Thomas Noble (1835–1907), Forgiven, Circa 1872, Oil on canvas, 50 1/8 x 65 inches. Image courtesy of The Johnson Collection, Spartanburg, South Carolina.
Suggested Reading List
Southern Gothic: Literary Intersections with Art from the Johnson Collection
The Southern Gothic literary tradition examines the American South’s layered history through stories of memory, place, social tension, and haunting psychological landscapes. The following reading list offers visitors an entry point into literary works that resonate with the themes explored in the exhibition. Southern Gothic: Literary Intersections with Art from the Johnson Collection is on view at the LSU Museum of Art October 1, 2026–January 3, 2027. Click here to learn more about the exhibit.
Foundations of the American Gothic (Pre-1920)
Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century writers adapted Gothic traditions from Europe to American settings, exploring moral conflict, psychological tension, and the lingering shadows of the past.
Edgar Allan Poe – The Fall of the House of Usher (1839)
A narrator visits the crumbling estate of his childhood friend, discovering a family plagued by madness and decay.
Nathaniel Hawthorne – The House of the Seven Gables (1851)
A New England family struggles under a curse tied to ancestral wrongdoing and lingering guilt.
Charles W. Chesnutt – The Conjure Woman (1899)
Stories blending African American folklore and supernatural elements to reveal the trauma of slavery and Reconstruction.
Kate Chopin – Bayou Folk (1894)
Stories set in Louisiana bayou communities exploring identity, gender roles, and isolation.
Kate Chopin – The Awakening (1899)
A woman challenges the social expectations of Creole society along the Louisiana Gulf Coast.
Ambrose Bierce – An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge (1890)
A Civil War story blurring the line between reality and illusion in a condemned man's final moments.
Henry James – The Turn of the Screw (1898)
A governess believes sinister spirits haunt the children in her care.
Pauline Hopkins – Of One Blood; or, The Hidden Self (1902)
A Gothic mystery exploring hidden ancestry and racial identity.
Frances Ellen Watkins Harper – Iola Leroy (1892)
A post–Civil War story of a formerly enslaved family seeking freedom and dignity.
Southern Gothic in the Interwar and Mid-Century Periods (1920–1960)
During the interwar and postwar decades, Southern writers transformed Gothic storytelling into a powerful lens for examining social upheaval, racial injustice, and the lingering trauma of the Civil War.
William Faulkner – As I Lay Dying (1930)
A rural Mississippi family journeys to bury their mother, revealing strange inner lives.
William Faulkner – Absalom, Absalom! (1936)
A tragic plantation dynasty haunted by secrets of race and power.
Carson McCullers – The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter (1940)
Isolated residents of a Southern town search for connection and meaning.
Eudora Welty – A Curtain of Green and Other Stories (1941)
Stories revealing the emotional tension beneath everyday Southern life.
Tennessee Williams – A Streetcar Named Desire (1947)
The decline of Blanche DuBois unfolds against the vibrant setting of New Orleans.
Flannery O’Connor – A Good Man Is Hard to Find and Other Stories (1955)
Grotesque humor and violence reveal themes of morality, faith, and redemption.
Richard Wright – Native Son (1940)
A powerful exploration of racial injustice through the story of Bigger Thomas.
Zora Neale Hurston – Their Eyes Were Watching God (1937)
Janie Crawford searches for independence and identity in the rural South.
Jean Toomer – Cane (1923)
A hybrid work of poetry and fiction depicting African American life in the South.
Contemporary Southern Gothic (1960–Present)
Modern writers have expanded the tradition, using Gothic imagery to confront the legacies of race, trauma, spirituality, and environmental change.
Toni Morrison – Beloved (1987)
A formerly enslaved woman confronts the haunting legacy of slavery.
Jesmyn Ward – Sing, Unburied, Sing (2017)
A Mississippi family road trip haunted by ghosts and generational trauma.
Cormac McCarthy – Child of God (1973)
A disturbing portrait of isolation in Appalachian society.
Dorothy Allison – Bastard Out of Carolina (1992)
A young girl navigates poverty and family violence in the rural South.
Karen Russell – Swamplandia! (2011)
A Florida family running an alligator park confronts loss and myth.
Donald Ray Pollock – The Devil All the Time (2011)
Interwoven stories of violence and fanaticism in the rural South.
Colson Whitehead – The Underground Railroad (2016)
A reimagining of the Underground Railroad as an actual train network.
Rivers Solomon – Sorrowland (2021)
A woman fleeing a cult uncovers dark secrets while raising her children.
Victor LaValle – The Ballad of Black Tom (2016)
A supernatural horror story confronting racism in early 20th-century America.
Louisiana Writers and the Gothic Imagination
Louisiana’s layered history and folklore have inspired writers whose works capture the state’s distinctive Gothic atmosphere.
Anne Rice – Interview with the Vampire (1976)
A vampire recounts his centuries-long life beginning in Louisiana.
Walker Percy – The Moviegoer (1961)
A New Orleans stockbroker searches for meaning in modern life.
Ernest J. Gaines – A Lesson Before Dying (1993)
A Black man on death row seeks dignity in segregated Louisiana.
James Lee Burke – The Neon Rain (1987)
A detective navigates crime and corruption in New Orleans.
John Kennedy Toole – A Confederacy of Dunces (1980)
A satirical portrait of eccentric New Orleans life.
Jesmyn Ward – Salvage the Bones (2011)
A Mississippi Gulf Coast family prepares for a devastating hurricane.
Poppy Z. Brite – Lost Souls (1992)
A dark vampire tale infused with Southern Gothic atmosphere.
Reader Note: Many works associated with the Southern Gothic tradition contain language and themes reflective of the historical periods in which they were written. Readers may encounter depictions of racism, violence, and social inequality that illuminate the complex cultural history explored in this exhibition.