Books like “Dracula”

What to read after “Dracula” by Bram Stoker: a list matched by tropes, mood and atmosphere. Under each book you will see what it has in common.

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1
The Beetle
Richard Marsh · 1897
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
A strange, insect-like creature arrives in London bent on revenge against a member of Parliament, and its powers reach into the lives of everyone near him. The story is told through several witnesses who each encounter the being and try to stop it.
2
Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde
Robert Louis Stevenson · 1886
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
A respected London doctor is oddly close to a violent, mysterious man named Hyde. When a friend investigates the link between them, he uncovers a scientific experiment that set loose a darker self.
3
The Mysteries of Udolpho
Ann Radcliffe · 1794
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
After her parents die, Emily St. Aubert is left to the care of an aunt who marries an Italian nobleman. Taken to the gloomy castle of Udolpho, she is surrounded by unexplained sounds, sealed rooms and sinister men, while she tries to keep her love and her safety.
4
We Have Always Lived in the Castle
Shirley Jackson · 1962
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
Eighteen-year-old Merricat lives with her sister and uncle in a large house outside a village that despises them, after the rest of the family died years earlier from poison. When a cousin arrives hoping to claim the estate, the careful order of Merricat's world is broken.
5
Uncle Silas
J. Sheridan Le Fanu · 1864
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
Orphaned heiress Maud Ruthyn is sent to Bartram-Haugh, the remote house of her uncle Silas, a man once suspected of murder. Isolated there with him, his strange son and a governess, she slowly realises the household is closing in on her.
6
Carmilla
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu · 1872
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
In a lonely Styrian castle, Laura longs for companionship. A carriage accident brings Carmilla, a charming guest her own age, to stay with the family. As Laura's health fades and strange dreams visit her at night, she begins to suspect that her new friend is not what she seems.
7
The Ghost Stories of Edith Wharton
Edith Wharton · 1973
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
A collection of Edith Wharton's ghost stories, written across her career and gathered in one volume. Old houses, railway carriages and country estates hold grudges, apparitions return with unfinished business, and the supernatural creeps into the lives of people who insist they do not believe in it.
8
The Picture of Dorian Gray
Oscar Wilde · 1890
From the same world: “Gothic”
- Gothic
- Victorian London Atmosphere
A beautiful young man surrenders to his vanity when his portrait begins to age and wither in place of his body. Sheltered by a cynical friend, Dorian chases pleasure without consequence until the hidden painting becomes a record of his cruelty.
9
Rebecca
Daphne du Maurier · 1938
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
A shy young woman marries the widowed Maxim de Winter and arrives at Manderley, his grand estate by the sea. There she is measured against his first wife, the beautiful Rebecca, whose presence lingers in every room, in the servants' loyalty and in a secret nobody will speak.
10
The Turn of the Screw
Henry James · 1898
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
A young governess takes charge of two children at a remote country house and soon notices figures watching from the grounds and the tower. She becomes convinced the children are being influenced by something from beyond the grave, though no one else confirms what she sees.
11
Jane Eyre
Charlotte Brontë · 1847
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
An orphan becomes a governess at the brooding Thornfield Hall. A bond grows between her and its stern master, but the house hides a dangerous secret that threatens the life she is beginning to hope for.
12
Melmoth the Wanderer
Charles Robert Maturin · 1820
Similar atmosphere: “Creeping Dread”
- Gothic
- Creeping Dread
A scholar finds a manuscript telling of Melmoth, a man who centuries earlier traded his soul for knowledge and an unnaturally long life. Doomed to wander the earth, he appears to people in their worst moments and offers them the chance to take on his burden.