History Creator / EdwardGorey

* ReclusiveArtist: He didn't exactly hide from the world, but he was an intensely private man who kept his various friendships rigidly compartmentalized and almost never shared his true feelings. (See AmbiguouslyGay above for one example of his total reluctance to give, ahem, straight answers about his personal life.)

* QuicksandSucks: In ''The Evil Garden'' one of the characters die by being sucked into a bubbling pond.

* BlackBeadEyes: Traditionally, almost every character in Gorey's books has these. On some occasions, characters will have {{Skintone Sclerae}} instead. Some of his books advert both of these entirely.

* ''Literature/TheCuriousSofa: A Pornographic Novel by Ogdred Weary'' (1961): A grape-loving woman marries an aristocrat, and all kinds of sex related mishaps ensue.

* NoodleIncident: The elaborate plot of Mr. Earbrass's novel in ''The Unstrung Harp'' is only hinted at.

* BarbieDollAnatomy: Despite being a "pornographic" novel, all of the characters in ''The Curious Sofa'' apparently have no genitals. Played more straight in ''The Grand Passion'', where one of the characters is depicted nude.

* ComicSutra: ''The Curious Sofa: A Pornographic Tale by Ogdred Weary'' is a Noodle Incident porno, so to speak. "That evening in the library Scylla, one of the guests who had certain anatomical peculiarities, demonstrated the Lithuanian Typewriter." If her anatomical peculiarities are anything like those of her mythological namesake, that would be quite a thing to see...or not. Don't try it at home, unless you have those peculiarities too.

* FunnyBackgroundEvent: In ''The Curious Sofa'', it mentions "the party split into threes and twos before retiring", meaning the groups are about to have sex. Seen leaving with a couple is [[BestialityIsDepraved the main character's dog.]]

* SecondaryCharacterTitle: ''The Curious Sofa'' is named after a device that doesn't show up until three pages before the book ends.
* SexualEuphemism: Try and make it through ''The Curious Sofa'' without once cracking up at the repeated use of men being "well-endowed". Not to mention the seemingly abhorrent sexual act known simply as the "Lithuanian Typewriter".

* ''The Curious Sofa: A Pornographic Novel by Ogdred Weary'' (1961): A grape-loving woman marries an aristocrat, and all kinds of sex related mishaps ensue.

* ''{{Literature/The Doubtful Guest}}'' (1957): [[EverythingsBetterWithPenguins A strange penguin]]...[[UglyCute thing]] takes up lodgings in a stately mansion and [[TheThingThatWouldNotLeave stays there for 17 years]].

* ''{{Literature/The Hapless Child}}'' (1961): The daughter of a British Army reservist is orphaned when her father is deemed dead in battle and her mother falls into a decline. Afterwards, the girl goes through many hellish episodes, each one worse than the last.

** ''{{Literature/The Gashlycrumb Tinies}}'': An alphabet book featuring the [[TheManyDeathsOfYou various grim deaths]] of [[CrossesTheLineTwice 26 small children]].

* ''{{Literature/The Epiplectic Bicycle}}'' (1969): Two children ride a strange and seemingly magical bicycle on a journey of gothic nonsense.

* ''The Haunted Tea-Cosy: A Dispirited and Distasteful Diversion for Christmas.'' (1997): Depressed, miserly loner Edmund Gravel is taken through a bizarre variation on YetAnotherChristmasCarol that is equal parts creepy, cynical, and comical.

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[[Creator/Edward Gorey]]

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* AmbiguouslyGay: Gorey certainly wasn't what you would call straight, but he was reluctant to mention his sexuality in interviews. At times he would grudgingly accept being identified as a gay man while at others he would claim to be {{asexual}}. (He certainly never had any long-term romantic relationships.) This has led some commentators in the LGBT press to label him a CategoryTraitor for never engaging with the gay community at large or speaking out about gay rights despite being active at the height of the AIDS crisis and other pivotal moments in queer history in America.

* BlackBeadEyes: Traditionally, almost every character in Gorey's books have these. On some occasions, characters will have {{Skintone Sclerae}} instead. Some of his books advert both of these entirely.

* BlackComedy: Much like Creator/CharlesAddams, Gorey was an expert at finding humor in even the grisliest situations.

* BlackBeadEyes: Traditionally, almost every character in Gorey's books have these. Though some of his books advert this entirely.

* BlackBeadEyes: Traditionally, every human character in Gorey's books have these. Though some of his books advert this entirely.

* BlackBeadEyes: Traditionally, every human character in Gorey's books have these.

* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Every title of his books follows a "The [adjective] [noun]" scheme

* IdiosyncraticEpisodeNaming: Every title of his books follows a "The Adjective-Noun" scheme

* ''{{Literature/The Gashlycrumb Tinies}}'' (1963): An alphabet book featuring the [[TheManyDeathsOfYou various grim deaths]] of [[CrossesTheLineTwice 26 small children]].

Some of his more notable works:

Many of his works are available in the "Amphigorey" anthology collections.