"the House of Dead Maids" by Clare B. Dunkle

I read somewhere that this was a "Gothic Romance". It is a prequel to "Wuthering Heights".This was a really good book but I sure as hell wouldn't call it a "romance". Not too many books give me the creeps when I turn out the lights but this one did...... wasn't what I would call " Pet Semetary" creepy ( that book scared the hell out of me) but it did give me a good chill. Well worth the time to read....Not a really long book, a delightfully dark change!!!

How I got Hooked on Gothic Romances

I believe it all began when I watched "Dark Shadows"..I liked the spookyness and helpless girls who always were in peril. Then when I got a Library card and saw that they had books that had the same theme.."Women in Peril,  Spooky House, Brooding Master, Mystery, and Romance"..OH MY GOD I WAS IN AUSTERE,BLEAK,FOGGY MOOR HEAVEN!!!!! And the one thing that I loved almost as much as the stories were the book covers. Always the Damsel,,looking off into the distance, the elbow bent, fingers perfectly manicured, oh and my personal favorite.... Looking over the shoulder at the guy that looks like Jack the Ripper ( was on a book that I had read,,,,gotta find that picture.. anyway I degress) .
But basically they were all the same. The Posing Damsel, the Storm, and the Castle or Lodge..you get the picture. 

 When asked "what kind of books do I like to read?", I tell them "Gothic Romances,ya know the books with the lady running away from the haunted houses in a nightgown" Whats stranger than my answer is their reaction...they know just what Im talking about.

But I was in love with these wonderful and at times corny books, at a very young age. And through the years found less and less of them being published. At least they aren't being published under Gothic Romances so its harder to find them.

I'm hoping someone can suggest some new ,real Gothic Romances.