A Thorny Subject

[Cap'n Rick]

Got it after the nudges. Was my first thought from the grid, but I gothic means nothing to me. I still don't know what the Gothic features of the grid are, even after reading the hints.

Same same and same.

Sorry, @Dplass. I thought the PM I sent you yesterday cleared up the mystery. I'll send you another.

[Dplass]

Got it after the nudges. Was my first thought from the grid, but I gothic means nothing to me. I still don't know what the Gothic features of the grid are, even after reading the hints.

Same same and same.

Sorry, @Dplass. I thought the PM I sent you yesterday cleared up the mystery. I'll send you another.

Oh yes I understand NOW but I didn't understand or know what was going on until your PM.

[Cap'n Rick]

Day 3 - Another 7 Muggles are off the couch bringing our solver total to 66:

andeux
JHSeeman
david
jbird
mkmf
bhamren
JeanneC

[KayW]

Nudged off the thorny gothic couch. (should not have needed the nude ) Elegant!

[Dplass]

Nudged off the thorny gothic couch. (should not have needed the nude ) Elegant!

If you're getting a nude, I'm doing it wrong!

[KayW]

I would fix my typo but that's too funny!

(can I blame auto-correct?)

[LesY]

The WSJCC is funny, but this board is REALLY funny! lol

[Cap'n Rick]

Nudged off the thorny gothic couch. (should not have needed the nude ) Elegant!

That would be a different literary genre...

[Cap'n Rick]

Day 4 - Another 7 Muggles are off the couch bringing our solver total to 73:

Carolyn B
Johnny Luau
KayW
LadyBird
Golem
Charles Montpetit
bereolos

[Alvibu67]

Got it! Confirmed on Crosshare. Great puzzle and great piece of literature that I just read for the first time last year!

Thank you!

[Cap'n Rick]

Day 5 - Three more Muggles bring our solver total to 76:

edestlin
Alex R
Alvibu67

Please let me know if I've missed anyone.

[Cap'n Rick]

Day 6 - Two more Muggles bring our final total to 78:

Naptown Kid
kyakkat

Thanks for solving, everyone!

[Cap'n Rick]

And now for the reveal!

The meta answer is "The House of the Seven Gables" by Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hints for solving included 21A-HOUSE , 27A-SALEM, and 55A-SEVEN as well as 21D-HARDG and 52D-LONGA. The seven Gothic features depicted in the grid - the GABLES - were arranged in gable shape and symmetrically placed as shown below:

The other Gothic "features" (e.g. GORE, WAILS, NAILS, GRAVE, RAT, etc.) were simply distractions. A few of you mentioned Clark Gable, so I couldn't resist putting together this alternate "House of Seven Gables" graphic:

Thanks for solving, everyone!

Until next time, smooth sailing!
Cap'n Rick

[MikeyG]

The best place to hide a leaf is in the forest. I actually never knew that was a Gothic novel, and I love my literature, so I'm a little embarrassed, haha.

I was too distracted by the upside down L- and T-shapes and the little crevices that some of them formed. I thought I saw seven of them going down the middle, and I thought the letters were going to spell something, but I just couldn't make it work. But what a great construction! Forgot about the nudges since I was too busy watching the Cubs lose.

I also was going to share a Clark Gable pun, but it's gone with the wind now. (The Butler did it.)

Thanks for the great puzzle!

Mikey G

Edit: OH! Hawthorne. Thorny. I give you an A for that (but not a scarlet letter).