A cold rain began to fall, and the blurred street-lamps looked ghastly in the dripping mist. The public-houses were just closing, and dim men and women were clustering in broken groups round their doors. From some of the bars came the sound of horrible laughter. In others, drunkards brawled and screamed…Dorian Gray watched with listless eyes the sordid shame of the great city.
– Oscar Wilde
The Picture of Dorian Gray, Chapter 16. The opening words of Chapter 16 are a very good example of the Gothic style in the novel, creating a tense and scary atmosphere as Dorian makes his way through to the East End opium den. Dorian Gray is regarded as one of the all-time great classic Gothic horror novels. The British Guardian newspaper in 2020 put it second on its list of top 10 horror novels, after Red Dragon by Thomas Harris.