WRITING A GOTHIC SHORT STORY
Before you start writing, look over the following for ideas and guidance.
Writing character
Gothic horror embraces stereotypes. This does not mean that your characters need
to be utterly predictable, but their roles should be easily recognisable. Likely the
first character you create will be the hero or anti-hero. There should be at least one
character in your gothic story that readers will like, even if he or she has some dark
tendencies. Mary Shelley’s Victor Frankenstein is a great example of a hero who is
good, even though he creates a monster.
Your task: write ...
a character sketch of your story's hero, and
a short third person narrative episode in the life of her or him, and
a short monologue (first person) from her/his point of view.
Writing setting
Describe the setting for a gothic horror story:
Recall/Imagine the creepiest place you’ve been. Crumbling buildings, haunted
houses, and old castles are typical settings for gothic fiction: a place that was once
living, but has since fallen into decay.
Writing in a Time period
Choose a time when your story will take place:
- Will take place in the past or present?
Many gothic fiction stories take place a century or even further in the past. A story
about the past can make supernatural events and strange characters seem more
real to your readers.
- Or, write in the present and include elements that take the reader back to an older
time (ie. steampunk!). Bram Stoker includes modern technology (for the time) and
ancient things in Dracula. He uses typewriters and trains, but he also includes
vampires and an ancient castle.
- The bottom line is that gothic fiction is both time-locked (into a specific time and
place), and time-free, in that it uses technologies and thinking from ancient times
to the present!
Writing a wacked idea (theme) that just might be possible
At its core the gothic story is wacky and, ironically, plausible. It must be logical in a way. It must
make some sense (be possible: Okay … but … ?), but it must be crazy – wacked. It’s not that the
idea is impossible, it’s that there’s no rational evidence to prove that it’s ever happened. It’s a
strange and contradictory mix of supernatural forces with rational science – it’s both religious
and atheist. It’s about tension we feel between our brains (reason - science) and our hearts
(emotions – fear and love).
Examples of this?
Frankenstein’s monster
(he finds a way to bring life to body parts from cadavers)
Dr Jekyll & Mr Hyde
(he finds a potion that turns him into an “evil twin”)
Dracula
(a person who drinks the blood of others and lives forever because of it)
Zombies
(you know about zombies)
Werewolves
(people who turn into wolves during a full moon)
Witches & Wizards – Harry Potter, etc.
(people who live secret lives in which they wield supernatural powers)
The monster-partner within
(The Hulk; daemons;
… and so on
TASK
Dream up and write a wacked premise for a gothic story. Aim to imagine something influenced
and inspired, but different – new!