Psycho was a book first, and heavily inspired by Gothic tales. You don’t grab the reader and shake them, but whisper into their ear. A great Gothic story unsettles the reader, and in the most subtle ways. Gothic stories use tension and anticipation.Īnticipation is powerful. Picture the part before the jump scare, before any peak, where it builds up. Oliver Twist and Frankenstein contain no ghosts, but are called Gothic tales. The feeling that hits your neck, with goose bumps, and unidentified fear, that’s Gothic. Wait until complete darkness, and close your eyes. Implied fear, and terror that builds with a slow arc… That is Gothic. Stories are creepy, and not just all jump scares. The past always comes back, in most Gothic stories. Store visitors can buy their heart’s desires, but at a deadly price. The Picture Of Dorian Gray is one example: the character’s sins scar his painting, but with consequences. What else haunts the characters or scenes?
Gothic fiction always plays with this simple rule.Ī haunting is more than ghouls and ghosts. Emotion is used to build tension – to haunt. Gothic work weighs the past against the present. The Haunting Of Hill House and Dracula used bold, large settings. It can be bold, but also small. Gothic locations are the places where you don’t want to be alone (in the dark). Setting is used to unsettle. Buildings themselves can be scary. It uses graveyards, churches, and abandoned places.
The Gothic genre is named for the architectural style. Castles, cathedrals, and mansions are a Gothic fiction staple. Gothic is easy to identify, and challenging (but fun) to write. People or places can also be haunted by memories, timelines, or things. Gothic atmosphere is dark and tense. People and places are always haunted, or unsettled. A Gothic story might have ghosts, but not always. Abandoned buildings, large mansions, bold structures, or ruins are common.
Here are the elements of great Gothic fiction. A Gothic story is about haunting, but not always about ghosts.Īuthors Mary Shelley, Shirley Jackson, Stephen King, and Eudora Welty have all written something Gothic. Settings, characters, and times are always eerie. ‘Gothic fiction’ was first coined in 1764, with The Castle Of Otranto. In this post, Writers Write explores the elements of Gothic fiction.
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