GOTHIC LITERATURE

Gothic literature originated in the 18th century. It began with Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1765), which was enormously popular and was quickly imitated by other novelists and soon became a recognizable genre. It is devoted to tales of horror and dark, supernatural forces. It is the predecessor of modern horror fiction.

Gothic Motifs What makes a work Gothic is a combination of at least some of these elements:

Dungeons, underground passages, crypts and catacombs which, in modern houses, become spooky basements or attics.

Ruined buildings which are sinister or which arouse a pleasing melancholy.

Magic, supernatural manifestations or the suggestion of the supernatural.

Magic talismans symbolise supernatural forces or aspects of the hero’s personality.

A castle, ruined or intact, haunted or not.

Omens and ancestral curses.

Graveyards, churches and ruins are often used in confrontations with evil forces.

Shadows, a beam of moonlight in the blackness, a flickering candle, or the only source of light failing (a candle blown out or an electric failure).

The state of madness reflects realities beyond rational comprehension and includes behaviours characterized by abnormal mental or behavioural patterns.

Blood symbolises the paradox of the human condition. It represents life versus death, guilt versus innocence.

Horrifying (or terrifying) events or the threat of such happenings.

Characters of Gothic Literature The stock characters of Gothic fiction include:

The Damsel in Distress A curious heroine with a tendency to faint and a need to be rescued - frequently. She is almost always a young, beautiful woman, who has been placed in a dire predicament by a villain or a monster and who requires a hero to dash to her rescue. She is typically incarcerated in a castle or monastery.

Byronic Heroes The Byronic hero is a rebellious antihero who is sympathetic despite his rejection of virtue. He is intelligent, sophisticated, mysterious, charismatic, and attractive. He struggles with his integrity and has a troubled past.

Ghosts A ghost is a supernatural entity usually thought to be the spirit of a person remaining on Earth after their death. Ghosts are often depicted as haunting the living until a certain desire is met or some grievance was settled by the haunted.

Revenants Revenants are sentient creatures whose desire to complete a goal (usually to avenge its death) allows it to return from the grave as a creature vaguely resembling an intelligent zombie. Others are created by a powerful wizard returning a dead hero from the past to make him go on a quest that no living human would dare to undertake.

Werewolves A werewolf (also lycanthrope or wolfman) in folklore and mythology is a person who shapeshifts into a wolf, either purposely, by using magic, or after being placed under a curse.

Villains The villains are the bad guys, the characters who strive against the hero. Female villains are sometimes called villainesses.

The Devil The Devil is a title given to a supernatural entity who is the central embodiment of evil. This entity is commonly referred to by a variety of names, including Satan, Asmodai, Beelzebub, Lucifer and Mephistopheles. Christianity views Satan as an angel cast from heaven by God, for being prideful, deceitful, and the tempter.

Perambulating Skeletons Skeletons might be given 'life' by a more powerful undead or necromancer. When raised by another, skeletons are a mindless set of animated bones, brutal and virtually immune to a piercing attack that would only harm the flesh they lack. They are perfectly obedient and expendable foot soldiers or guards.

Magicians A magician is a person skilled in the mysterious and hidden art of magic, which can be described as the ability of those who claim to attain objectives, acquire knowledge, or perform works of wonder through the use of sorcery and supernatural or non- rational means.

The Wandering Jew The Wandering Jew is a figure from Christian folklore, a Jewish man who, according to legend, taunted Jesus on the way to the Crucifixion and was then cursed to walk the earth until the Second Coming.

Demons A demon is a malevolent, supernatural being.

BOO!