We have loved the Addams since their earliest iteration. There is something about this gothic turn of the nuclear family that intrigues and delights us. Maybe it’s our ability to finally be able to breathe in the realm of domesticity, or maybe it’s because we are inherently drawn to the macabre. Whatever it is, this loving family has dominated pop culture for as long as we can remember. There are literary references throughout its media, but there is also the other question, the one that keeps us up at night: What would the Addams keep on their bookshelves? To answer that question, we have compiled a list of novels befitting any and all members of the Addams. From contemporary works to Fyodor Dostoevsky, there is something for every member of this creepy and kooky family.
The Raven: Tales and Poems by Edgar Allan Poe
With the latest iteration of the Addams being Netflix’s new hit show, Wednesday, it is often hard to separate the works of Edgar Allan Poe from the Addams, specifically that of Wednesday Addams. In this collection, Poe takes you on a macabre journey into the dark corners of the human mind. In his titular poem, the narrator mourns the loss of a loved one, haunted by a raven that seems to be able to screech her name.
Stiff by Mary Roach
Mary Roach explores the many uses of human cadavers in this scientific exploration of the human body. A darkly humorous and informative journalistic look at the many scientific and societal uses of cadavers, Stiff is a novel fit for any member of the Addams.
Unnatural Causes by Richard Shepherd
In a book as morbid as it is realistic, Unnatural Causes is a medical text exploring the career of Britain’s top forensic pathologist. Dr. Richard Shepherd takes the reader through all his relentless cases, charting the causes of their often mysterious deaths.
Parable of the Sower by Octavia Butler
Lauren Olamina is a teenager living with a rare condition called hyperempathy in the year 2024. Having fled from a California ravaged by climate change, social inequality, and unchecked corporate power, Lauren establishes a new belief system called Earthseed. Earthseed is built on the belief that “God is change,” and Lauren and her followers travel north, seeking a safe place to build a new future.
The Secret History by Donna Tartt
Tartt’s seminal work tells the story of a group of charismatic and devoted college students at an elite New England college. Secluded from the rest of their peers, the education of this group leads them to a new way of thinking that is outside the boundaries of humdrum existence. However, with limited contact with reality and the student body, they become at odds with normal morality and begin to slip into obsession, corruption, betrayal, and, ultimately, evil.
The Resurrectionist: The Lost Work of Dr. Spencer Black by E.B. Hudspeth
In Philadelphia in the late 1970s, there was a surgeon named Dr. Spencer Black. The son of an infamous grave robber, Black studies at Philadelphia’s Academy of Medicine and comes to develop an odd sort of hypothesis: What if the world’s most celebrated mythological beasts were actually the ancestors of humankind?
My Sister, the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite
When Korede’s dinner is interrupted one night by a distressing call from her sister, Ayoola, she knows that she is expected to don gloves, a strong stomach, and bring a very good bleach. This will be the third boyfriend that Ayoola has gotten rid of, claiming self-defense, and it may not even be the last. Korede should probably go to the police for the good of the men of Nigeria, but she loves her sister too much. That is, until Ayoola starts dating a doctor from the place where she works as a nurse. Korede is not ready to admit that she’s been in love with this man for ages, nor is she ready to see him wind up with a literal knife in his back.
I Who Have Never Known Men by Jacqueline Harpman
Deep underground, forty women live imprisoned in a cave. They have no memory of how they got there, no notion of time, and only a vague recollection of their lives. As a number of years pass, a young girl sits alone and outcast in a corner. Unbeknownst to them, she will prove herself a key to the others’ escape and survival in the strange, unknown world that waits above.
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
The most famous Gothic novel of all time follows an ambitious young scientist as he creates a creature that is as monstrous as it is human. Victor Frankenstein creates an intelligent creature only to abandon it out of pure shock and horror. What follows is a tale many of us know like the back of our hands. Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein lingers in our minds and in every iteration of our beloved Addams.
The Brothers Karamazov by Fyodor Dostoevsky
While many may opt to include Fyodor Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment, The Brothers Karamazov is a novel centered on the Karamazov family and the murder of their father. Told mainly through conversations and deep contemplations on morality and patricide, the story features two brothers, Ivan and Dmitri, and their cruel, sensuous father.
Want to make your bookshelf worthy of the Addams family? You need only to add these novels and line them with spooky black paper. While this list could continue and dive deeper into the gothic literary scene, this is a good starter for anyone curious as to what the Addams might be reading behind closed doors. Be sure to check out these books and add them to your TBR. Happy reading!
Interested in more books to add to that ever-expanding TBR? Check out some more recommendations here.
Find these titles and more on our Spine-chilling Horror Novels shelf.
