What is Gothic Horror?

Gothic Horror fiction is catagorised due to by the features in the stories of; fear, horror, the supernatural and darkness, but also due to involving characters such as vampires, demons, heroes/heroines and villains.

What differs it to horror fiction is that it contains other elements such as the a plot based on mystery, romance, lust and dread.

Originating in the late 18th century, this type of fiction was a sub-category of the larger ‘Romantic Fiction’ movement that wanted to stimulate strong emotions in the reader, often lust however this adaptation of the writing style instead focused on the reader relating though fear and apprehension.

The name of the genre is believed to have come from the medieval architecture often used in the description of the stories settings.

Gothic Horror Subject’s

This style places a strong emphasis on making the audience understand and feel the atmosphere of the story; it succeeds through using the detailed setting description and specific adjectives to help build suspense and a sense of unease in the audience. Commonly stories describe; a supernatural being, family curses, mystery or madness. Gothic Horror fiction often involves a romantic plot or subplot, particularly in later tales dating from the Victorian era and the 20th century.

Although the novel is often considered the best example of this genre, some poetry and short stories can also be characterised as Gothic Horror.

Times and Places

Gothic Horror fiction often is set within the past, sometimes romanticizing them however primarily to aid the story to seem more dark and apprehensive.In its early days, this writing style was often anti-Catholic and so used medieval settings to show-what their authors believed to be-abuse and opposition of Catholic power.

Modern examples of this type of fiction have continued the tendency to look to past eras, often using such settings as colonial America, Victorian England or even as recent as early 20^th century to set short stories in.

This new and more recent use of 20^th Century settings gives, like the medieval period of the 18th and 19th centuries, many writers the use of the settings to help portray the romanticization and moral criticism and doubt needed for the genre.