Genre

Gothic Fiction Books

Gothic fiction is the literature of crumbling houses, buried secrets and dread you can't quite name. It began with Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764), peaked with Frankenstein, Dracula and Wuthering Heights, and lives on in modern gothic romance and horror.

Many of the founding gothic novels are in the public domain — look for the free-to-read badge.

This list collects 1,232 books tagged Gothic Fiction by 782 authors, published between 1672 and 2026. 82 are free to read and 65 have a free audiobook. Books are ranked by how many readers have shelved, rated or downloaded them.

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Common tropes in Gothic Fiction

From Wikipedia

Gothic fiction, often referred to as Gothic horror, is a literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name of the genre is derived from the Renaissance-era use of the word "gothic", as a pejorative term meaning medieval and barbaric, which itself originated from Gothic architecture and in turn the Goths.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0.

1,232 Gothic Fiction books · page 1 of 26

Top Gothic Fiction authors

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Frequently asked questions

What was the first gothic novel?

Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764) is generally considered the first, and even used 'A Gothic Story' as its subtitle in the second edition.

What makes a novel gothic?

A brooding setting (castle, abbey, decaying mansion), secrets from the past, the threat of the supernatural, heightened emotion and a sense of entrapment.

What are the most popular Gothic Fiction books?

By reader shelving on Open Library and downloads, the most popular include Wuthering Heights (1846), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890), Dracula (1897), Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818) and Jane Eyre (1847).

Are there free Gothic Fiction books?

Yes — 82 gothic fiction titles are in the public domain and free to read, including Wuthering Heights (1846), The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) and Dracula (1897).