The 7 Most WTF Moments in Classic Literature

"Being really old and vaguely important" is pretty much the defining trait of all classic literature. This combined with the fact that your teacher is forcing you to read it under threat of suffering or death (or just a zero on Friday’s quiz, whatever) means that studying books like Wuthering Heights is literally no one’s favorite thing to do.

But it’s not all just tedious symbolism and old-timey dialogue. Sometimes, things take a turn for the horrifying, even in the classroom favorites of the American education system.

Disclaimer: the following scenes of inexplicable literary weirdness will undoubtedly leave you wondering 1) how on earth you’re going to fit this into your response paper, and 2) if it’s possible to bleach your eyeballs. Also, spoilers.

This slideshow was originally published in October 2016