Gothic Horror: The Architecture of Dread.
The Genre Genealogy Series.
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Welcome, welcome, welcome!
To the next instalment of The Genre Genealogy Series, where we explore the anatomy and trace the roots and influences of different genres together. As voted by you, this month we’re taking a deep dive into the macabre world of Gothic Horror.
Visit The Ink-Stained Desk publication page to read these previous instalments of this series.
NOTE: I have changed the layout of this series a little this time around. Instead of finding book recommendations at the end, you will now find that each evolution of the genre will have its own recommendations within the section. I felt that having a separate section for recommendations just resulted in me repeating what I have referred to in the other sections, if that makes sense. If you’d rather have a separate section, let me know! I’m open to suggestions!
Introduction.
It can be hard to separate Gothic Literature and Gothic Horror; they contain many of the same characteristics, and I have found that some scholars use the term interchangeably (—which I can tell you makes for difficult research!). These are different, though, Gothic Horror being a specific pocket of the Gothic. For the sake of mentioning them, other pockets include, but are not limited to, Southern Gothic, ‘enter your choice of country’ Gothic (—literally this can be American, Australian, Japanese, you name a country and there is bound to be a gothic genre linked to it), Supernatural Gothic, Psychological Gothic, and my all time favourite, Gothic Romance, or as I would rather call it, ‘Women Running From Houses’ (—this genre will definately be making an appearance in the Genre Genealogy Series very soon!) (—Take into consideration also that make of the above overlap and intertwine with each other.)
For this deep dive, I am going to my very best to stick with discussing only Gothic Horror, if I get a bit off track, I apologise in advance, but I will track back. (— If I don’t, someone just reel me in, please!)
The Anatomy of Gothic Horror.
In order to follow notable works that inspired and influenced Gothic horror through history, we first need to be able to identify these works. So, what makes gothic horror different from other types of horror?
Atmosphere of Gloom and Decay: Think ancient, decaying settings like dilapidated castles, isolated mansions, haunted abbeys. Also, the settings are not just backdrops; they are active participants, often mirroring the internal turmoil of the characters. I would go so far as to say that these decrepit buildings can be treated as characters within their own rights. Also, let’s not forget the weather is always stormy, foggy, or perpetually overcast.
The Supernatural or Seemingly Supernatural: While not always overtly supernatural, there is almost always a strong suggestion of it. Ghosts, vampires, curses, and inexplicable phenomena are common, and they contribute to the ongoing sense of unease and terror. Even when rational explanations are offered, the first assumption is usually something supernatural.
Psychological Torment and Madness: Protagonists, particularly female ones, often experience intense psychological distress, isolation, and even madness. Secrets, often dark and buried, play a crucial role, slowly eroding the sanity of those who uncover them. The horror often stems from internal struggles as much as external threats.
Confined Spaces and Imprisonment: Characters often find themselves physically or psychologically trapped. This could be literal imprisonment within a castle, or a more metaphorical entrapment within societal norms, familial curses, or their own minds.
The Burden of the Past: History, particularly a dark or scandalous past, is a large part of Gothic Horror. Ancestral sins, forgotten crimes, and hidden inheritances often fuel the plot, asserting their power over the present generation.
At its heart, Gothic Horror thrives on atmosphere, psychological tension, and a pervasive sense of decay – moral, physical, and often, familial.
Gothic Horror Roots and Influences.
Although the Gothic genre (—and consequently Gothic Horror), didn’t ‘officially’ emerge until the mid-18th century, as a reaction to and an evolution of various preceding artistic, philosophical, and literary movements, we can find its influences.
Note: Any and all of the following texts and stories will not satisfy every characteristic of the Gothic Horror genre that is outlined above. These are roots and influences that lead up to, in other words, they are not explicitly Steampunk texts in and of themselves.
Mythology.
As regular readers of The Genre Genealogy Series know, every genre can be traced back to myth. Of course, no traditional mythology directly features Gothic Horror, but many strongly resonate with the characteristics of the genre.
