Gothikana

Young Vad Deverell reflects on the psychic powers obtained by Old Zelda, a caretaker at the boys’ home where he lives, since she lost her sight several years prior. Vad is frightened of the woman, particularly her prediction that his best friend, Fury, will “eat flames” someday. She predicts that Vad will go “to a castle where none go,” where he will “find purple eyes,” something the other boys mock for its unlikeliness (2). Vad takes it seriously, however, as Zelda warns him this is “a matter of many deaths” (2).

Ten-year-old Corvina Clemm thinks about how she enjoys the color black and darkness, though other children fear it. Corvina disdains the village children, however, as they accuse Corvina’s mother, who hears “voices that [tell] her things” (4), of being a witch. Corvina also hears these voices. Corvina fears that the villagers will try to take her from her mother, whom she loves.

A full-page image shows a close-up of a crystal that hangs from a chandelier. An epigraph from Oscar Wilde’s The Duchess of Padua reads “We are each our own devil and we make this world our hell” (6).

Corvina’s odd upbringing leaves her unsurprised that she doesn’t know about the University of Verenmore, though she is surprised that others seem to not know of it, either. She receives a letter inviting her to enroll, noting that she was referred by a psychiatric institute. The letter, from “Recruitment Specialist” Kaylin Cross, offers a full scholarship to a two-year program which promises to “open many doors” (7) for Corvina. At nearly 22 years old, Corvina finds it strange that she would receive the letter, as she was exclusively homeschooled and is older than a traditional university freshman. The handwritten letter is also odd. Her research into the place turns up little information.

The taxi driver who takes her up Mount Verenmore comments that few people visit the castle where the university is housed. She doubts his claims that the castle is haunted, but remains concerned that the castle only has one road in and out and lacks cell phone service. Corvina, who has lived an isolated life, feels overwhelmed by the prolonged conversation with the driver, especially as she has never ridden in a car before. She reminds herself to keep an open mind about the castle, as she has been the victim of cruel rumors herself.

Inside the castle, Corvina meets Jade Prescott, a student who comments on Corvina’s “freaky” eyes, which Jade considers a compliment. Jade was a student the previous year, but fled the university before returning to repeat her year. She invites Corvina to be roommates, which Corvina accepts, trusting her instinctual affinity for Jade. Kaylin appears and gives them a tour of the castle, which is vast. The setting reminds Corvina of her preferred romance novels, which focus on intense relationships between humans or supernatural creatures. Corvina feels bashful to see male classmates, as she has spent little time around men. Kaylin explains that all Verenmore students come from “odd circumstances.” As Jade leads Corvina to their room, a boy warns Corvina to “be careful with that one” (18), as Jade’s previous roommate died by suicide.

A small image shows a raven flying toward a full moon from the lower left corner of the image. A larger image shows a close-up of a wisp of smoke. A quote from H.P. Lovecraft’s “The Call of Cthulhu” reads “That is not dead which can eternal lie. And with strange aeons even death may die” (20).

Jade admits that the boy’s claim was true: Her previous roommate jumped to her death from the school’s roof. Jade doesn’t know what happened; she thought her roommate, Alissa, was happy prior to her death, though she was having a relationship with a professor, Mr. Deverell, which is forbidden. Jade saw Alissa step off the roof “like she could walk on air” (23). Jade fled the school, which did not conduct an investigation. Corvina finds this all odd; she is also startled by a flicker of movement out of the corner of her vision, though nothing is there when she looks. Corvina and Jade promise to confide in one another if they face hardship.

Jade and Corvina turn to lighter topics, gossiping about potential romantic partners. Corvina hears a voice she calls “Mo,” which she has heard all her life, and which always offers her good advice. He encourages her to burn incense to banish unwanted energy; she does so, and Jade finds this interesting, though Corvina doesn’t explain about Mo. When Corvina turns to her bed, she finds a tarot card that she didn’t pull out—the death card.

Late that night, Corvina hears a strange melody. It calls to her, and experience has led Corvina to trust such pulls. She follows the music—which does not seem to have woken any other students—up to the top of the tower. At the top, she finds a man playing a piano, his music and expression connoting pain. When he senses her presence, he orders her to leave, and she does. When she glances behind her, however, she recognizes him from Jade’s description: Mr. Deverell, “the silver-eyed devil of Verenmore” (32).

