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Gothic fiction, sometimes called Gothic horror (primarily in the 20th century), is a loose literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name refers to Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, which was characteristic of the settings of early Gothic novels.
The term Gothic novel refers to European Romantic pseudomedieval fiction having a prevailing atmosphere of mystery and terror. Its heyday was the 1790s, but it underwent frequent revivals in subsequent centuries. The first Gothic novel in English was Horace Walpole’s Castle of Otranto (1765).
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- Characters
- Atmosphere
- Themes
- The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole
- Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
- The Fall of The House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe
- Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
- The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Dracula by Bram Stoker
- The Turn of The Screw by Henry James
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Characters in Gothic fiction often find themselves in unfamiliar places, as they — and the readers — leave the safe world they knew behind. Ghosts are right at home in the genre, where they’re used to explore themes of entrapment and isolation, while omens, curses, and superstitions add a further air of mystery.
The atmosphere of eeriness is as important as the scariness of the events themselves. In a Gothic novel, the sky seems perpetually dark and stormy, the air filled with an unshakable chill.
In addition to exploring spooky spaces, Gothic literature ventures into the dark recesses of the mind: the genre frequently confronts existential themes of madness, morality, and man pitted against God or nature. Physical and mental ruin go hand in hand — as the ancient settings decay so do the characters’ grips on reality. If you're feeling overwh...
Some sources say that the Gothic truly began with The Castle of Otranto, an 18th-century melodrama by the English writer and politician Horace Walpole. Walpole had a fascination with medieval history, even building the imitation Gothic castle Strawberry Hill House in 1749. This supernatural story is framed as a rediscovered text, an antique relic f...
The story of Frankensteinhas haunted our collective imagination since its conception by Mary Shelley on one dark night. It’s a classic tale of man’s folly in the pursuit of dangerous knowledge: scientist Victor Frankenstein tries to play God by bringing life to reanimated corpses, but he is unable to confront the sight of the terrible thing he has ...
Edgar Allan Poe: master of mystery, poet of the macabre, and brooding Gothic icon. In his stories, Poe places his primary focus on psychological torment, turning inward from ominous Gothic atmospheres to explore the horrors of the mind. The Fall of the House of Usherbegins with the anonymous narrator’s arrival at the remote mansion owned by his fri...
Like other Gothic novels before it, Jane Eyremakes its setting the quintessential isolated house beset by secrets. The unquiet estate of Edward Rochester, where Jane works as a governess, has it all: a strange attic, winding halls, and imprisoned terrors. What makes Jane Eyrea beguiling development in Gothic literature is its focus on female interi...
Nothing encapsulates the themes of man’s psychological torment and self-destruction more vividly than Robert Louis Stevenson’s gripping novella. The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hydeis an account of a man with good and evil battling within himself as Henry Jekyll, a morally upright and well-mannered doctor, struggles against the vile urges of...
The book that launched a thousand vampire stories, Bram Stoker’s Draculais a haunting horror romance that gave us one of the most memorable and mesmerizing of Gothic figures. Count Dracula needs almost no introduction: his name is already synonymous with unquenchable bloodthirstiness. The count lives in the faraway land of Transylvania in a castle ...
Are the ghosts in the house real? Or are all those scratching sounds and screaming voices coming from inside your head? Henry James’s novella The Turn of the Screwproves that the greatest horror of all is this state of unknowing, not being sure of one’s grip on reality. In this story, a young governess works in an English country house caring for M...
Learn about the history and elements of Gothic literature, a genre that combines terror with pleasure, death with romance, and the old with the new. Discover ten essential reads that shaped the genre, from The Castle of Otranto to Dracula.
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Jan 23, 2020 · Gothic literature is a subgenre of Romantic literature that uses dark and picturesque scenery, startling and melodramatic narrative devices, and exoticism to create a mood of mystery, fear, and dread. Learn about the development, major writers, and influence of Gothic literature, and how it connects to Gothic architecture and other genres.
Nov 18, 2023 · What is Gothic literature? Gothic is a genre with a rich history that still exists today through the works of authors like Stephen King. Learn more about its characteristics.
Sep 15, 2019 · Learn the definition, elements, themes, and examples of Gothic literature, a genre that concerns itself with elaborate tales of mystery, suspense, and superstition. Explore the history and influences of the genre, from medieval architecture to Romanticism, and discover some classic novels that exemplify its features.
Gothic literature arose at the end of the eighteenth century during a time of social, political, and economic unrest. Thus, it was and continues to be described as a reactionary genre devoted to returning repressed societal fears to our attention so we might expel them.