Links in this section will take you to webpages that provide stories and information for each myth.
Banshees (Irish Folklore): While not explicitly named in many early Gothic novels, the wailing, foreboding female spirit predicting death aligns with the ominous atmosphere and premonitions often found in the genre.
Draugr (Norse Mythology): Undead beings guarding their treasures, often with immense strength and a repulsive aura. While not directly translated, the concept of a powerful, physical revenant can be seen as an ancestor to some monstrous figures.
Demons and Demonic Possession (Medieval Christian lore): Devils and demonic influence provided a rich source for villains and plot devices. Lewis's The Monk is a prime example, explicitly incorporating pacts with the devil and demonic temptation.
Early to mid-18th century: The Proto-Gothic.
While Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto (1764) is generally credited as the first ‘true’ Gothic novel, it didn't appear in a vacuum. Leading up to this time, the various ingredients that would eventually form Gothic Horror were simmering. I think it’s important to point out that Gothic (Horror) fiction was not ‘invented’, it grew. It was a result of a culmination of the following:
Shift in Aesthetic Sensibility: The Rise of the Sublime: The Enlightenment prioritised reason, order, and classical beauty. However, a counter-current began to emerge, particularly with Edmund Burke's A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful (1757). Burke argued that while ‘beauty’ was pleasing, ‘sublime’ experiences (— those evoking awe, terror, vastness, darkness, danger, here we see the gothic link) held a more profound and powerful aesthetic impact.
Medieval Revivalism (sometimes referred to as ‘Gothic’ Revival): There was a growing fascination with the medieval past. Horace Walpole himself was a key figure in this. He renovated his home, Strawberry Hill, in a deliberately ‘Gothic Revival’ style, complete with battlements, turrets, and stained glass. This personal immersion in a mock-medieval environment directly inspired The Castle of Otranto. This architectural trend showed a shift in taste towards the archaic, the dramatic, and the picturesque ruin.
Graveyard Poetry: This subgenre of poetry, focused on themes of death, mortality, melancholy, ruins, churchyards, and the transient nature of life. Thomas Gray (‘Elegy Written in a Country Churchyard’, 1751) and Edward Young (‘Night Thoughts’, 1742-1745) created a distinctively gloomy and introspective atmosphere that can be felt in Gothic prose. Their work cultivated a taste for the macabre and atmospheric.
Early Gothic Horror.
Published within a relatively short period, these texts formed the core of what we now recognise as early Gothic horror. They experimented with setting, character, plot, and the balance between psychological and supernatural dread, laying the groundwork for the genre's huge popularity.
Links below will take you to free ebooks which you can read online or send to your ebook reader, thanks to Project Gutenberg.
The Castle of Otranto (1764) by Horace Walpole:
This is widely acknowledged as the first Gothic novel. Walpole deliberately combined elements of medieval romance (chivalry, a fantastical setting) with the realism of the contemporary novel, introducing the haunted castle, a tyrannical villain, a persecuted heroine, and overt supernatural occurrences.
The Old English Baron (1777) by Clara Reeve:
Written partly in response to Otranto, Reeve aimed to create a more realistic Gothic. She toned down the obvious supernaturalism, making the mysterious events more ambiguous and eventually explained. It still featured a lost heir, a usurping villain, and a decaying estate.
Vathek (1786) by William Beckford:
An Oriental Gothic novel, Vathek brought a new flavour to the genre. This one is known for its exotic setting, focus on extreme sensuality, depravity, and a protagonist who descends into moral corruption, making a pact with supernatural entities. It leans more towards the horror side of the spectrum with its emphasis on transgressive desires and infernal punishments.
The Monk (1796) by Matthew Gregory Lewis:
This novel famously veered sharply from Radcliffe's terror into explicit horror. It's sensational, featuring overt supernaturalism, sexual transgression, violence, incest, and satanic pacts. Its shocking content created a scandal but also demonstrated the genre's capacity for exploring darker, more explicit themes.
Let’s Talk about Ann Radcliffe.
