✨ Nocturne Book Club Holiday Edition ✨

Saturday, December 20 • 7:00 PM • Nocturne, Salem MA

Step through the doors of Nocturne on a December night, where winter shadows gather, velvet curtains soften the glow of candlelight, and the store’s holiday decorations cast a spell all their own. For one special evening, our community will gather in the spirit of literary devotion and Victorian winter revelry as we explore Virginia Feito’s chilling and elegant novel Victorian Psycho.

This gathering is inspired not only by the gothic tensions of the story but also by its unforgettable Christmas morning imagery. The novel’s quiet sense of dread rising beneath scenes of holiday finery creates a feeling that is both beautiful and unsettling. It mirrors the magic of the season when wonder and darkness sit side by side. Our holiday party styled book club brings that mood to life within the warm embrace of Nocturne.

We will begin with a lively conversation about the book, diving into its psychological spirals, its lush Victorian setting, and the strangely haunting Christmas morning that lingers in the background of the narrative. You are warmly invited to arrive in your finest Victorian inspired attire if the spirit moves you. Lace, velvet, mourning wear, touches of Dickensian flair, or even a single dramatic accessory are all welcome. There is no pressure to dress up, but we always enjoy a bit of seasonal theatricality.

After our discussion, those who wish to continue the evening’s enchantment will gather around the fire as only a shop in Salem can conjure it for a beloved tradition.

In Victorian times, Christmas morning was not just a moment of gifts and light. It was a threshold between warmth and the unknown. Families and friends would gather to tell ghost stories in honor of that mysterious borderland. We will revive the tradition together. You may read, tell a tale, or simply listen as the room glows around you.

Expect warm ambiance, spirited conversation, a touch of macabre holiday cheer, and the magical feeling that only Nocturne can create on a winter night.

Virginia Feito’s novel introduces us to a woman whose perfect exterior conceals a gathering storm of fear, repression, and unraveling identity. The story is rich with tension and filled with quiet moments where the familiar becomes strange, especially during its scenes of Christmas morning serenity that carry an undercurrent of unease. Feito uses these moments to show how even the brightest rituals can cast the longest shadows.

As the heroine’s tightly controlled world begins to fracture, the novel glides between elegance and dread, offering a portrait of a woman slipping from grace with exquisite precision. Readers who enjoy Rebecca, The Yellow Wallpaper, and character driven psychological horror will find much to savor.

This book speaks directly to the soul of Nocturne. It is lush, shadowed, ornate, and lingering with that unique blend of beauty and danger that defines the Victorian imagination.

Virginia Feito is a Spanish American writer whose work blends dark humor, psychological tension, and elegant gothic sensibility. Raised between Madrid and Paris, she studied English and drama before working in advertising, where she developed her sharp ear for character and tone. Feito is known for her ability to peel back the glossy surface of polite society to reveal the unsettling truths beneath. Her writing is richly atmospheric, character driven, and filled with a quiet sense of dread that lingers long after the final page. Victorian Psycho continues her signature exploration of identity, illusion, and the shadows that live inside us.

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