Horace Walpole first established the gothic genre in 1764 with The Castle of Otranto, which features an ominous mood, an isolated setting, eccentric characters, and supernatural events. Ann Radcliffe’s works, including A Sicilian Romance (1790), echo many of the figures and images that Walpole created but add “female protagonists battling through terrifying ordeals while struggling to be with their true loves. This concept […] ultimately separates gothic romance from its cousin, gothic horror” (Pagan, Amanda. “A Brief History of Gothic Romance.” New York Public Library, 4 Oct. 2018). Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre (1847), another prominent example, focuses on an independent heroine who falls for a mysterious, brooding man who alternates between lying to her and showing her affection. Harper L. Woods’s The Coven shares many similarities with these early gothic romances, featuring a strong yet vulnerable heroine; a foreboding and isolated setting; supernatural, horror-imbued events; and a darkly attractive love interest in the figure of Gray.

The Coven’s protagonist, Willow Madizza, has a strong sense of responsibility and no interest in romance, at least until she is faced with temptation.