This document discusses elements that are common in Gothic literature and scary movies. It notes that Gothic stories often involve an old, mysterious setting like a castle with secret passages. They create an atmosphere of suspense and mystery around prophecies, omens, supernatural events, and an unreliable narrator. Female characters are frequently portrayed as being in distress or threatened by a powerful male. Gothic works also employ ominous sounds and imagery to convey gloom and horror. Examples are provided of movies and stories that exhibit Gothic elements, and criticism of the genre is addressed.

1. What’s Your Favorite Scary Movie
 Think about a scary movie you enjoy…
 What happens—plot?
 Where does it take place—the setting?
 Why do people like to be scared?

2. The Dark Romantics
Gothic Literature
1760-1820…and beyond

3. “Can we speak of ‘ghosts’
without transforming the
whole world and
ourselves, too, into
phantoms?”
Jean-Michale Rebaté

4. 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)
 Was considered ugly, barbaric, archaic

5. Gothic Architecture
First Gothic Cathedral
build in 1144
 Gargoyles (originally
for religious buildings)
 Vaulted ceilings
 Structural ribbing
(skeletal)
 Stained glass

6. Art Influences
“The Nightmare”
Johann Heinrick Fuseli

7. 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
 Said that the inspiration of his story was a dream
that was so haunting, he had to write it down

8. 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

9. 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)
 This is achieved by the next three elements…

10. 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

11. 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
 If the statue of the lord of the manor falls over, it
may predict his death

12. 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

13. Elements of Gothic Literature
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

14. Elements of Gothic Literature
7. Women in distress
 Female characters often face
events that leave them fainting,
terrified, screaming, and/or
sobbing
 Lonely, pensive, and oppressed
heroine, often the central figure
 Her sufferings are even more
pronounced and the focus of
attention than the other characters
in the story

15. Elements of Gothic Literature
8. Women threatened by a
powerful, tyrannical male
 A male character (king, lord of
the manor, father) has the
power to demand the female
character/s do something
intolerable
 May be commanded to marry
someone she does not love , or
commit a crime, keeps her
locked away

16. Elements of Gothic Literature
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).
 Metaphors use words. Metonymy uses images and
sound

17. Elements of Gothic Literature
 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
 Rain
 Sighs, moans, howls
 Clanking chains
 Lights in abandoned rooms
 Doors suddenly slamming
shut
 Crazed laughter
 Children

18. Elements of Gothic Literature
10. Unreliable Narrator
 Character telling the story
isn’t trustworthy
 Villain narrates
 Narrator is or goes insane as
the story goes on
 Narrator has limited
information

19. Is your movie Gothic?
 Setting
 Mystery
 Ancient prophecy
 Omen/Vision
 Supernatural
 High emotion
 Women in distress
 Women being threatened by man
 Metonymy
 Unreliable narrator

20. Examples
 The Ring Trailer:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6HaoRF
gSUw
 GEICO ad:
 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AWv-
dIUP9oc

21. Criticism
Gothic tradition has not been very highly regarded
 Attracted many “big” writers: Keats, Melville,
Faulkner
 but it is usually not these works that are highlighted
 Women also wrote in this genre
 Jane Austin (Northanger Abbey), Mary Wollstonecraft
Shelley (Frankenstein)

22. Revivals
 1818: Frankenstein
 1897: Dracula
 1960’s: Gothic was the best-selling mass market fiction
 1970-present: Stephen King
 2005: biggest money making movie genre,
averaging $75 million per movie in box office
sales

23. The Master: Poe
 Edgar Allan Poe is the master
of gothic literature
 He is famous for this use of
personal tragedies, especially
with women, in his work
 Poe is most popular because
of his mastery of fear,
suspense, and death

25. Poe’s biography
 As most authors do, Poe used his personal life
as motivation to write

27. Poe
 With the exception of “The Raven,” not famous in
his own time
 His literary criticism made him more enemies
 He didn’t make much money on his writing
 Died of unknown causes, destitute and alone
 Shortly after his death, rival author/frenemy
Rufus Griswold set out to ruin Poe's reputation
with a lurid biography that painted him as a drug
user and madman. The scheme backfired when
Poe's sales skyrocketed and a legend was born.

28. Works Used
 Bayer-Berenbaum, Linda. “Elements of a Gothic.” Horror. Ed. Michael Stuprich. San Diego:
Greenhaven Press, 2001. 72-83.
 “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.
 Harris, Robert. “Elements of the Gothic Novel.” VirtualSalt. 2005. 6 March 2005.
http://www.virtualsalt.com/gothic.htm.
 Williams, Anne. “The Gothic Novel.” Horror. Ed. Michael Stuprich. San Diego:
Greenhaven Press, 2001. 62-71.
 Wolfreys, Julian. Victoria Haunting: Spectrality, Gothic, the Uncanny and Literature.
Houndsmills: Palgrave, 2001.