Ann Radcliffe significantly shaped Gothic horror by pioneering the explained supernatural, where seemingly ghostly events are eventually given rational explanations. This technique created intense psychological suspense and terror, distinct from the overt horror of her contemporaries. Her detailed descriptions of sublime landscapes and grand, mysterious settings also profoundly influenced the genre's atmospheric qualities and aesthetic. (—I very much would like to dedicate an entire Substack article to Ann Radcliffe in the future.)
A Sicilian Romance (1790) by Ann Radcliffe:
One of Radcliffe's earlier works. It features a trapped heroine, a tyrannical father, hidden passages, and a pervasive sense of mystery and terror, often hinting at the supernatural before providing rational explanations.
The Romance of the Forest (1791) by Ann Radcliffe:
This novel further cemented Radcliffe's reputation. It refines her use of suspense, the explained supernatural, and the picturesque descriptions of atmospheric landscapes and ruined buildings. The heroine, Adeline, navigates a series of perilous situations and dark secrets.
The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794) by Ann Radcliffe:
This is arguably Radcliffe's most famous and influential work, embodying the peak of the explained supernatural Gothic. It's a sprawling tale of a sensitive heroine, Emily St. Aubert, imprisoned in a formidable castle, facing psychological torment and threats from a sinister guardian, Montoni, amidst a constant interplay of terror and beautiful scenery. It set the standard for female Gothic. If you are going to read any Radcliffe, read this one!!
The Italian (1797) by Ann Radcliffe (Note: This is in 3 volumes):
Often seen as Radcliffe's response to The Monk's explicitness, The Italian is a tighter, more focused narrative that returns to her strength of psychological terror and suspense, featuring a scheming monk (Schedoni) and a convent setting, but still maintaining the ambiguity of the supernatural.
The Gothic Horror Golden Age (19th Century).
While the earlier period established the foundational tropes (castles, damsels, explained supernatural), the 19th century deepened the psychological elements, expanded the settings, introduced new monstrous figures, and began to grapple with emerging anxieties of the Victorian era.
Shift from External to Internal Terror: While 18th-century Gothic often focused on external threats (tyrants, supernatural events), the 19th century delved deeply into the human mind. Madness, psychological torment, obsession, and inherited guilt became central. The horror became less about explicit external threats and more about the uncanny feeling of dread and psychological decay.
Scientific and Societal Anxieties: The rapid advancements of the Industrial Revolution and scientific discovery (Darwinism, new medical understanding) fueled new fears. Gothic texts began to explore the dangers of unchecked scientific ambition, moral corruption, societal decay, and the anxieties of a changing world.
Expansion of Settings: While castles remained, the Gothic moved into urban environments (e.g., London's foggy streets), domestic spaces (the haunted house), and even the wild, untamed landscapes of the British Isles.
New Monsters and Villains: Beyond the simple tyrannical lord, the 19th century introduced iconic figures like the Frankenstein monster, the vampire, and the doppelganger, who often embodied societal fears or ethical dilemmas.
Key 19th-Century Gothic Horror Texts:
There are so many, and if I listed them all, I don’t think they would fit, but here are a few of my favourites. (—I still have not put together a single instalment of this series without mentioning Frankenstein.)
Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus (1818, revised 1831) by Mary Shelley:
A monumental shift for the genre. It merges Gothic horror with early science fiction, exploring the terrifying consequences of scientific ambition, unchecked creation, and parental neglect. The monster is a complex, sympathetic figure who elicits both fear and pity, challenging notions of humanity and monstrosity.
Melmoth the Wanderer (1820) by Charles Maturin: An epic novel, known for its extreme length and complex narrative structure (stories within stories). It features a Faustian figure who sells his soul for extended life, wandering the earth trying to find someone to take his place. It's intensely bleak, exploring themes of damnation, religious fanaticism, and the terror of isolation.
