Most often, the scariest thing to happen in a library is shelving a book in the wrong location – even more so if it’s a Stephen King novel!
However, sometimes it’s not just what happens that can be terrifying, but often where it occurs. In the Gothic Romance novel, setting is one of the key elements that define the genre. These stories often take place in a run-down manor, castle, church, or other property that looms large and imposing, often holding a sense of mystery or foreboding.
For this Halloween season, Hoover Library decided to feature some of the most mysterious mansions in the Gothic Romance Lending Library in a spooky celebration of scene and setting.
If you like: ghosts, Hawaii, revolution
Somewhere Within This House, by Jean Francis Webb
“Ellen Sedgwick sailed halfway around the world to unravel the secret of her fiance’s sudden death. Was it suicide – or murder? Ellen vowed to find out – but even darker mysteries awaited her at the ominous Hawaiian mansion where she came to work as governess to the beautiful, blind aristocrat Moni Talmadge… With her life in peril and the island kingdom in the flames of revolution, Ellen was thrown into a night of unending terror and a shattering encounter with her secret enemy...”
If you like: mysteries, Portugal, sibling rivalry
“Jennifer was attracted to both Neil and Philip Alenquer, but one of them was lying about the tragedy that had taken place in their castle overlooking the Atlantic… Jennifer didn’t know which of the brothers to believe, but when the villa she was staying in burned to the ground, she knew that she had become the next victim of a murderer obsessed by fire…”
If you like: complicated engagements, New York City, family secrets
Brooding Mansion, by Paulette Warren
“Connie Bartlett was understandably thrilled at her new appointment as personal nurse to the great John Ganton. But the excitement began to turn to fear almost as soon as she entered the fabulous Fifth Avenue Ganton Manor… Ganton Manor held secrets of shame and madness, and Connie found herself drawn inexorably into their midst. When she began to discover more about what went on behind the doors that were always closed, she became entangled in an incredible web of terror and love…”
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