Dark academia novels pull readers into them with forbidden knowledge and hidden secrets, often set in mysterious places of learning. These books resemble how old castles and abandoned houses look in the drawings. These stories also feature secret groups, codes that do not make sense, and Gothic stuff, making small worlds in schools and colleges cross the thin line between safety and fear with surprising ease.

Check out five recommended dark academia novels below.

Bunny by Mona Awad

With this bizarre yet strange book, Mona Awad, famous for '13 Ways of Looking at a Fat Girl,' tells a tale mixing elements of 'The Vegetarian' and 'Heathers.' Samantha Heather Mackey, an outcast in a selective MFA program, does not get along with her writing group, which consists of cute rich girls who call each other Bunny. However, Samantha's life takes a surreal turn when she gets invited to the Bunnies' mysterious Smut Salon, taking her to a world where reality gets blurry, friendships clash, and imagination becomes both amazing and scary.

The Historian by Elizabeth Kostova

'The Historian' follows a girl as she searches deep into a mysterious place filled with her family's secrets tied to a terrible evil from long ago - Vlad the Impaler during the fifteenth century. His horrible acts may never end through the years. Finding the truth leads to an incredible journey across old churches, dusty archives, and cities in Eastern Europe. This story has caught readers worldwide in a beautifully written tale. It pulls readers in with suspense while twisting through time. Layer by layer, the past unveils its grip.

The Name of the Rose by Umberto

Set in 1347 Italy, Brother William of Baskerville investigates unusual deaths at a wealthy abbey. He aims to solve the abbey's mysteries with logic, faith, and what he has learned from nature. Guided by thinkers like Aristotle, Thomas Aquinas, and Roger Bacon, and his sarcastic humor and insatiable curiosity, William works with his student to untangle the clues in the stables and the abbey's giant library, decoding messages and old papers to uncover the truth. 

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Ace of Spades by Faridah Àbíké-íyímídé

In the novel 'Ace of Spades,' Devon and Chiamaka's promising start at Niveus Private Academy takes a strange twist when an unknown person, Aces, shares secrets about them through messages, putting their futures at risk. What starts as a weird joke turns into a dangerous game, forcing them to stop Aces before things become deadly.

This debut book of author Faridah Àbíké-íyímídé got everyone talking about how it mixed an action-packed story with important real-life issues. 

The Secret History by Donna Tartt

Donna Tartt's highly successful debut novel, 'The Secret History,' heeded the advice 'write what you know' during her time at a private liberal arts school in Vermont. Tartt went to Bennington College for four years and drew from that experience to craft her novel, but she denied a direct link between the fictional Hampden College in the book and her alma mater.

The novel follows a group of six students whose lives are turned upside down by a tragedy. Tartt uses a different way of storytelling, where the story takes place years later, to add more mystery, allowing reflections on what happened after and how the social dynamics were at Hampden College. 

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