Works by Edgar Allan Poe (various short stories and poems, 1830s-1840s): Poe perfected the psychological Gothic. His stories like ‘The Fall of the House of Usher’ (1839), ‘The Tell-Tale Heart’ (1843), ‘The Black Cat’ (1843), and ‘The Pit and the Pendulum’ (1842) are masterclasses in unreliable narration, madness, paranoia, claustrophobia, and the grotesque. He moved the horror from grand castles to the tormented internal landscapes of his characters.
Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Brontë: (—this is without a doubt my favourite, I can’t tell you how many times I’ve read it!!) Thornfield Hall, with its secrets and the terrifying figure of Bertha Mason (the ‘madwoman in the attic’), serves as a powerful Gothic setting reflecting Jane's own confinement and the hidden darkness within patriarchal structures.
The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1886) by Robert Louis Stevenson:
An exploration of the dual nature of humanity, repression, and the dark side of Victorian society. Hyde represents the unleashed id, a monstrous alter ego born of scientific experimentation and moral degradation. It shifts the horror inward, making the individual the site of monstrosity.
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1890) by Oscar Wilde:
While a philosophical novel, it has deeply Gothic themes. It explores moral corruption, narcissism, and the horrifying consequences of aestheticism. The decaying portrait, hidden away, perfectly embodies the protagonist's hidden sins and acts as a Gothic haunted object.
Dracula (1897) by Bram Stoker: The definitive vampire novel and a culmination of 19th-century Gothic. It synthesises many earlier tropes (foreign evil, the supernatural, a terrifying villain, endangered heroines) with contemporary anxieties about sexuality, disease, immigration, and the clash between ancient superstition and modern science. It cemented the vampire as a central figure in horror.
20th Century Gothic Horror.
The 20th century saw a move away from the explicit supernatural and towards more psychological, symbolic, and often existential forms of horror. The genre diversified significantly, blending with other emerging forms of fiction.
Psychological Deep Dive: Following the late 19th-century trends (Jekyll and Hyde, Dorian Gray), the 20th century heavily emphasised internal torment, madness, and the subconscious. The most terrifying things often resided within the characters themselves.
Decline of the Traditional Castle: While haunted houses remained popular, the focus shifted from grand, decaying estates to more mundane or domestic settings that became uncanny and threatening. The horror could now infest the seemingly safe suburban home.
Rise of the ‘New Gothic’: This often involved a female protagonist in a seemingly safe domestic setting, only to find herself imperilled by a sinister male figure (often her husband or a family member) and a house that seems to conspire against her. This often explored themes of gaslighting, female repression, and psychological vulnerability.
Modernism and Postmodernism: Gothic forms were reinterpreted through modernist lenses, emphasising fragmented narratives, unreliable narrators, and existential alienation. Later, postmodern Gothic played with genre conventions, intertextuality, and often irony or satire.
Key 20th Century Texts:
Links here will take you to the title’s Goodreads page.
The Turn of the Screw (1898) by Henry James: (Bridging 19th and 20th) A psychological ghost story par excellence. The governess's narrative blurs the lines between genuine supernatural haunting and her potential descent into madness, becoming a foundational text for psychological Gothic.
Rebecca (1938) by Daphne du Maurier: A timid second wife moves into a grand estate haunted not by a ghost, but by the overwhelming presence and legacy of the deceased first wife, Rebecca. It masterfully explores psychological manipulation, identity, and the oppressive power of the past.
The Haunting of Hill House (1959) by Shirley Jackson: A landmark in psychological horror. Jackson explores how a haunted house preys on the psychological vulnerabilities of its occupants, particularly Eleanor Vance, blurring the lines between external haunting and internal breakdown. It's less about jump scares and more about pervasive dread and character disintegration.
We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1962) by Shirley Jackson: A perfect example of "domestic Gothic" and Southern Gothic influence (though not set in the South). It explores isolation, inherited madness, and a deeply unsettling sense of normality within a highly abnormal family unit, told from the perspective of an unreliable narrator.
The Bloody Chamber (1979) by Angela Carter: A collection of feminist fairy tale retellings imbued with Gothic sensuality, violence, and subversion of patriarchal narratives. Carter reclaims and transforms traditional Gothic motifs with a postmodern, often explicit, flair.
