Annotations After Dark

About Annotations After Dark

Hello! We're Claudine (aka, Ms. Aguilar to my students) and Michelle (aka, Ms. Bowen) and we're teachers sad about the fact that people aren't reading as much as they used to! (And that includes us!) So, do you want to read more? Or are you looking for something to motivate you to keep reading that book you just can't STOP putting down? ✨✨✨Join our Book Club Podcast! ✨✨✨ Every Season we'll pick a different literary Genre–but we'll always pick something that lets us sink our teeth into the darker and/or more demented side of things. (We are horror people after all!) So whether its Children's Lit (Peter Pan, anyone? 🧚🧜♀️☠️) or Russian Lit (Crime and Punishment 🔪🩸) we'll always find something to tickle the more demented side of your imagination's fancy. It is only fitting, then, that in our inaugural season, we start with ⚡️💀 THE GOTHIC TRADITION! 💀⚡️ Join us as we read horror classics such as Bram Stoker's Dracula 🧛🏻♂️, or Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 👨🏽⚕️🧟♂️. But for our very first novel? ❤️💔🖤WUTHERING HEIGHTS! 🖤 💔 ❤️ Every week Michelle and I will give you a couple of chapters to read. Then on Mondays we'll be posting our discussion. 🎉 Our first episode is April 13th! And we'll start with chapters 1-3 ❤️ Whenever we start a new novel, we'll give you a historical background and context episode so you can learn more about what you're reading. And then as we get into the novel, we'll do deep dives and discussions into a number of chapters and (hopefully) entice you to keep reading along to find out interesting tidbits or just our opinions on what you just read! So if you have to read for class and want help learning about, understanding, or just getting interesting ideas for your own class discussion, or whether you're just looking to expand your repetoir and want to bounce your ideas off a sounding board. . . Or even if you're just another under-the-cover-with-a-flashlight reader like us who misses talking about books with other people, we hope you'll join our podcast! Because after all: ✨🌖 All the best Annotations Happen after Dark! 🌖✨ Enjoy your Fear!

