You might not live in a castle or a manor house, but it’s possible that you are still living in a gothic house.

I love the settings in movies and books almost as much as I love the characters. Over the years, I’ve noticed small details that whisper Gothic even if there’s not a castle in sight. Gothic isn’t just winding stairways and hidden doors. It can also include the following things like…

It Holds Secrets

I never lived in Manderley like Rebecca did, but my first home had a secret. After we closed on our first house, I found out that the previous owner had died in the living room. I’m not a reactive person, but that information gave me pause. During the years we lived there, several of us thought we saw his ghost lingering in the hallway.

Some houses just don’t forget.

Locked Doors Won’t Open

Old houses come with old hardware. At least, that’s what I told myself every time I tried (and failed) to open a door in my living room. It should have led to a closest under the stairs, but like Jane Eyre in Thornfield Hall, nothing I did opened it. Luckily, there was a door on the other side of the closet that let me enter.

The house, however, had the final say.

Beauty sits alongside Decay

My current house will soon celebrate its 101st birthday. I love living in it (and have made peace with the ghosts here), but while there are so many charming details, such as the oak floors, there are also signs that the house needs some love (looking at you cracks in my attic office).

Your House Judges You

Yes, both my houses have had their opinions of me.

Like Shirley Jackson’s The Haunting of Hill House, my house reacts differently to whoever’s around. It seems to love my husband, its number one caretaker. I swear he never feels the icy drafts that I do during the winter. He never finds the rooms too dark. I do believe the house likes me, but its more aloof. Like a cat

Is your house a Gothic house? If so, welcome home.

Want to read more Gothic romance? Try A Realm of Grief and Shadows, now available on Wattpad.