“This book is the most original and sophisticated analysis of the interconnection between music and the Gothic yet produced. Van Elferen’s expansive understanding of sonic Gothicism allows her to break new ground through considerations of Gothic music in film, TV, and video games. She takes the idea of the Gothic in entirely new directions in this innovative, intelligent, and enjoyable study.”

Jeffrey Weinstock, Central Michigan University

“Reading Isabella van Elferen’s Gothic Music: The Sounds of the Uncanny is like turning up the volume: the full richness and complexity of Gothic music suddenly becomes audible. This is a genuinely groundbreaking book, instantly taking possession of and defining the field. Gothic will never sound quite the same again.”

Catherine Spooner, Lancaster University

“Isabella van Elferen’s book is original, witty, and provocative. Her approach is anything but reductive, as her epigraph—“Il y a plenty de hors-texte”—suggests. She considers music in a variety of media and her analyses are engaging and refreshingly jargon-free. This is a work that enters boldly into critical debate and is not afraid to speculate on broader philosophical issues. Van Elferen brings insights from the discipline of musicology into the field of gothic studies and, in doing so, very much enriches it.”

Emma McEvoy, Westminster University