Gothic Horror Fiction
Gothic horror fiction is a literary genre that has lasted hundreds of years — examples of gothic fiction are still being released today, and are quite popular. The word “gothic” gets tossed about quite a bit. These days, you will usually hear the term “goth” applied to a certain type of young person who favors black clothing, exotic makeup, and gloomy music. The word “Gothic” implies much more than the fact that you purchase your clothes at the local Hot Topic store — it has a rich tradition and an interesting beginning.
The term “Gothic” was invented by writers of the Italian Renaissance who blamed the general “ugly” nature of 15th century art and architecture on people from the northern tribes of Germany — barbarian tribes known collectively as “the Goths”. These people preferred a certain style in their art and their architecture, a wild and untameable style characterized by extremely thick walls, towers that pierced the sky, and arches that were incredibly steep. According to the Italian Renaissance, the effect of all this excess was a general “confusion”. The Gothic schools of art and architecture, featuring tons of rib vaults, flying buttresses, and more gargoyles than you could shake a stick at, create a sense of “sublime gloom” on our minds — think of the feeling you get walking about a graveyard and you’ll understand the feeling of walking through a Gothic castle.
Horace Walpole (1717-1797) is the first author to have become so obsessed with Gothic style he couldn’t bear to not release a novel featuring Gothic influence. The son of a famous politician, Horace Walpole was a famous writer of his time who lived in an estate called Strawberry Hill, eventually transforming the once modest piece of land into the most famous Gothic building of its time. It was at Strawberry Hill that Horace had a dream which would lead to the beginning of a new literary genre: Gothic horror.
Horace Walpole dreamed that he was in a dark and creepy castle, and standing on the uppermost banister of a long and winding staircase was a gigantic hand in full armor. The next evening he began to write about the dream — a bit of Gothic writing that would become The Castle of Otranto, the first Gothic horror novel ever written.
The gothic horror genre remains as popular today as it was 250 years ago. Do you like stories or movies that combine horror with a touch of romance? Do you like to read about creepy old castles, supernatural events, magicians and monsters? If you said yes to any of these, you’re a fan of gothic horror.
There are many gothic horror genre conventions — aspects of a book or story (or even a film) that identify it as “Gothic”. These can be tricky to find, as many writers seem to shy away from the “Gothic” label, but at the end of the day, if a piece of art concentrates on certain aspects of the human mind or experience, it is considered “Gothic”.
The most prominent features of Gothic horror fiction are terror and mystery. This is far too wide a definition, as simply including a bit of horror and mystique in your text would hardly qualify it as “Gothic”. But it is this cocktail of that which is horrible and that which is mysterious that sets our minds in that delightfully Gothic place, somewhere between fear and arousal.
If gothic horror fiction is sounding a bit “wide open”, that’s because it is. Most “scary stories” written in the past 250 years could be considered “Gothic”. Gothic texts tend to focus on supernatural experiences, ghosts and hauntings, haunted houses (especially those featuring Gothic architecture), creepy castles, an overall sense of darkness, decay (either of the human body or of physical structures), family curses, insanity, secrets and lies, and death. Sound familiar? You’ve probably read or watched many examples of the Gothic without realizing it. For instance, most scholars believe Stephen King to be a writer of gothic horror — consider the short novel Christine about a car which comes to life to dole out punishment. If that’s not Gothic then I don’t know what is.
Gothic horror stories can be found everywhere and have never lost that special pull that keeps readers coming back for more. The best known of all writers of Gothic stories in probably Edgar Allen Poe, whose work embodies all that is Gothic. In “The Pit and the Pendulum”, Poe abandons his usual fascination with the supernatural in favor of pure human terror — his character, facing a horrible death, describes his fear in great detail as doom creeps ever nearer. In his very short story “The Oval Portrait”, a newly married artist paints a portrait of his bride, spending so much time on the painting that he neglects her. As soon as the portrait is finished, the artist shouts “This indeed is Life itself!” only to turn and find that his wife has perished. These are but two examples from Edgar Allen Poe, who many consider to be the master of the Gothic story.
Most people in the 21st century will be familar with Gothic tradition through horror movies — and there are plenty of gothic horror movies to be viewed. 1994′s incredibly popular Interview with the Vampire is Gothic in its concentration on the supernatural, the “curse” of vampirism, and pleny of erotic and sexual overtones. Even films like 1987′s Hellraiser show their Gothic side — though Hellraiser was sequeled to death by the 90s, the original film is a nonstop bit of Gothic beauty concentrating on puzzles, mystery, violence, and excess that would have made Poe proud. 1977s cult classic Suspiria is another example of the Gothic in film, containing excessive violence as well as edge-of-your-seat suspense and a storyline concentrating on witches and magic. Even films you would never suspect as anything more than a bit of horror contain elements of the Gothic, the best example of which is Stephen King’s The Shining. Released in 1980, this film about a haunted hotel (which resembles a castle) made millions at the box office by blending the beautiful with the terrible. The film is not strictly a psychological thriller — I don’t know about you, but those scary twin girls still haunt my nightmares — but still contains enough mental horror stimulation to be considered Gothic. The scene where Jack (played by Jack Nicholson) is about to make love to a beautiful woman only to find she is a horrible monster is pure Gothic horror.
Now that you’re familiar with gothic horror fiction, get out and read some. If you’re in the market for gothic horror books, the following list will not disappoint. These are the most popular and famous “Gothic” texts, and will get you started on the road to that sublime place in the mind composed of fear and beauty.
- The Castle of Otranto — Horace Walpole
- Frankenstein — Mary Shelley
- Confessions of an English Opium-Eater — Thomas de Quincey
- Wuthering Heights — Emily Bronte
- Gothic Tales — Elizabeth Gaskell
- The Picture of Dorian Gray — Oscar Wilde
- Dracula – Bram Stoker
- The Turn of the Screw — Henry James
- The Phantom of the Opera — Gaston Leroux
- Rebecca – Daphne du Maurier
- Other Voices, Other Rooms — Truman Capote
- The Haunting of Hill House — Shirley Jackson
- Rosemary’s Baby — Ira Levin
- ‘Salem’s Lot — Stephen King
- Ghost Story — Peter Straub
- My Heart Laid Bare — Joyce Carol Oates
- Heart-Shaped Box — Joe Hill
This entry was posted on Sunday, May 3rd, 2009 at 6:34 am and is filed under Horror Fiction. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Mr Ray,
Not sure if this reached you before but we would like to become friends of your store but I’m not sure how to go about it.
My name is Francis and I’m contacting you from Craftsman Audio. We are branching into traditional horror fiction with M.R. James and the soon to be released complete works of J. S. Le Fanu (volume one of which features Carmilla), authors I hope your patrons will enjoy.
Please e-mail me and let me know how we can get involved with your project at Eerie Books.
Francis.
Craftsman Audio are also up on Facebook now.
Francis.
Thanks for this blog, it helped me loads
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Awesome article, gratz for finding the time to update stuff on the alternative scene. Continue with the great posts and help keep the scene alive!!!