Free Write What scares you?

Literary Movement which began in 1764 with the publication of English author Horace Walpole’s novel The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story. Discuss with your table what you believe to be the elements of a scary/Gothic story. Make a list to share with the group. What components do horror stories typically have? Example: Murder

Elements of Horror Literature Terror Madness & Insanity Ghosts Haunted Houses Darkness

The Best Scary Story Origin You’ll Ever Hear The year: 1818 The players: Lord Byron (British poet), Percy Shelley (British poet), John Polidori (British writer), and Mary Shelley (wife of Percy) The contest: To see who could come up with the scariest story The winner?

Gothic Literature Timeline A Spooky Century Dracula 1897 Frankenstein 1817 The Tell-Tale Heart 1843 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow 1820 Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde 1886 The Monkey’s Paw 1902

What is it about that Gothic Lit…? “The hypothalamus in the brain signals to the adrenal glands that it's time to produce adrenaline and other stress hormones. The adrenal glands produce adrenaline by transforming the amino acid tyrosine into dopamine. Oxygenation of dopamine yields noradrenaline, which is then converted into adrenaline. Adrenaline binds to receptors on the heart, arteries, pancreas, liver, muscles and fatty tissue. By binding to receptors on the heart and arteries, adrenaline increases heart rate and respiration, and by binding to receptors on the pancreas, liver, muscles and fatty tissue, it inhibits the production of insulin and stimulates the synthesis of sugar and fat.”

What is it about that Gothic Lit…? More commonly known as… an ADRENALINE RUSH. There is a chemical reaction that happens in your brain when you are exposed to fearful stimuli.

Edgar Allan Poe 1809 - 1847 “Where was the detective story before Poe breathed the breath of life into it?” – Arthur Conan Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes “In 1841, before the word “detective” had entered the English language, Poe published the first modern detective story “The Murders in the Rue Morgue.”  In this tale, Poe established the prototype future mystery writers would follow.  First, there would be a seemingly impossible crime, in this case a double murder occurring inside a room still locked from the inside.  Then the detective character analyzes the clues in order to solve the mystery.  To explain to the audience just how intelligent the detective is, the narrator is not the detective but his slightly dim-witted side-kick.” (www.poemuseum.org)

Edgar Allan Poe 1809 - 1847 Horror Short Stories “Berenice” “The Black Cat” “The Fall of the House of Usher” “The Masque of the Red Death” “The Pit and the Pendulum” “The Premature Burial”

Question for you: What is insanity? Poe & Insanity Question for you: What is insanity? From The Simpsons: Lisa looks in awe as her rival classmate has created a diorama depicting “The Tell-Tale Heart,” using a ticking metronome beneath the floorboard to represent the victim’s beating heart.

Question for you: What is insanity? Poe & Insanity Question for you: What is insanity? “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” -Albert Einstein

Question for you: What is insanity? Poe & Insanity Question for you: What is insanity? Insanity is: “mental illness of such a severe nature that a person cannot distinguish fantasy from reality, cannot conduct her/his affairs due to psychosis, or is subject to uncontrollable impulsive behavior.”

Poe & Insanity Question for you: What is insanity? According to U.S. law, if a person commits murder but is found legally insane, they are not responsible for their actions and will be given psychiatric treatment in lieu of jail. Do you agree with this?

Poe & Insanity We will be splitting into two teams: the PROSECUTION and the DEFENSE. The prosecution will set out to prove that the narrator of “The Tell-Tale Heart” was not insane and is responsible for his actions. The defense will set out to prove that the narrator of “The Tell-Tale Heart” was insane when he committed the murder and is not responsible for his actions.