Publisher

Claudine Gittel Aguilar

Category

arts · education

Language

en

Explicit

Yes

First episode

17 Apr 2026

Latest episode

23 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

10 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   23 Oct 2026

   Wuthering Heights: Ep 3–❤️🖤 "Is it Love? Baby Don't Hurt Me" 💔💔

   Wuthering Heights Episode 3: ❤️🖤 Is This Love? (Baby Don't Hurt Me) 💔💔 ❤️🖤 In which we discuss: 🖤 ❤️ TRIGGER WARNING: SA Abuse: Physical, Psychological Animal Cruelty 📚 Chapters 10-17 OR Vol 1. 10-14 and Vol. 2 1-3 📚 1:11–And So We Begin: We begin our discussion with Heathcliff's returning home and a quick summary of the themes of chapters 10-17 such as love and trauma bond and healthy relationships as well as characterization. We're not quite sure this is "The Greatest Love Story Ever Told" 3:39–A Brief Summary of the story so far in Chapters 10-17. We remind you where we left off in the novel with Catherine trying to choose between Linton and Heathcliff, and Heathcliff hearing Catherine's indecision, runs away. In Chapter 10 we fast forward. It's been 3 years, Catherine is now married, and Heathcliff returns hell bent on his revenge, and we give you the fallout of Heathcliff's vengeance trope, and the fallout from this "Love Triangle" 9:45–First Discussion: How does Heathcliff make his money, and how does it impact his relationships now that he's returned? How does society see him? What access does he now have to society? We discuss class, the lack of a "Name" –a family name– in the Victorian era. 15:17–Second Discussion: Despite having all this money, Heathcliff is hell-bent on revenge. We discuss the why's and how come's of this decision and what it says about Heathcliff as a character. 16:51–We get to Cathy and discuss this warped "Love" Triangle between Cathy and Linton and Cathy and Heathcliff. We discuss who Catherine is and what she wants and how there is a duality to her. She is torn between two worlds because she is not free to actually make decisions, and so she's torn between Linton and Heathcliff in the same way. And so through Catherine's indecision, we see Brontë's critique of society. 27:43 –We get into the rift that exists between Edgar Linton and Heathcliff. There is no love lost between these two! And they represent to sides of Catherine's needs and wants in society. We talk about the difference between these characters and why Catherine is torn between the two. 31:08 – We begin discussing Heathcliff's courting of Isabella as a perfect segue to how Isabella's character really exposing the trauma bonding and love that exists in these relationships. We discuss Isabella as a foil to Catherine, and why she falls for Heathcliff. We also explore Catherine's relationship with Isabella, and have a theory as to what her plan may have been with Isabella and Heathcliff to fulfill her own desires. 39:00–We continue our discussion with "What IS Love"? How do we know its really love and not just trauma bonding? 48:08–We discuss Catherine's pregnancy and the Climax of the novel. We discuss how Heathcliff tricks Hindley into giving up his inheritance. And how Heathcliff, after finding out that Catherine is pregnant, basically causes Catherine's demise as she dies in childbirth. Nellie becomes the mother figure for the baby as Edgar falls into a deep depression at the loss of his wife. 54:02–We discus Heathcliff's abuse of Isabella, and ATTEMPTED MURDER AGAINST A DOG (We are not ok). We also discuss Isabella's growth and her badassery. We discuss how we fall in love with Isabella, and we LOATHE Heathcliff and his abuse of Isabella. We end with Heathcliff being a most villainous Coward. 🖤 Please excuse the audio, I didn't realize my mic was not working! I tried really hard in post to fix it! ❤️ We hope you enjoy the show! Episode 1: Chapters 1-3 / Vol1–chps 1-3 (April 13) Episode 2: Chapters 4-9 / Vol 1, chps 4-9 (April 20) Episode 3: Chapters 10-17 / Vol 1, chps 10-14 – Vol 2. chps 1-3 (April 27) Episode 4: Chapters 18-27 / Vol 2. chps 4-13 (May 4) Episode 5: Chapters 28-34 /Vol 2. chapters 14-20 (May 11)

2. 

   22 Oct 2026

   Wuthering Heights: Ep 2 -👿 "Abu- See, Abuse Do" 😈

   📚 Chapters 4-9 📚 ❤️🖤 In which we discuss: 🖤 ❤️ 1) 1:23 – And so it Begins: We begin by discussing what this episode will be about and the different things we will be breaking down: Religious Hypocrisy, Trauma Bonding and Abuse, Generational Trauma, Race, and Gender Roles, especially in our two characters: Heathcliff and Catherine, as well as the beginning of Heathcliff's revenge plot 2) 3:16 – A Quick Summary: We begin with a recap of the first three chapters of the novel, and then jump right into a brief summary of chapters 4-9 all in one go and discuss how this isn't really a love triangle story in that its not about love: It's about possession and control 3) 8:43 – Introduction to Nellie, our new narrator. 4) 9:52 – The Family Tree. Here we have a visual breakdown (On Youtube) of the family tree and how all these characters are connected, related, and why they're all named the same dang thing! You ready? We also discuss race, class, and gender, in connection to this family tree. 5) 19:23 – We begin our discussion of the novel with Chapter 4: Who is Heathcliff? And the gossip of Nellie and Lockwood to find out, especially given that Heathcliff is 1) A person of color, and 2) has no nobility or stature in society 6) 21:40 – Our Discussion of Heathcliff as a Cuckoo: What does that mean and what does it represent in the novel. Also discussion of Birds throughout the novel. 7) 25:19 – Heathcliff's Race and outsider status. Where is he from? How did he get here? We give evidence that Heathcliff is a person of color. 8) 29:21 – We continue our Discussion of Heathcliff's background in chapter 5 and the religiosity in the novel, and its critiques of religious hypocrisy, especially given Heathcliff's background, as well as Emily Brontë's critique of organized religion 9) 34:32 – Heathcliff's Abuse both Physical and Educational: Catherine and Heathcliff's relationship and Hindley's being left out, as well as the abuse that Heathcliff faces because of Hindley after the death of Mr. Earnshaw because Mr. Earnshaw prefers Heathcliff. We discuss different instances of this childhood competition between Heathcliff and Hindley, and how Heathcliff isn't so innocent either. But we discuss how Heathcliff's abuse at the hands of Hindley sets up the conflicts that will develop as the novel continues, and will be the beginning of Heathcliff's vengeance 10) 44:00 –Claudine and Michelle debate why Heathcliff doesn't turn to Catherine in his hour of need and instead turns to vengeance. We discuss what the subversive is in Literature and how Heathcliff is a very subversive character, and how this subversive characterization might have affected Heathcliff's relationship with Catherine. And how Catherine's position as a woman in society hinders her as well. Do these two even love each other? A discussion is had that includes the Paradox of Privilege and how it affects these two characters. 🖤 Please excuse the audio, we had some technical difficulties. ❤️ We hope you enjoy the show! Episode 1: Chapters 1-3 / Vol1–chps 1-3 (April 13) Episode 2: Chapters 4-9 / Vol 1, chps 4-9 (April 20) Episode 3: Chapters 10-17 / Vol 1, chps 10-14 – Vol 2. chps 1-3 (April 27) Episode 4: Chapters 18-27 / Vol 2. chps 4-13 (May 4) Episode 5: Chapters 28-34 /Vol 2. chapters 14-20 (May 11)

