Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia has themes of horror, mystery and thriller all in one package, which is a perfect combination in my opinion. The setting of Mexican Gothic is a place that I will not soon forget: High Place, a remote hilltop estate in the Mexican countryside, a manor that is rumored to make residents go mad. If you want more spooky house stories with a strong female lead, check out these books.
Shirley Jackson's We Have Always Lived in the Castle is a must-read classic for anyone who loves Gothic fiction. Sisters Mary Katherine and Constance Blackwood live together with their ailing uncle on the edge of town after a tragedy killed the rest of the family. This short book is oozing with atmosphere if you want to return to the claustrophobia of a "castle."
I don't normally read mysteries, but I had to pick up Ruth Ware's The Turn of the Key. Rowan Caine answers a babysitting ad in the Scotland Highlands at Heatherbrae House, which seems too good to be true. When she arrives, she finds not only that the kids are hard to handle, but the house might be haunted. Secluded and alone, Rowan doesn't know where to turn or who to trust.
In Elisabeth Thomas' debut novel, Catherine House, we travel deep into the woods to an elite boarding school with Ines, one of the incoming students. Ines is lucky enough to receive admission (and free tuition) to this selective private school, but in return she must spend three years isolated with only her classmates, the staff and Catherine House for company.
Rethinking Gothic horror tropes to bring queer women front and center, Carmen Maria Machado's Her Body and Other Parties is raw, experimental and at times very strange (in a good way). In this short story collection, you don't need a haunted house to feel trapped; you simply need a body. My favorite tale is undoubtedly "The Husband Stitch," which reworks Washington Irving's story "The Green Ribbon."
Did you like how Mexican Gothic dealt with not only supernatural horror but also real horrors like racism and sexism? Then White Is for Witching may be your next book. Four generations of the Silver family have lived in this English house on the edge of town. The house's current resident, Miri, is a teenager who suffers from a rare eating disorder. When she brings her friend home from college, the town's hostility threatens to change their lives forever.
What was your favorite part of Mexican Gothic?
Add a comment to: If You Liked Mexican Gothic