Does anybody have recommendations for short classical gothic tales (if not, maybe just some morbid or dark ones) that are written in an epistolary format? I’ve read The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman and The Diary of a Madman by Guy de Maupassant. Similar stories will be appreciated.
by linkin_knight
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Bram stokers dracula
Have you read Le Horla by guy de Maupassant? I think you’d like it, it fits all the criteria.
OK, not short and not gothic but I think you will like Devolution.
An Epistolary about people trapped in a ‘utopian’ back to nature community and then they discover something may be hunting them…
Was a great read and has some horror vibes & some ‘going crazy’ vibes, especially near the end.
I believe {{The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde}} is epistolary, though maybe too long for you. {{The Tell-Tale Heart by Poe}} is first person like The Yellow Wall-paper. {{MS. Found in a Bottle by Poe}} might not be Gothic but is definitely epistolary and kind of morbid.
If you’re interested in a more recent epistolary gothic stories, try *Annihilation* by Jeff VanderMeer. It’s a haunting little novella told through the journal entries of the protagonist, as she explores a mysterious, isolated region known as Area X. Like your examples, the subjectivity of the narrator is an important theme.