3. 

   22 Oct 2026

   Wuthering Heights: Ep 2.2.– 👻 "Of Ghosts and Misanthropes" 👻 (A Novel Discussion)

   Ep 1 (p.2): 👻 "Of Ghosts and Misanthropes" And so it begins: We discuss how we're going to break down the novel in 5 ACTS and how we will be conducting our Podcast 1:25 – The Gothic Tradition: 1) Multiple Narrators: We begin our discussion on Wuthering Heights and discuss it as a Gothic Novel. We discuss how Wuthering Heights has multiple narrators and why Brontë may have set it up that way. 2) Reliable vs. Unreliable Narrators (2:47) and the importance of this to our narration, 3) And finally, The Supernatural (3:20) 4:02 – Chapter 1 Summary "An Annoying Tenant" We discuss Lockwood, who he is, how he fits into society, and how Heathcliff and him get along 6:28– Chapter 2 Summary "An Unwanted Geist" Lockwood comes back to Wuthering Heights. We discuss what Wuthering Heights Manor is like, and what Heathcliff's family is like and introduces us to the mystery: What's in the Easy Wing 8:43– Chapter 3 Summary "Ghosts of the Past." We begin the discussion of the mystery of the East Wing, and the names that are etched into the walls of this room. He finds a journal and begins to read it and falls asleep but THEN . . . A GHOST APPEARS. And Heathcliff goes insane. And thus the mystery of Wuthering Heights begins. 12:14 – We have a brief discussion on the framing of the novel. Why Brontë may have chosen to frame it around multiple narrators, unreliable narrators, and Lockwood, an annoying outsiders. 19:01 – What of the Ghost Story? Why does Brontë starts with the Ghost story? Why the Supernatural? We discuss the way Emily Brontë's religious upbringing may have inspired some of her writing, as well as the fact that she as surrounded by so much death given the town she grew up with, and that her family succumbed to. 25:46 – We discuss Heathcliff's description. We discuss race and its impact on this novel, and why erasing Heathcliff's race is so problematic. We use this description as an example of Race, Class, Gender and the idiocity that Lockwood represents in this novel. Tune in for our weekly book club! New Episodes every Monday, Starting April 13, 2026 Episode 1: Chapters 1-3 / Vol1–chps 1-3 (April 13) Episode 2: Chapters 4-9 / Vol 1, chps 4-9 (April 20) Episode 3: Chapters 10-17 / Vol 1, chps 10-14 – Vol 2. chps 1-3 (April 27) Episode 4: Chapters 18-27 / Vol 2. chps 4-13 (May 4) Episode 5: Chapters 28-34 /Vol 2. chapters 14-20 (May 11)

4. 

