This post originally appeared in my July/August 2024 newsletter.

You know you’re a desert woman when you get inordinately excited about thick clouds rolling across the sky on a late summer’s day, promising rain and blessed relief from the blistering heat of the day. Is there anything more exciting than thunder and lightning serenading you to sleep?

We’ve had better monsoons this season than in years past, which fills me (and my garden) with gratitude. I can see the clouds rolling in over the Sandia mountains as I write this. They are dark and heavy, which always means rain—and sometimes rainbows. 

I love the rains, you see, not just because they give the land much-needed moisture and make our desert summers more bearable, but because these storms provide the perfect symphony for one of my favorite pastimes: reading gothic novels late into the night. 

There’s nothing more satisfying than curling up in bed with a gothic romance while the window panes rattle, the thunder rumbles, and lightning flashes. The rain outside mirrors the angst on the page, which is fitting, given how often these pulpy tales rely on the pathetic fallacy to highlight the inner turmoil of their characters.

It’s always been cathartic to read books about darker aspects of human nature and all the difficult things Polite Society does not want to discuss or express. That’s what gothic romances do—they pop out heightened emotions, shine a light on things lurking in the dark corners of our minds and homes, and remind us that for all our belief that we are rational, enlightened beings, we are also ruled by desire, emotions, the mystic, and a myriad of other unseen forces that propel us forward in our lives. Juicy stuff!

I’ve been enjoying diving into Phyllis A. Whitney lately. Often considered the mother of American gothic romance, she actually prefers the term “romantic suspense.” Still, the works I’ve read so far have each had a decidedly supernatural twist in one way or another, so it’s hard not to think of her as a gothic writer. The reading is all the more enjoyable because I’ve collected quite a stash of her older paperbacks. The ones with the lurid covers, naturally. Those covers somehow make the stories better.

As I savor these books while the rain and wind sing their wild song outside my door, I feel a deep connection to humanity, to the parts of us that are always striving, longing, and searching for more. A good gothic novel, ideally read during a dark and stormy night, reminds us that the world is full of strange and wonderful things and that even the most mundane of settings—domesticity—can be full of intrigue and passion.

They serve as a promise that even if our lives seem utterly ordinary, there is always an interesting plot to follow if we tune into the magic all around us. At the very least, the make us appreciate a good storm!

Enchantment Learning & Living is an inspirational collection of musings touching on life’s simple pleasures, everyday fantasy, and absolutely delectable recipes that will guarantee to stir the kitchen witch in you.  If you enjoyed what you just read and believe that true magic is the everyday, subscribe here.

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