We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1)

Author

Shirley Jackson, Joyce Carol Oates (Afterword)

Genre

Gothic Fiction, Psychological Horror, Southern Gothic, Literary Fiction

Synopsis

Merricat Blackwood lives with her sister Constance and ailing Uncle Julian in isolated seclusion after arsenic poisoning killed most of their family years ago. As the surviving sisters maintain their eerie routines while shunned by the townspeople, the arrival of their cousin Charles threatens to shatter their carefully constructed world. This darkly atmospheric tale explores themes of isolation, family bonds, and the fine line between protection and paranoia.