   22 Oct 2026

   Wuthering Heights: Ep 1.1– 👻"Of Ghost and Misanthropes"👻 (Intro and Info)

   Ep1 (p.1): 👻 "Of Ghost and Misanthropes" 👻 In which historical, biographical, and literary context is given. 1) And so it begins: Claudine discusses all the research she did for this book and hopes she won't bore you too much! 2) 2:36 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P2Ho-neKHk&list=PLrvNHA7n6H2OEbsngWYAHnsQ6WVvzUFya&index=1&t=156s) – Why should you research? We discuss why it is so important to do some contextual reading and investigation into the authors, the time period in which they lived and wrote about, the historical context, and the biographical context of the novel. 3) 7:07 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P2Ho-neKHk&list=PLrvNHA7n6H2OEbsngWYAHnsQ6WVvzUFya&index=1&t=427s) – Brief historical background: We give a break down on the Brontë family: Who were they, what structures did Emily Brontë grow up under, and who her influences were–and especially the town that the family moves into and how it would change the course of the family's history–including the fact that their house was next to the MOORS. 4) 10:04 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P2Ho-neKHk&list=PLrvNHA7n6H2OEbsngWYAHnsQ6WVvzUFya&index=1&t=604s) –The Moors: We talk about the Moors, what they are. How they contribute to the sublime and we begin discussing the Sublime. What does it mean? How does it factor into Gothic literature? What is its impact on this novel? 5) 13:57 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P2Ho-neKHk&list=PLrvNHA7n6H2OEbsngWYAHnsQ6WVvzUFya&index=1&t=837s&pp=0gcJCWMAwfN6Pr3D) – The Industrial Town: We talk briefly about the industrial revolution, the cemetery by which they lived, and the health issues of their environment, the high mortality rate of children in this town . . . and how this would lead to the death of Patrick Brontë's entire family. 6) 18:43 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P2Ho-neKHk&list=PLrvNHA7n6H2OEbsngWYAHnsQ6WVvzUFya&index=1&t=1123s) – Branwell Brontë: We discuss how strict gender roles meant that all the pressure was on their brother Branwell to fix his family's economic situation, and the lost hope he represented to his sisters and family given the strict gender roles of the time. 7) 21:40 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P2Ho-neKHk&list=PLrvNHA7n6H2OEbsngWYAHnsQ6WVvzUFya&index=1&t=1300s) – Strict Gender Norms: The girls had to figure out a way to make money to survive. We discuss the different options the girls had–or didn't have–and how they nevertheless found a way We discuss all the influences and inspirations for the sisters' writings. CORRECTION: Emily Brontë wasn't inspired by Percy B. Shelley ( Misspoke). She was inspired by the bad boy of literature: LORD BYRON. 8) 31:41 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5P2Ho-neKHk&list=PLrvNHA7n6H2OEbsngWYAHnsQ6WVvzUFya&index=1&t=1901s) – Race in Victorian England – We finish our discussion in this part of the episode with a discussion on Race in Victorian England. Episode 1: Chapters 1-3 / Vol1–chps 1-3 (April 13) Episode 2: Chapters 4-9 / Vol 1, chps 4-9 (April 20) Episode 3: Chapters 10-17 / Vol 1, chps 10-14 – Vol 2. chps 1-3 (April 27) Episode 4: Chapters 18-27 / Vol 2. chps 4-13 (May 4) Episode 5: Chapters 28-34 /Vol 2. chapters 14-20 (May 11) Brontë Movie References: To Walk Invisible on Amazon Prime Podcast References: Oh, and, em. Please forgive the loud background noise in this episode. I'm still learning how to edit, and I'm a fidgeter. I do better in the future! Promise!

5. 

   22 Oct 2026

   Annotations After Dark: Who We Are; What We're About!

