Arts Vanity: Top 4 Gothic Stories That Would Benefit From an Immersive Experience

Gothic horror is having a moment in film right now. From Robert Eggers’s “Nosferatu” to Guillermo del Toro’s “Frankenstein,” the end of 2024 into next year is looking to be a big season for sickos. Further in the future, we have Emerald Fennell’s “Wuthering Heights,” a Netflix adaptation of “The Picture of Dorian Gray,” and an ambiguously described YA reimagination of “The Phantom of the Opera” at Disney+ — all three of which immediately garnered online controversy and outrage after their announcements. (Jacob Elordi as Heathcliff? Really?) These misguided attempts to capitalize on the Gothic moment seem to forecast another trend of the decade’s second half — this is going to be the decade of bad Gothic horror.

The 2020s have also seen the rise of the immersive art exhibit, with digital and VR displays of artworks like the Mona Lisa and Van Gogh’s “Sunflowers” offering viewers the experience of being surrounded on all sides by the work of the old masters — or at least, something close to it. Given the popularity of immersive art, I would like to propose a superior alternative to universally mocked film or TV adaptations for would-be IP snatchers everywhere. Here are the top four Gothic short stories that would benefit more from an immersive experience than from a screen adaptation.

1. “The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe

Come into my cellar to taste a fine vintage. The suffocating horror of Poe’s short story, which follows the Italian nobleman Montresor as he lures his gullible ex-friend Fortunato into his basement and seals him behind a brick wall to die, can only be felt in its full potency through an immersive experience. You can dress up in Carnival attire and simply enjoy the revels, or participate in the chaining and the bricklaying yourself — alone or with friends! You can even play as Fortunato and die slowly while chained to a cellar wall (if you’re into that). Actual wine not included.

2. “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Need a break from the stress of caring for a newborn? Don’t settle for staring blankly at the walls of your own house — Gilman’s feminist classic provides the perfect concept for an immersive themed hotel experience. Book a stay in a room with the titular yellow wallpaper and lock yourself in for three weeks or more to experience your “The Tortured Poets Department”-coded fantasies of living in the 1800s (but without all the racists): no phones, no books, no thinking, and no fun! If you’re lucky, soon you might start seeing the woman in the yellow wallpaper yourself.

3. “The Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allan Poe

It’s December, which means the next Covid spike is due to hit at any moment — and a “Masque”-themed plague party is obviously the only way to celebrate. Experience Poe’s allegory for the self-destructive carelessness of the rich by making yourself the main character of next year’s high-fashion superspreader event. An immersive “Masque of the Red Death” would provide the full sensory experience of ominous clock ticking, torturous bleeding from every pore in your body, and celebrities singing “Imagine” — a feeling you just can’t replicate in a movie theater.

4. “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

No screen adaptation can truly capture the trauma that every middle schooler experiences after being assigned to read this story about a small town that partakes annually in an act of violent human sacrifice. An immersive experience of “The Lottery,” on the other hand, has it all — opportunities for cottagecore period dress, audience participation, active civic engagement, and the chance to release all your pent-up aggression by stoning someone to death. Cosplay conventions, polling places, and rage rooms everywhere will be rendered obsolete. If Ms. Jackson was a businesswoman, she would have made a killing.

—Outgoing Editor-at-Large Samantha H. Chung can be reached in her retirement at samantha.chung@thecrimson.com. Unfollow her on X @samhchung.