Gothic literature explores fear and hauntings, the nature of reality, morality, and the supernatural, as well as the boundaries between life and death and the past and present. Classic works like Dracula and Frankenstein are hallmarks of the Gothic canon, highlighting the horror and curiosities of the supernatural. Though apparitions, haunted houses, nightmares, vampires, and werewolves are all Gothic elements, the genre doesn’t need to be so removed from reality; stories simply need to possess some element of the unnatural or the uncanny, which tends to build suspense and curiosity for readers as they try to solve often frightening and thrilling mysteries.

House of Hollow can be considered a modern Gothic, as the plot and themes revolve around the Hollow sisters’ supernatural powers and mysterious past, which leads to a discovery with immoral implications—the murder of the real Hollow sisters. The premise drips with Gothic elements, and as the plot intensifies, so do the mentions of dark fairy tale elements (such as the horned beast who kidnapped Grey, carrion flowers, and the girls’ second skin) and an unknown world beyond reality. Iris’s reality changes drastically once she’s taken to the uncanny Halfway.