A gothic horror mystery novel or short story

Lately, I’ve been catching up on some of the better Batman arcs from the past few years and that’s given me a craving for something specific.

I’m looking for a mystery novel with an overall gothic horror asthetic where the crimes are amount to more than a cat and mouse chase or another x killed y because z.

I think that’s where the fun of a lot of best Batman stories can be found is in the outright bizarre horrific mysteries that still somehow not only make a form of sense but tell an interesting story creating a fantastical noir thriller. But the problem is at the end of the day, those stories have to be comic book stories. There has to be a villan to punch, a city to take over, or a crossover spanning three other series I haven’t read.

So, that made me wonder, if Batman was inspired by noir then maybe there is some noir that evolved into a similar space as these comics but without the fluff. Something that tells a big gothic story seeped in mystery.

I’m hoping someone knows of a book like this that isn’t afraid to play with its concept, chase ideas even if they lead down dark paths, with compelling flawed characters at its core.

by MediocreHotSewgage