Elements of a Gothic Horror Novel

• At some point in the story the victim is isolated either physically or psychologically.

• Characters often have to travel large distances to get safely to civilisation across difficult terrains.

• Or Characters are trapped psychologically by the villain in some way e.g. emotional or physical deprivation or simply others don’t believe in the happenings around them

The Type of Dwelling• The action takes place in or around an old

castle, stately home etc.• This place is sometimes abandoned

sometimes occupied.• It often contains secret passages, trap

doors, secret rooms, dark or hidden staircases, and possibly ruined sections.

• It may be connected to caves which provides us with a extra claustrophobic feeling.

An atmosphere of mystery and suspense.

• The genre is often full of a sense of the unknown.

• The plot is built around mystery

• An unknown parentage

• A disappearance

• A strange unknown personality

An ancient prophecy

• Is connected to castle and its inhabitants.

• The prophecy is usually obscure, partial, or confusing. We find ourselves asking what could it mean?

• In modern times it can be as simple as the last person who… or it is said…about this place etc.

Omens or visions

• A character may have a disturbing dream of vision warning them to stay away.

• Or they might see shadowy vision trying to ward them away or a series then disbelieve what they have seen.

Supernatural or otherwise unexplained events

• Dramatic things happen or are seen:

• Ghosts

• Inanimate objects come to life

• Things disappear and reappear.

• In some books this things are given a natural explanation whilst in other novels they remain in the supernatural realm.

High emotion

• Characters often display strong and uncontrollable emotions; anger, sorrow, surprise, and especially, terror.

• Characters suffer from feelings of impending doom.

• Crying and emotional speeches.

• Breathlessness and panic.

• In films; screaming is common.

Pursuit of the heroine • Every good horror has a female in distress• The come across as weaker and therefore

are used by the author to heighten emotions.

• Women are often used by males to do things that are intolerable as a dominance of power

• Often the horror is pursuing the women• Or the hero is pursing the woman to try

and save her.

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).

• For example, the film industry likes to use metonymy as a quick shorthand, so we often notice that it is raining in funeral scenes.

The vocabulary of the gothic.

• The vocabulary of the gothic. The constant use of the appropriate vocabulary creates the atmosphere of the gothic.