Thread by @PulpLibrarian

Then in 1960 Mistress of Mellyn, by unknown author Victoria Holt, became an overnight publishing success. The story echoed both on Rebecca and Jane Eyre: a governess takes a job in a foreboding Cornish mansion which is haunted by the dead wife of her mysterious employer.

Many believed du Maurier had written the book herself. Actually Mistress of Mellyn was penned by prolific British author Eleanor Hibbert. Her agent had convinced her to revive the gothic romance genre, believing there was still a market for this type of popular literature.

Soon Holt, along with Dorothy Eden, Joan Aiken, Marilyn Ross and a host of other authors were leading a gothic revival that would run through to the mid-80s. It was also a revival sold by word of mouth recommendation, which helps explain why the cover art was so similar.

Several hundred different gothic romances were published during these boom years, and though the stories were different the underlying theme remained the same: passion is as cruel as it is kind; endurance is not enough, you must fight in order to win.

Will the gothic romance make a comeback? It's a remarkably robust and flexible genre that's capable if great depth - both emotionally and psychologically. I'm sure its time will come again.

But for now let's relax: there's surely nothing to fear in your house. Except that strange laughter from the attic, each dark and moonless night as the wind sends shadows through your haunted dreams...

Mind how you flee.