5 Classic Gothic Novels to Read This Autumn

Looking for the best classic books to read this autumn? Start with the gothic. Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dracula and Northanger Abbey are five of the finest autumn reads in English literature: stories of mist and candlelight, locked rooms and long shadows, written for exactly the kind of evening that draws in before dinner time.

There is a reason we reach for these books when the clocks go back. The gothic novel was made for darkness. It thrives on cooler weather, isolation and the feeling that something in the house is not quite right, and it asks very little of you beyond a blanket, a lamp and the willingness to read one more chapter. Here are our five favourites, who each one is for, and where to begin.

1. Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë (1847)

Few novels are as bound to their weather as Wuthering Heights. Even the title is a forecast: early in the book, the narrator explains that “wuthering” is a Yorkshire word for the wild atmospheric tumult that batters the old farmhouse in a storm.

The story opens with a stranger, Mr Lockwood, snowed in at the Heights for the night, where a ghostly hand at the window sets the tone for everything that follows. What unfolds, through the memories of the housekeeper Nelly Dean, is the history of Heathcliff and Catherine Earnshaw: a love so consuming that it outlasts death and darkens two generations.

Why read it in autumn: it is the original stormy moors novel, best read with the wind against the window. Read it if you love: intense, dark romance; untamed landscapes; characters who are impossible to like and impossible to forget. A line to remember: “Whatever our souls are made of, his and mine are the same.”

2. Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë (1847)

Jane Eyre quite literally begins in autumn. On the first page, ten year old Jane hides behind a scarlet curtain with a book, looking out at “the drear November day”, and from then on the cold and the rain are part of her story. Fittingly, the novel was first published in October 1847.

Orphaned, mistreated and fiercely independent, Jane grows up to become governess at Thornfield Hall. There she falls for its brooding master, Mr Rochester, and hears strange laughter echoing through the upper floors at night. It is a love story, a coming of age story and a gothic mystery all at once.

Why read it in autumn: it is the perfect bridge for readers who love romance but want a shiver with it. Read it if you love: slow burn romance, a heroine with a spine of steel, a mystery that rewards patience. A line to remember: “I am no bird; and no net ensnares me: I am a free human being with an independent will.”

3. The Picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde (1890)

Oscar Wilde’s only novel first appeared in Lippincott’s Monthly Magazine in 1890 and caused an immediate scandal. Its premise is irresistible. A beautiful young man sits for a portrait and wishes that the painting might grow old in his place. His wish is granted. As Dorian drifts through a life of pleasure and cruelty in gaslit London, his face stays flawless while the portrait, locked away upstairs, records every sin.

Why read it in autumn: it is decadent rather than frightening, a story about beauty and decay that suits the season of falling leaves. Read it if you love: sharp, quotable dialogue; morally complicated characters; the dark academia mood. A line to remember: “The only way to get rid of a temptation is to yield to it.”

4. Dracula by Bram Stoker (1897)

If you want one true horror classic for Halloween, make it Dracula. Bram Stoker tells the story entirely through journals, letters, telegrams and newspaper cuttings, so you piece the horror together alongside the characters. It begins with a young solicitor, Jonathan Harker, travelling to Transylvania to finalise a property sale for a mysterious Count. Then the story crosses to England, where a ship runs aground at Whitby in a violent storm with no living crew aboard.

Why read it in autumn: the diary format makes it ideal for reading a few entries each night through October. Read it if you love: slow building dread, an ensemble cast, vampires from long before they became romantic heroes. A line to remember: “Listen to them, the children of the night. What music they make!”

5. Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen (1817)

Not everyone wants to be frightened, and Jane Austen understood that perfectly. Northanger Abbey follows seventeen year old Catherine Morland, a devoted reader of gothic novels such as Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho. Invited to stay at the Tilney family’s ancient abbey, she becomes convinced it hides a terrible secret, with wonderfully comic results. Austen wrote it in the late 1790s, and it was published after her death, in December 1817.

Why read it in autumn: you get the candlelit corridors and mysterious chests of a gothic novel without any of the nightmares. Read it if you love: wit and warmth, a lovable heroine, and Henry Tilney. A line to remember: “The person, be it gentleman or lady, who has not pleasure in a good novel, must be intolerably stupid.”

Which autumn classic should I read first?

• New to the classics: Northanger Abbey or Jane Eyre. Both are warm, readable and easy to fall into.
• Want to be properly scared: Dracula.
• Love a tragic romance: Wuthering Heights.
• Want wit with a dark edge: The Picture of Dorian Gray.
• Choosing for a book club: Jane Eyre or Dracula. Both give you plenty to argue about.

What is a gothic novel?

A gothic novel is a story built on atmosphere and dread. Its hallmarks are gloomy settings such as castles, abbeys and remote houses, buried secrets, events that seem supernatural, and heightened emotion. The genre began with Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto in 1764 and reached a new peak with the Victorian novels on this list.

Frequently asked questions

What are the best classic books to read in autumn? Wuthering Heights, Jane Eyre, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Dracula and Northanger Abbey are five of the best. All are gothic novels, full of mist, old houses and long nights, which makes them a natural match for autumn. Northanger Abbey is the lightest; Dracula is the scariest.

Is Jane Eyre a gothic novel? Yes. Jane Eyre is usually described as a gothic romance. It has the classic gothic elements of a brooding master, a remote house, mysterious noises at night and a hidden secret, combined with a love story and a coming of age tale.

Which classic novel is best for Halloween? Dracula. It is a full gothic horror, and its diary format lets you read along a few entries at a time through October. For something unsettling rather than frightening, try The Picture of Dorian Gray.

Is Northanger Abbey scary? No. Northanger Abbey is a comedy that gently mocks gothic novels. Its heroine imagines dark secrets at an old abbey, but the real story is witty and romantic, which makes it ideal for readers who want autumn atmosphere without the fear.

What should I read after Wuthering Heights? Try Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë, written in the same year by Emily’s sister, or The Tenant of Wildfell Hall by Anne Brontë, the youngest sister’s bold, often overlooked novel.

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