MP4: WHAT MAKES SOMETHING FRIGHTENING?
ESSENTIAL VOCABULARY NOTES
1. GOTHIC LITERATURE (also referred to as “GOTHIC HORROR”): A genre
of literature in which the setting plays a pivotal role. Gothic Lit combines
elements of horror and the romantic. The name Gothic refers to the (pseudo)medieval buildings in which many of these stories take place.
Gothic lit and film is often parodied today.
a. Elements of Gothic Lit (some are clichés): Damsel in distress, mysterious
people, castles, melodrama,nannies, small children, gates, night-time,
darkness,supernatural, macabre, foreshadowing through mood, especially
weather (storms, howling wind, etc.).
Manderley, the setting for most of Rebecca by Daphne DuMaurier
b. Famous American Gothic Writers: Edgar Allan Poe, William Faulkner,
Flannery O’Connor, Henry James and even ___________________ – most
were from the South.
Why is Harper Lee – who, aside from Boo Radley – we would never think of as a
“horror” or “suspense” writer – on this list?
c. Gothic Lit originated in _______________. Examples of famous Gothic
authors from this country include:
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (often wrote his poetry while on drugs)
Lord Byron
Percy Bysche& Mary Shelley (she wrote ____________)
Bram Stoker (he wrote ________________)
2. THE GROTESQUE: Characters are usually considered grotesque if they
induce both empathy and disgust. Give me an example of any LITERARY
characters that evoke this type of emotional response in the reader:
_______________________________________________________________
3. SUSPENSE: a state or condition of mental uncertainty or excitement, as in
awaiting a decision or outcome, usually accompanied by a degree of
apprehension or anxiety. In literature, suspense can be established immediately
through ________________ and/or ____________________, but then builds
slowly throughout the novel, short story, etc.
4. SUPERNATURAL:pertaining or referring to anything unexplainable or
abnormal
5. MACABRE: grim, ghastly, emphasizing the details and symbols of death
________________ was famous for using this motif in his many poems & short
stories, as he had lost many important women in his life, including his mother
and wife.
6. SUBLIME (imagery): beautiful, evoking ecstatic feelings in the
reader/audience. Juxtaposition of ________________.[Also, a famous 90s
SKA/reggae band.]
7. DOPPELGäNGER: German translation is something along the lines of “one
split into two.” We consider this word to mean a “ghostly double or counterpart of
a living person.” Not necessarily an evil twin, you can also think of a
doppelganger as two people who look eerily similar. Examples of doppelgangers
would be ___________& ___________ (famous novel and Broadway show), or
_________________________ and _________________________ from A Tale
of Two Cities.
“Who is your celebrity doppelganger?” was, for a time, a trend on Facebook.
8. FRAME TALE:
________________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________________
Examples: _______________________________________________________