The image of the raven flying toward the full moon repeats. Beneath, a photograph shows a statue, back arched and apparently shouting. A quote from Friedrich Nietzsche’s Thus Spoke Zarathustra reads “There is always some madness in love. But there is also always some reason in madness” (34).

Corvina, a week into her life at Verenmore, still finds the castle awe-inspiring. She likes that Verenmore students do not seem judgmental about her past, which is a stark contrast to her upbringing. She looks forward to growing closer to Jade and Troy, the boy who first told her about Alissa’s death.

Jade explains that this year, Verenmore will host the “Black Ball,” a tradition that goes back to the university’s founding. During every Black Ball for the last century, someone has disappeared. As Jade and Corvina walk to their class, Jade explains that even when the university cancelled the ball, the disappearances continued on the night when the ball was normally held. Jade admits to both loving and fearing the castle and its secrets.

Corvina hears the haunting melody in her mind shortly before Mr. Deverell enters the room. He brusquely explains the structure of the class for the semester and clarifies that he is not yet officially a professor, but a doctoral student who studies music and literature. Corvina finds his presence “unsettling,” then identifies the feeling as lust. The students introduce themselves. A classmate named Matthias comments on Corvina’s name, and she explains that it means “raven” and that her mother was a fan of Edgar Allan Poe.

After class, both Jade and a student named Erica comment on the “peak sexual tension” (45) between Corvina and Deverell. Jade cautions Corvina to be careful. Not only is Deverell a professor, making a relationship with him forbidden, but little is known about him. In addition to being with Alissa before her death, he was dating the person who went missing from the last Black Ball.

Another image of the raven flying toward the full moon shows the raven growing closer to the moon. Beneath, a photograph shows a gothic-style window that looks out over a distant town. A quote from Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre reads, “The soul, fortunately, has an interpreter—often an unconscious but still a truthful interpreter—in the eye” (48).

Corvina, wandering through the garden early in the morning, hears Mo encouraging her not to “fret,” then nudging her to follow a crow that flies overhead. She follows the crow through the dense forest that surrounds the school, which leads her to a large lake. She talks to the crow, something that became her habit during her most isolated days. She is startled when a man responds, warning her against her desire to know all the castle’s secrets. She turns to find Deverell, who chides her for not being frightened of the dangerous woods and strange men. Corvina counters that the crow was unafraid, meaning that Deverell isn’t a threat. Deverell finds her interesting, cautioning her that this isn’t good. He tells her to stay out of the woods, which he suggests are deadly.

After Deverell leaves, Corvina hears a feminine voice calling for help. This is not one of the voices she typically hears, and it makes her smell decay. She hurries back to the castle. When she emerges from the woods, she sees Troy and his friends. They comment that she exited the woods shortly after Deverell, teasingly implying a liaison between them. Corvina walks toward her room but is interrupted by Roy Kingston, a senior girl who saw Corvina and Deverell both leave the woods. Roy warns Corvina that the punishment for a relationship with a professor is expulsion.

Back in her room, Corvina writes in her journal about the new voice, something her psychiatrist recommended. She spies an antique jade ring that she doesn’t recognize under her bed. Jade wakes and expresses concern about Corvina wandering in the woods. Corvina puzzles over seeing Deverell immediately before hearing the new voice, fretting that this means that “her descent into madness had begun” (58).

Corvina attends a lecture by strict and lecherous Dr. Kari, who discuses Carl Jung’s theory of sexuality. She sees Deverell outside the classroom door and thinks about how she is tempted to ignore the rules and explore her attraction to him. Deverell briefly draws Dr. Kari from the class; Dr. Kari looks angry when he returns.

The image of the raven flying toward the full moon shows the raven still in the lower left corner, though the outline indicates it is banking away from the moon. Beneath, a photograph shows a forest with sunlight filtering through the trees. In a small clearing in the foreground, several gravestones stand clustered together. A quote from one of Edgar Allan Poe’s letters reads, “I became insane, with long intervals of horrible sanity” (62).