Gothic novels will always be popular. Some of literature’s all-time greatest efforts belong to the Gothic genre, from the seminal horror of Dracula to the timeless romance of Jane Eyre. However, for decades, these stories were focused on the hauntings of great English manors, completely shutting out the Western side of the planet, particularly Latin America and Spanish-speaking countries as a whole. It took a while before that changed, but in 2020, we finally got a great entry into the Gothic genre through a distinct Latino lens.
Silvia Moreno-García‘s Mexican Gothic is an incredible book that took all the tropes we have come to expect from the Gothic genre — grand, dilapidated manors, centuries-old secrets, mysterious hauntings, creepy families, and things that aren’t quite there — and put a Mexican spin on them. Building the story in the rich tradition of horror and grounding it on very real and heavy themes regarding colonialism and the insidious nature of the patriarchy, the book became an instant critical and commercial hit. Six years later, it remains a great read and one of the classics-in-the-making that are perfect to rediscover — or, indeed, discover — in 2026.
What Is ‘Mexican Gothic About?’
Image via Del Rey
Mexican Gothic is set in 1950s Mexico and tells the story of Noemí Taboada, a young, beautiful socialite living in Mexico City. At a party, she receives a mysterious letter from her beloved cousin, Catalina, who married into the seemingly powerful Doyle family, an English clan profiting off a silver mine in the remote town of El Triunfo. Catalina believes her husband, Virgil, is trying to poison her, and begs Noemí for help. Both Noemí and her father believe Virgil might be after Catalina’s money, and Noemí is dispatched to El Triunfo to investigate the veracity of Catalina’s claims. Thus, she arrives at El Triunfo, where she is met by Virgil’s younger brother, Francis, and taken to the Doyles’ large and eerie manor, High Place. There, Noemí meets the rest of the Doyle family and eventually begins experiencing strange occurrences.
As the title implies, Mexican Gothicborrows from the rich tradition of Gothic stories to a T. There’s a large, tetric manor, High Place, haunted by the ghosts of generations past and very much modeled after the genre’s best-known mansions: think of Wuthering Heights, Thornfield Hall, or Manderley. There’s also an eerie family hiding deep and dangerous secrets, and a young heroine out of her depth trying to make sense of the seemingly impossible events around her. There’s even a modernized take on the Byronic hero in Francis, Virgil’s shy younger brother.
What Mexican Gothic does so brilliantly is blend tones, infusing a classic Gothic story with shades of other genres, mainly the psychological thriller and, most refreshingly, science fiction. The former isn’t exactly groundbreaking for Gothic stories, as we’ve seen countless heroines struggling with their deteriorating mental health, from Rebecca‘s Second Mrs. de Winter to the poor, unnamed governess from The Turn of the Screw. Here, we see Noemí unraveling as the dangers of High Place, real and imagined, threaten to overcome her. However, the presence of sci-fi elements is what truly sets the book apart.
Without entering into spoiler territory, Mexican Gothic goes deep into mycology, the branch of science studying fungi, including mushrooms, yeasts, and molds. The presence of this science makes a seemingly supernatural plot seem all the more eerily realistic, if not exactly possible. Yet, Moreno-García builds such a rich and atmospheric world that one can’t help but feel the presence of these mushrooms when reading the novel, leading to an incredibly eerie experience that might make the hairs on your neck stand.
‘Mexican Gothic’s Themes Make It More Timely Than Ever
Image via Del Rey
The Gothic genre has always dealt with themes of class and status. In classics like Wuthering Heights and Jane Eyre, class plays a major role in the central romances between Heathcliff and Cathy and Jane and Mr. Rochester. The differences in standing, background, and prospects complicate the relationship between these couples, allowing the Brontë sisters to provide some very sharp observations that remain relevant almost two centuries later.
Mexican Gothic continues this rich tradition, using class as a way to enhance the horror, not the romance. In the book, classism is an almost supernatural threat, a taint that marks entire generations, dooming some to forever remain under the ruthless control of others. The book also uses colonialism as one of its main sources of conflict. The Doyles, an ancestral family who abandoned England to go to Mexico and seize control of a mine rich in silver, act as the de facto rulers of El Triunfo, presiding over the town from atop their secluded manor. Moreno-García borrows from real life for this plot point, basing El Triunfo on Real del Monte, a picturesque, mist-covered town located in the Mexican state of Hidalgo. Real del Monte greatly benefited from English presence in the 19th century, particularly from the Cornish, who practically revived the country’s mining industry.
The last of the book’s major themes has to do with bodily autonomy and the role of the patriarchy in oppressing and exploiting female autonomy. The men of the Doyle family use their influence and power to manipulate and subdue the women in their lives, gaslighting and often outright exerting psychological and physical dominance over them. Mexican Gothic uses a mix of sci-fi and horror to explore these complicated issues, coating what are otherwise profoundly important and topical subjects with a heavy coat of genre thrills that makes them all the more compelling.
Collider Exclusive · Horror Survival Quiz Which Horror Villain Do You Have the Best Chance of Surviving? Jason Voorhees · Michael Myers · Freddy Krueger · Pennywise · Chucky
Five killers. Five completely different ways to die — if you’re not smart enough, fast enough, or self-aware enough to avoid it. Only one of them is the villain your particular set of instincts gives you a fighting chance against. Eight questions will figure out which one.
