What’s Your Favorite Scary Movie

Do you like reading scary books or watching
scary movies?
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Think about a scary movie you enjoy


Why/why not?
What happens—plot?
Why do people like to be scared?
The Dark Romantics:
Gothic Literature
1760-1820 (…and beyond)
“Can we speak of ‘ghosts’
without transforming the
whole world and
ourselves, too, into
phantoms?”
Jean-Michale Rebaté
The Origins of the term
Gothic (“Gothick”)

Gothic
Originally referred to the northern
Gothic tribes that invaded Europe in
the 4th, 5th, and 6th centuries
 Later applied to Renaissance
architecture (critics thought the style
originated with the Gothic tribe)
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Was considered ugly, barbaric, archaic
Gothic Architecture
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First Gothic Cathedral
build in 1144
Gargoyles (originally
for religious buildings)
Vaulted ceilings
Structural ribbing
(skeletal)
Stained glass
Art Influences
“The Nightmare”
Johann Heinrick Fuseli
The Beginning

1764- Horace Walpole publishes The Castle of
Otranto: A Gothic Story anonymously
Contains essentially all the elements associated with
the genre
 Best-seller
 Had remodeled his home in “Gothick” style
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Said that the inspiration of his story was a dream that was
so haunting, he had to write it down
Elements of Gothic Literature

1. Setting
Action takes place in or
around an old castle
 Seems abandoned, or broken
down
 Has secret passages, doors,
rooms
 Usually very large, but seems
claustrophobic

Elements of Gothic Literature

2. An atmosphere of mystery or suspense
Feeling of being threatened or fearful
 Plot is built around a mystery (such as unknown
parentage, a disappearance, or some other
inexplicable event)
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This is achieved by the next three elements…
Elements of Gothic Literature

3. An ancient prophecy
Usually connected with
the castle or its
inhabitants
 Obscure, partial, or
confusing
 The characters struggle to
understand
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Elements of Gothic Literature

4. Omens, visions
Character may have a disturbing dream/vision
 Some phenomenon may be seen as an omen of
coming events
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If the statue of the lord of the manor falls over, it may
predict his death
Elements of Gothic Literature

5. Supernatural or otherwise inexplicable events

Dramatic or amazing events occur
Such as ghosts or giants, or inanimate objects (such as a suit of
armor or painting) coming to life
 In some works, the events are ultimately given a natural
explanation, while in others the events are truly supernatural

Elements of Gothic Literature
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6. High, overwrought emotion
Narration may be highly sentimental
 Characters are often overcome by anger, sorrow,
surprise, and especially, terror.
 Suffer from raw nerves and a feelings of
impending doom

Crying and emotional speeches are frequent
 Breathlessness and panic are common

Elements of Gothic Literature
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7. Women in distress
Female characters often face events
that leave them fainting, terrified,
screaming, and/or sobbing
 Lonely, pensive, and oppressed
heroine is often the central figure of
the novel
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Her sufferings are even more
pronounced and the focus of attention
than the other characters in the story
Elements of Gothic Literature

8. Women threatened by a powerful,
tyrannical male

One or more male characters has the power (king,
lord of the manor, father, or guardian) to demand
that one or more of the female characters do
something intolerable

The woman may be commanded to marry someone she
does not love (it may even be the powerful male himself),
or commit a crime
Elements of Gothic Literature
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9. The metonymy of gloom and horror

Metonymy is a subtype of metaphor, in which
something (like rain) is used to stand for something
else (like sorrow).
For example, the film industry likes to use metonymy as a
quick shorthand, so we often notice that it is raining in
funeral scenes.
 Note: that the following metonymies for "doom and
gloom" all suggest some element of mystery, danger, or
the supernatural…
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Elements of Gothic Literature
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Wind, especially howling
Doors grating on rusty
hinges
Footsteps approaching
Gusts of wind blowing out
lights
Characters trapped in a
room
Baying of dogs (or wolves)
Thunder and/or lightning
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Rain
Sighs, moans, howls
Clanking chains
Lights in abandoned rooms
Gusts of wind blowing out
lights
Doors suddenly slamming
shut
Crazed laughter
Criticism

Gothic tradition has not been very highly
regarded
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Even though it attracted many “big” writers: Keats,
Melville, Faulkner
not these works that are highlighted
 Considered their “hobby writing”
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Women also wrote in this genre
Jane Austin (Northanger Abbey)
 Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (Frankenstein)
 Ann Radcliffe (The Mysteries of Udolpho (1764)
 were best-sellers
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Mass-market appeal vs. literary appeal
Revivals
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1818: Frankenstein
1897: Dracula
1960’s: Gothic was the best-selling mass-market
fiction
1970: Stephen King
2005: biggest money making movie genre,
averaging $75 million per movie in box office
sales
Works Used

Bayer-Berenbaum, Linda. “Elements of a Gothic.” Horror. Ed. Michael
Greenhaven Press, 2001. 72-83.
Stuprich. San Diego:
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“Door: Metal: Squeaky Metal Restroom Door in Building: Close: Slow Creak.” Sound Ideas. 2007.
Unitedstreaming. 17 April 2007. http://www.unitedstreaming.com/>.

The Gothic Imagination. Ruthford: Associated University Press, Ltd., 1982.

“Gothic Architecture.” Wikipedia Online. 2005. 6 March 2005
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gothic_architecture.
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Harris, Robert. “Elements of the Gothic Novel.” VirtualSalt. 2005. 6 March 2005.
http://www.virtualsalt.com/gothic.htm.
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Williams, Anne. “The Gothic Novel.” Horror. Ed. Michael Stuprich. San Diego:
Greenhaven Press, 2001. 62-71.
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Wolfreys, Julian. Victoria Haunting: Spectrality, Gothic, the Uncanny and Literature.
Houndsmills: Palgrave, 2001.