21st Century Gothic Horror.
Gothic Horror continues to thrive by being incredibly adaptable, blending with other genres, exploring new global contexts, and reflecting contemporary fears.
Genre Blending/Hybridity: Gothic elements are frequently interwoven with fantasy, science fiction, historical fiction, thrillers, and even romance, creating complex and nuanced narratives.
Global Gothic: The genre is no longer primarily confined to Western European or American settings. Authors from diverse cultural backgrounds are adapting Gothic tropes to explore their own histories, folklore, and societal anxieties, leading to new forms like Mexican Gothic or African Gothic.
Postcolonial and Intersectional Readings: Contemporary Gothic frequently re-examines classic tropes through a postcolonial or intersectional lens, giving voice to marginalised characters, critiquing historical injustices (e.g., slavery, colonialism), and exploring how the monstrous or haunting elements relate to systemic oppression.
Technological Anxieties: While less overtly Gothic, the fear of AI, surveillance, and digital hauntings can be seen as modern iterations of the Gothic's concern with unknown forces and inescapable threats.
Domestic and Suburban Decay: The domestic sphere continues to be a site of horror, exploring dysfunctional families, hidden abuses, and the dark underbelly of seemingly perfect lives.
Key 21st Century Texts:
The Little Stranger (2009) by Sarah Waters: A take on the traditional English ghost story, blending psychological depth with a pervasive sense of decay and social critique. The haunting of Hundreds Hall reflects the decline of the English aristocracy post-WWII. (—also a very good movie!)
House of Leaves (2000) by Mark Z. Danielewski: A highly experimental, postmodern novel that is profoundly Gothic in its core. It features a house that is inexplicably larger on the inside than the outside, constantly shifting and growing. The terror comes from spatial disorientation, the unknown, and the psychological unravelling of those who try to map or understand it. Its fragmented narrative and footnotes enhance the sense of pervasive dread and maddening mystery. (—I bought myself a copy of this for Christmas, but I’m scared to begin.)
The Hacienda (2022) by Isabel Cañas: A Latin American Gothic. Set after the Mexican War of Independence, it features a young woman who marries into a wealthy family and finds herself in a haunted, isolated house, navigating both supernatural threats and the sinister intentions of her new family.
Academic Texts for those Inclined.
There are so many wonderful texts that go into the anatomy of Gothic Horror and the Gothic in general. I have found the best collection to be the Gothic Literary Studies series by the University of Wales Press. (—there’s even one specifically about Stephen King’s gothic, which I have yet to get to but am very excited about!)
Killeen, Jarlath. ‘The Creeping Unknown: Re-Making Meaning in the Gothic Novel.’ The Emergence of Irish Gothic Fiction: History, Origins, Theories, Edinburgh University Press, 2014, pp. 79–105.
Hennelly Mark M. Jr. ‘Framing the Gothic: From Pillar to Post-Structuralism’, College Literature. The Johns Hopkins University Press. Vol. 28, No. 3 (Fall, 2001), pp. 68-87 (20 pages)
I forget how much I love putting this series together, but also how much work it takes. I hope you enjoyed this deep dive into Gothic Horror and the Gothic genre in general. If you have any requests for the next Genre Genealogy Series, please let me know!
Have a wonderful week.
C M Reid at The Ink-Stained Desk.
This is so well researched! The romantic notion of gothic and spooky enthrall me. Love the information and detail you provide. I've never heard of Ann Radcliff and now I want to read one of hers.
Brilliant article! I am a lover of all things gothic, too!
I haven’t read House of Leaves. I bought a copy many years ago and my sweet, perfectly behaved cat Willow, attacked it. Any time the book was in the same room as her, my gentle fluffy kitty would violently claw at it. It sounds silly but I didn’t read it because of her bizarre reaction!
I’d love an entire article on Ann Radcliff and any other gothic sub-genres.
Thanks so much for your article- I always enjoy your writing 💜