I'm Curious About Dark Academia
how is something scary also so satisfying?
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Welcome to my first official Curiosities letter!
These letters are for exploring things that make me say hmmm… or wow! I’ll use these posts to explore topics that I find fascinating. Please note that none of the links below are affiliate links; I just like this stuff.
My 2024 Spotify Wrapped theme for my music taste was “vampire.” Spotify told me that “when it comes to your listening, you like to embrace a little… darkness” and I would say this lines up with my go-to taste in reading, too.
Dark Academia describes a genre of fiction that takes place in place of learning. Most stories are set at a boarding school or on a college campus setting and center on a spooky or dangerous mystery that students must solve while navigating threats within and outside of the institution.
The characters may be in danger due to the school setting itself, like in Naomi Novik’s Scholomance series, where the school’s architecture is home to monsters and a curfew that is deadly to ignore.
There may be nationwide or worldwide battles taking place—and only students can solve the mysteries, as in R.F. Kuang’s Poppy War Trilogy.
My favorite Dark Academia novels also feature magical realism and fantasy elements, but often the danger comes from people—not monsters.
In her review of Dark Academia for Book Riot, Adiba Jaigirdar acknowledges the lack of diversity in a lot of dark academic novels, identifying two books (Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé and Alexa Donne’s The Ivies) that “are not using academics as a backdrop for the mystery or murder at the heart of the story, but as a way to explore the seedy underbelly of academia itself.” I would add R.F. Kuang’s Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution to that list, too. It’s an amazing Dark Academia novel that comments on colonization, racism, and appropriation within the institution of academia.
One of my favorite recent Dark Academia novels was Mona Awad’s Bunny. Like the narrator, I did my MFA in Creative Writing at a respected university in New England. As Awad described the building and the lake and the campus, I could easily picture my alma mater as the backdrop for her wild novel. True to magical realism, Bunny carries us through a supernatural roller coaster of a narrative, as we descend into the weirdness alongside the main character. Similar to another of my favorite novels, Patricia Lockwood’s No One Is Talking About This, the characters delight in a shared lingo with inside jokes. Here’s an example: “But tonight, Cupcake smiles at me. Her pink-and-white face lights up. “Samantha, hi!” As if she’s actually delighted to see me. I’m a jewel-colored cardigan. I’m a first edition of The Bell Jar. I’m a marzipan squirrel. I’m a hairdresser who knows exactly, exactly, how to handle her carefully undertucked bob of golden hair.” 10 out of 10 recommend.
If you’re curious about reading more, check out this list of popular Dark Academia books here. I’m currently finishing Donna Tartt’s The Secret History (often considered to be the original Dark Academia novel) and my next read is going to be the final book in Olivie Blake’s Atlas Series, which comes out next week!
What book are you most excited to read next (Dark Academia or otherwise)? Feel free to leave a comment or email me your recommendations.
Thanks for reading my first Curiosities post! I hope you found it fun to dive deep with me into Dark Academia. I’ll be back next week with an exploration of the psychology of one of my favorite pastimes.
Take care and talk soon,
Dr. Kate
I am enjoying Dark Academia. Like you I so enjoyed the Poppy War, Babel, No One is Talking About This and the Atlas Books! We have books in common for sure. I dislike horror and would go as far as saying I dislike being scared. I certainly wouldn't pick a book up for that purpose. However, I love the characters and how they unfold throughout these novels. It is as though their personality magic dust is being sprinkled through the telling of the story. We get invested in these characters. The stories are complex and that is also something I truly enjoy. Thank you for sharing these in your Curiosities letter. You made my morning.
My son and I are reading Deephaven by Ethan Aldridge, in case you are looking for a YA rec! Only about a quarter through it but he's digging it.