It’s September (aka back-to-school season), so we’re launching a month of dark-academia conversations. In this opener, we map the genre’s core—elite or boarding-school settings, gothic vibes, and a lean toward mystery, fantasy, and even horror—and dig into why secret societies and clandestine clubs keep showing up in these stories.
We compare “real” vs. fictional societies, talk initiations and rituals, and why the forbidden—anything faculty might frown upon—creates irresistible narrative tension.
On our nightstands: The Perfect Marriage by Geneva Rose (and the follow-up Perfect Divorce), With a Vengeance by Riley Sager (a ’50s train mystery with Murder-on-the-Orient-Express energy), and an ARC of The Shattered King by Charlie N. Holmberg (out Sept 2), a romance-fantasy about a healer named Nim, a mysteriously sick prince, and a banned-magic world—book two expected 03/03/2026.
We also name-drop fan favorites—Ninth House, Bunny, A Deadly Education, The Atlas Six, The Maidens, and more—and unpack why the “secret club” trope endures.
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