🏕️Jason
🔪Michael
💤Freddy
🎈Pennywise
🪆Chucky
01
Something feels wrong. You can’t explain it — you just know. What do you do? First instincts are the difference between the survivor and the first act casualty.
02
Where are you most likely to find yourself when things go wrong? Setting is everything in horror. Where you are determines which rules apply.
03
What is your most reliable survival asset? Every survivor has a quality the villain didn’t account for. What’s yours?
04
What kind of fear is hardest for you to fight through? Knowing your weakness is the first step to not dying because of it.
05
You’re with a group when things start going wrong. What’s your role? Horror movies are brutally clear about who survives group situations and who doesn’t.
06
What’s the horror movie mistake you’re most likely to make? Honest self-assessment is a survival skill. Denial is not.
07
What’s your best weapon against something that can’t be stopped by conventional means? Every horror villain has a weakness. The survivors are always the ones who find it.
08
It’s the final scene. You’re the last one standing. How did you make it? The final survivor always has a reason. What’s yours?
Your Survival Odds Have Been Calculated Your Best Chance Is Against…
Your instincts, your strengths, and your particular way of thinking under pressure point to one villain you actually have a fighting chance against. Everyone else — good luck.
Camp Crystal Lake · Friday the 13th
Jason Voorhees
Jason is relentless, but he is also predictable — and that is the gap you would exploit.
He moves in straight lines toward his target. He doesn’t strategise, doesn’t adapt, doesn’t outsmart. He simply pursues.
Your ability to keep moving, use the environment, and resist the panic that freezes most victims gives you a genuine edge.
The Crystal Lake survivors were always the ones who stopped running in circles and started thinking about terrain, water, and distance.
You think like that. Which means Jason, for all his indestructibility, would face someone who simply refused to be where he expected.
Haddonfield, Illinois · Halloween
Michael Myers
Michael watches before he moves. He is patient, methodical, and almost impossible to detect — until it’s too late for anyone who isn’t paying close enough attention.
But you are paying attention. You notice the shape in the window, the car parked slightly wrong, the silence where there should be sound.
Michael’s power lies in the invisibility of ordinary suburbia — the fact that nothing ever looks wrong until it already is.
Your spatial awareness and instinct to map every room, every exit, and every shadow before you need them is precisely the quality Laurie Strode had.
You are not a victim waiting to happen. You are someone who already suspects something is wrong — and acts on it.
Elm Street · A Nightmare on Elm Street
Freddy Krueger
Freddy wins by getting inside your head — using your own fears, your own memories, your own subconscious as weapons against you. That strategy requires a target who can be destabilised.
You are harder to destabilise than most. You’ve faced uncomfortable truths about yourself and you haven’t looked away.
The survivors on Elm Street were always the ones who understood what was happening and chose to face it rather than flee from it.
Freddy’s greatest weakness is that his power evaporates in the presence of someone who refuses to give him the fear he feeds on.
Your psychological resilience — the ability to stay grounded when reality itself becomes unreliable — is exactly the quality that keeps you alive here.
Derry, Maine · It
Pennywise
Pennywise is ancient, shapeshifting, and feeds on terror — but it has one critical vulnerability: it cannot function against someone who genuinely stops being afraid of it.
The Losers Club didn’t survive because they were braver than everyone else. They survived because they faced their fears together, and faced them honestly.
You ask the questions others avoid. You look directly at what frightens you rather than turning away.
That directness — the refusal to let fear fester in the dark — is Pennywise’s worst nightmare.
It chose the wrong target when it chose you. You are exactly the kind of person whose fear tastes like nothing at all.
Chicago · Child’s Play
Chucky
Chucky’s greatest advantage is that nobody takes him seriously until it’s already too late. He exploits the gap between how something looks and what it actually is.
You don’t have that gap. You take threats seriously regardless of how they present — and you never make the mistake of underestimating something because of its size or appearance.
Chucky relies on surprise, on the delay between recognition and response. You close that delay faster than almost anyone.
Your instinct to treat every unfamiliar thing with appropriate scepticism — rather than dismissing it because it seems absurd — is the exact quality that keeps you breathing.
Against Chucky, not laughing is already winning. You are very good at not laughing.
2026 Is the Perfect Time to Discover ‘Mexican Gothic’
Image via Del Rey
At a time when women are still fighting for autonomy over their bodies, Mexican Gothic rings uncomfortably true with its story of female exploitation and the insidious nature of patriarchal control. The brilliance of the book is that it inserts its sharp and incisive commentary without ever coming across as preachy. Instead, it uses all these powerful themes in service of a classic Gothic tale that is, first and foremost, interested in compelling you as a reader. Moreno-García creates an atmosphere of pervasive dread and anxiety that makes it a page-turner, all while crafting a thrilling mystery that remains unpredictable without ever becoming convoluted.
A TV adaptation was supposed to happen on Hulu, but plans for that adaptation died in 2024. It’s a shame, because a show based on this best-selling horror would certainly be a sight to behold (not to mention a wonderful showcase for a young Mexican actress). No matter; you still have the book, and it’s certainly worth a read. 2026 is the perfect time to either discover or rediscover this sensational novel, which reintepreted the Gothic genre through a lens in which the genre has seldom been presented.
