I’m pretty sure we read this back in school when I was a young man, but honestly I’m not too sure. With that in mind I’ve decided to make it my first Halloween reading because you can’t go wrong on a gothic novel set in Salem, MA.

If you’ve never heard of it here’s the bit from wikipedia:

The House of the Seven Gables: A Romance is a Gothic novel written beginning in mid-1850 by American author Nathaniel Hawthorne and published in April 1851 by Ticknor and Fields of Boston. The novel follows a New England family and their ancestral home. In the book, Hawthorne explores themes of guilt, retribution, and atonement, and colors the tale with suggestions of the supernatural and witchcraft. The setting for the book was inspired by the Turner-Ingersoll Mansion, a gabled house in Salem, Massachusetts, belonging to Hawthorne’s cousin Susanna Ingersoll, as well as ancestors of Hawthorne who had played a part in the Salem Witch Trials of 1692. The book was well received upon publication and later had a strong influence on the work of H. P. Lovecraft. The House of the Seven Gables has been adapted several times to film and television.

Back in October of 2018 I visited the actual house. Below are a couple of photos. They’re not much so I would encourage you to visit it in Salem yourself.