has been her lonely life since the death of her mother a few years before the opening of the book. Hal has no one else in her life, no one to rely on. So, when she receives a letter out of the blue bequeathing her a large inheritance from an unknown grandmother–and that she is a member of a larger family she has never met, she is sure they have the wrong girl. Still, desperation and curiosity get the better of her (we can’t blame her, it would compel anyone), and she finds herself traveling down the English coast to Cornwall to try and fool the unsuspecting family into believing that she really is one of them (okay, maybe we can give her a little side-eye here). Once housed in the family estate however, it soon becomes clear that this family has issues, and that she is, in fact, part of the twisted mess. It also looks like someone in the house is determined to keep the family secret, well, secret. Honestly? The moody Brighton setting at the opening of the novel was enough to get me invested, but Ruth Ware so deftly kept me here with the way she doled out the reveals; I didn’t want to leave these pages. Bonus points if you listen to the audiobook while you read—Imogen Church does an incredible job narrating.
The Lighthouse Witches by C.J Cooke
Told in alternating timelines, The Lighthouse witches follows the story of Liv and her three daughters: Luna, Sapphire and Clover. In the middle of the night, and running from dark news, Liv drives her daughters across the UK to a remote Scottish island called Lon Haven in order to paint a mural inside a decommissioned lighthouse. With their lives uprooted, her daughters attempt to make sense of their new lives. When Liv learns that the lighthouse she is painting was a prison for accused witches who were subsequently executed, the whole project takes on a dark tinge. Decades later, a now fully-grown Luna (pregnant with her own child) is contacted by Scottish police: her missing sister, Clover, has been found. There’s no sign of Sapphire or her mother, Liv, but Clover is alive. Except she is still the seven-year-old child that Luna remembers from twenty-two years ago. She hasn’t aged a day. In order to find the truth about who or what Clover is, Luna will have to travel back to Lon Haven and confront the past and what happened all those years ago. We love a good return-to-your-past story, especially one steeped in local folklore, and this one checks all the boxes!
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