''Gothic! Ten Original Dark Tales'' is a compilation of
young adult horror
Horror may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
Genres
*Horror fiction, a genre of fiction
** Japanese horror, Japanese horror fiction
**Korean horror, Korean horror fiction
* Horror film, a film genre
*Horror comics, comic books focusing o ...
short stories, edited by
Deborah Noyes
According to the Book of Judges, Deborah ( he, דְּבוֹרָה, ''Dəḇōrā'', "bee") was a prophetess of the God of the Israelites, the fourth Judge of pre-monarchic Israel and the only female judge mentioned in the Bible. Many scholars ...
. It was published in 2004 by
Candlewick Press.
Background
The stories in this book are
gothic
Gothic or Gothics may refer to:
People and languages
*Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes
**Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths
**Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...
. The compiler summarized what she thinks of gothic as, "It's probably more accurate to think of gothic as a room within the larger house of horror. Its decor is distinctive. It insists on burden of the past. It also gleefully turns our ideas of good and evil on end." While most of the short stories are gothic, a reviewer for Teen Reads said that there are stories that are both dark and funny. The authors in this novel include
Joan Aiken,
Vivian Vande Velde,
M.T. Anderson
Matthew Tobin Anderson (born November 4, 1968), is an American writer of children's books that range from picture books to young adult novels. He won the National Book Award for Young People's Literature in 2006 for '' The Pox Party'', the first ...
,
Neil Gaiman
Neil Richard MacKinnon GaimanBorn as Neil Richard Gaiman, with "MacKinnon" added on the occasion of his marriage to Amanda Palmer. ; ( Neil Richard Gaiman; born 10 November 1960) is an English author of short fiction, novels, comic books, gr ...
,
Caitlin R. Kiernan
Caitlin () is a female given name of Irish origin. Historically, the Irish name Caitlín was anglicized as Cathleen or Kathleen. In the 1970s, however, non-Irish speakers began pronouncing the name according to English spelling rules as , which ...
, Barry Yourgrau,
Janni Lee Simmer,
Gregory Maguire,
Celia Rees
Celia Rees (born 17 June 1949) is an English author.
Celia Rees was born in Solihull, West Midlands and attended Tudor Grange Grammar School for Girls. She studied History and Politics at Warwick University and has a PGCE and a master's deg ...
, and
Garth Nix.
Contents
* ''"Lungewater"'' is about a ghost that haunts a river in the gloomy countryside.
* ''"Morgan Rochemar's Boy"'' is about a ghost that haunts a hay ride.
* ''"Watch and Wake"'' is about a boy that visits a town that does not seem normal.
* ''"Forbidden Brides of the Faceless Slaves in the Nameless House of the Night of Dread Desire"'' is a
parody of Gothic literature.
* ''"The Dead and the Moonstruck"'' is a coming-of-age tale with a gothic twist.
* ''"Have No Fear, Crumpot Is Here"'' is about a boy that is forced to go on a summer trip to Italy that he will never forget.
* ''"Stone Tower"'' is a story that is a mix of fairy tale and gothic.
* ''"The Prank"'' is about two characters that suffer from guilt. One person from an older one, one person from a recent one.
* ''"Writing on the Wall"'' is about a ghost that haunts a house.
* ''"Endings"'' is told from the perspective of a vampire.
Awards
The book was nominated for a
Locus Poll Award
The Locus Awards are an annual set of literary awards voted on by readers of the science fiction and fantasy magazine ''Locus'', a monthly magazine based in Oakland, California. The awards are presented at an annual banquet. In addition to the pl ...
in 2005 in the category Best Young Adult Book. The book is An American Library Association (ALA) Best Book for Young Adults, A Kirkus Reviews Editors’ Choice, A Junior Library Guild Selection, A
VOYA Best Sci-Fi, Fantasy, and Horror Title, and A New York Public Library Book for the Teen Age.
Reception
The book is listed in ''Best Books for Young Adults'' which is from the
Young Adult Library Services Association. The book is also listed in ''The Year's Best Science Fiction: Twenty-Second Annual Collection'' by Gardner Dozois. Joseph DeMarco, of Kliatt, said that readers will not be disappointed and that they will have trouble forgetting the horror. Jennifer Mattson, of
Booklist, liked the book despite its
clichés.
References
{{reflist
Gothic short stories
Horror short story collections
Ghost stories
Horror anthologies
2004 anthologies