Karamanoğlu Mehmetbey Üniversitesi Edebiyat Fakültesi Dergisi

Öz

The novel Canvermezler Tekkesi by Selim Nüzhet Gerçek, the brother of the well-known novelist Abdülhak Şinasi Hisar, which was first serialized in İleri newspaper in 1921, and published in 1922, reunites with today’s readers under the name of “The First Turkish Gothic Novel”and under the category of “Kayıp kitaplıklar kütüphanesi” in 2020 by the Karakarga publishing. The work has been simplified and translated into today’s Turkish by Merve Köken. Selim Nüzhet Gerçek adapted his novel from the French writer Claude Farrere’s work titled La Maison des Hommes Vivants (The House of the Undead Men) published in 1911, which was translated into English as The House of Secret. The novel is set in a dervish lodge in a desolate and unknown area, is accompanied by mysterious events, characters with supernatural powers. It contains several gothic elements along with an increasing thrill and suspense and detailed psychological descriptions of the main character. The elements of uncertainty and fear/horror are used effectively throughout the novel. The common motifs such as “a character losing his way”, “ghosts”, “desolate places”, “secrets”, “murders” can be seen in the novel. Although it is an adaptation of a French novel, Canvermezler Tekkesi is an important milestone for the one-hundred year-old Turkish Gothic Literature. The work should be accepted as one of the pioneers of the gothic novels written in Turkish with its high content of gothic elements and the fact that it benefits from the local culture. Being one of the founding elements of the Turkish gothic novel tradition and incorporating conventional gothic elements make this novel worth examining.