Murder in the Moors: Crime Fiction Books Set in the English Moors
Gothic novels are probably best known for being set in a manor house of the aristocracy, usually decadent and depraved, with the new generations haunted by the sins of their predecessors, unable to determine (or unwilling to admit) what exactly is causing all their turmoil… but there’s another element of the Gothic novel’s setting that still inspires terror. The moors. Dry, heather-covered tracts of country land, or wet, acidic peat bogs, England and its neighboring countries are known for the horrors set in these ecosystems, and there’s no better Gold Standard than this one:
In this coziest of mysteries, the villagers of north Scotland town Lockdubh still have their chimneys swept the old-fashioned way, by Pete Ray and his traditional brushes. When the police constable discovers a body stuffed into one of the chimneys, the whole town knows Pete must have done it… until they find Pete dead on the moors.
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Mary Yellan’s mother is dying, and her final request is that Mary join her Aunt Patience and Uncle Joss Merlyn across the moors at Jamaica Inn, looming out of its savage landscape. The coachman warns her against the falling-down edifice, and indeed, there’s much to fear of the coast and the people who inhabit it. Plus, any time Alfred Hitchcock adapted a book to film, you can be sure the source material was fascinating.
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Mary Kay McBrayer is the author of America’s First Female Serial Killer: Jane Toppan and the Making of a Monster. You can find her short works at Oxford American, Narratively, Mental Floss, and FANGORIA, among other publications. She co-hosts Everything Trying to Kill You, the comedy podcast that analyzes your favorite horror movies from the perspectives of women of color. Follow Mary Kay McBrayer on Instagram and Twitter, or check out her author site here.