   Find out who we are and what we're all about, and join our ✨📚✨Podcast Book Club! ✨📚✨ Been looking for motivation to 📚read more📚✨? We break down 📚 novels into chapters for you to read by a certain date📅, and turn those chapters into episodes to watch and listen to so you can you tune in for our discussion of those chapters! Can't follow along? No worries! ✨📚✨This is a go-at-your-own-pace bookclub. The point is to read! ✨📚✨ But if you are following along: Did we miss something? Or did you have something to add? Leave us comments and questions and we'll try to address them in the next episode! At the end of every novel, we'll host a zoom meet so that all who finished the book with us can jump and have one giant discussion on the novel. Then we'll move on to the next! ✨📚✨So Join Us and become an Avid Reader!✨📚✨ Because the ✨✨Best Annotation always happen After Dark✨✨–– 🔦🛌under the covers, with a flashlight in your hand 🛌🔦 as you promise yourself just one more chapter... Enjoy your fear! Follow us on Instagram for updates and links to zoom meets!

6. 

   24 Apr 2026

   BONUS EP 2: Wuthering Heights Quotes Discussion Chps 4-9

   ONLY ON YOUTUBE FOR THE TIME BEING–TECH DIFF. ❤️🖤 Hello, fellow Readers! 🖤❤️ While Michelle and I were preparing for episode 2, we decided to go over some quotes to remind ourselves of evidence we could use during our discussion. Luckily we were recording and I thought . . . maybe people . . . might(!?) . . . want to hear more quotes and analysis from the chapters? You never know! (I mean I would . . . ) (. . . but then I have very ✨📚unique📚✨ interests that not everyone might find " 🌈 fun 🦄") (🤩 like reading quotes and analyzing them with a friend🤩) . . . Anyhoo. If you ARE like me, however, these episodes might be right up your alley! In this Bonus Episode we cover Chapters 4-9 of Brontë's ❤️🖤Wuthering Heights 🖤❤️ and take deep dives into the quotes! Analyzing quotes can be scary, but once you get the hang of it, it makes reading so much more fun! ✨ So join us! We hope you enjoy your fear! ✨

7. 

   21 Apr 2026

   Ep 2: Wuthering Heights, "Abu-See, Abuse-Do"–Chps 4-9

   ONLY ON YOUTUBE FOR THE TIME BEING–TECH DIFF. Episode 2: 👿 Abu-See, Abuse-Do 😈 📚 Chapters 4-9 📚 ❤️🖤 In which we discuss: 🖤 ❤️ 1) Childhood trauma–and the thin line between trauma bonding and love, 2) Heathcliff's abuse–and which of the many he's subjected to is worse! and 3) And what finally drives Heathcliff and Catherine apart! 🖤 Please excuse the audio, we had some technical difficulties. ❤️ We hope you enjoy the show!

8. 

   17 Apr 2026

   Ep 1.2: Wuthering Heights, "Of Ghosts and Misanthropes"–Chps 1-3 (A Novel Discussion)

   ONLY ON YOUTUBE FOR THE TIME BEING–TECH DIFF. 💜Part 2 of Episode 1💜of our 📚Book Club Podcast 🎧 ✨📚✨Novel: ❤️🖤Wuthering Heights🖤❤️ 📚 Chapters 1-3 📚 Ep 1 (Part 2): 👻 Of Ghosts and Misanthropes👻 (A Novel Discussion)

9. 

   17 Apr 2026

   Ep 1.1: Wuthering Heights, "Of Ghosts and Misanthropes"–Chps 1-3 (Intro and Info

   ONLY ON YOUTUBE FOR THE TIME BEING–TECH DIFF. 💜Part 1 of Episode 1💜 of our 📚Book Club Podcast 🎧 ✨📚✨Novel: ❤️🖤Wuthering Heights🖤❤️ 📚 Chapters 1-3 📚 Ep 1 (Part 1): 👻 Of Ghosts and Misanthropes 👻 (Intro and Info)

10. 

    17 Apr 2026

    PROMO–Annotations After Dark

    ONLY ON YOUTUBE FOR THE TIME BEING–TECH DIFF. Find out who we are and what we're all about, and join our Podcast Book Club! Been looking for motivation to read more? We break down novels into weekly episodes to read, and then you tune in for our discussion!

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Based on episode analysis; this does not confirm that the show is currently accepting guests.