The Castle of Otranto

Overall, It was a decent read. After reading it, I'd say the horror elements aren't what you'd expect and are more centered around misfortune and characterizations. I'd say it's more a thrilling mystery, sprinkled with supernatural horror at times. But it lands the mystery/thriller aspects very well from what I think. Again, my favorite part of the story wasn't so much the plot itself―even if it did have thrilling moments―but rather the character-centered drama weaved into the plot. I'd say this story could be appropriately termed “gothic romance” alongside its gothic horror label, and I was more in tune with the former. In any case, the plot kept a steady pace, but the actual reading experience was otherwise often a drudgery because of its archaic language and verbosity, which isn't a fault of the story, but just not my cup of tea evidently. To each their own, though. So, to summarize: a cool thriller that's a slog to get through but still pulls itself through by its well-displayed themes and layered characters.