Gothic

Needs Work 🛠️

This page requires improvement. Please help us by expanding it. If you are unsure how to help, check the article guide Format and Content.

Not to be confused with Gothic architecture or the Goth subculture.

Gothic is an aesthetic characterized by an atmosphere of fear and haunting, drawing inspiration from Gothic architecture of the European Middle Ages, viewed through the lens of Romanticism. The term "Gothic" initially referred to the architectural style prevalent from the 12th century. This architectural style, which used pointed arches and flying buttresses, provided the setting for early works of Gothic fiction.

The first work identified as Gothic was Horace Walpole's 1764 novel The Castle of Otranto. The aesthetic developed in the late 18th century and continued into the 19th century through the works of authors such as Clara Reeve, Ann Radcliffe, William Thomas Beckford, Matthew Lewis, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, Mary Shelley, Charles Maturin, Walter Scott, and E. T. A. Hoffmann. The influence of Gothic aesthetics persisted throughout the early Victorian period in the novels of Charles Dickens and the Brontë sisters, as well as in the writings of American authors Edgar Allan Poe and Nathaniel Hawthorne.

Later examples of Gothic fiction include Dracula by Bram Stoker, The Beetle by Richard Marsh, and Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. In the 20th century, the Gothic aesthetic remained influential in the works of authors such as Daphne du Maurier, Stephen King, Shirley Jackson, Anne Rice, and Toni Morrison, and its influence extended beyond literature to visual arts, fashion, film, and music, including the Goth subculture.

The Gothic aesthetic primarily appeals through its sense of horror, mystery, and beauty, often linked to European "Old World" superstition and rural culture. Within the literary genre, numerous tropes and stock characters became codified, frequently involving themes of illness, mental instability, and the undead, such as ghosts and vampires.

Influences[]

Misconceptions from Real Gothic Architecture[]

In the beginning of the start of Gothic literature, the old cathedrals and buildings were starting to become ruins and filled with mystery, horror, and darkness. However, to the medieval churchgoers, the buildings looked quite different to what most people imagine is a Gothic building now. Because of accumulated smoke, Gothic buildings at the time of the literary movement were dark, gloomy, and evidence of the paranoia and superstition of Medieval peoples. True Gothic buildings during the medieval period were bright, filled with light, and had rainbow-colored stained-glass as a celebration of beauty and light.^[1]

Edmund Burke's Aesthetic Theories[]

This page is under construction

History[]

The first Gothic novel is credited to The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole, published in 1764. It inspired many of the Gothic tropes that persisted throughout the genre: ancient prophecies, a castle that seems alive, and concern over sexuality and familial bloodlines. His fascination with Medieval art and ways of thinking is what inspired the novel, and this association with the era will continue throughout the genre.^[2]

Later, multiple authors published other novels during the same time period: Clara Reeve, Ann Radcliffe, William Beckford, and other authors wrote novels that affirmed Gothic tropes of horror and the supernatural.

Influence on Other Aesthetics[]

Goth Subculture[]

Goth is a subgenre of rock music. Goth music is about "swirly" sounding guitars, a notable bassline and sparse percussion. It could be said that goth music borrows from gothic media. In fact, Bela Lugosi's Dead was inspired by the original actor of the same name, Bela Lugosi. Bauhaus have shown their love for other types of gothic media, such as merchandise that features The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari. Goth fashion, especially subgenres like Romantic Goth, is heavily inspired by the Gothic aesthetic.

Visual[]

Antique furniture
Black cats
Blood
Bones and skeletons
Candelabras and chandeliers
Coffins
Dead and decaying landscapes
European Moorlands
Ghosts dressed in white
Grimy true Gothic cathedrals
Insanity
Memento mori/Vanitas motifs
Old-fashioned tombstones that are crumbling/weathered
Ravens, omens of death
Red velvet
Storms and rain
Vampires
Victorian mansions

Media[]

For more works in this genre, see the TVTropes page.

Artists[]

Abigail Larson
Aubrey Beardsley
Edward Gorey
Gustave Doré
Harry Clarke
Kay Nielson
Vincent Price (actor)

Comics[]

The Addams Family (1938)
Aspects of Batman
Lenore, the Cute Little Dead Girl

Literature[]

Dracula by Bram Stoker (For more vampire fiction, see Vampire)
Frankenstein by Mary Shelley
Jamaica Inn by Daphne du Maurier
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
My Cousin Rachel by Daphne du Maurier
Northanger Abbey by Jane Austen. Parody of Gothic novels.
Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier
Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
The House of the Seven Gables by Nathaniel Hawthorne
The Scarlet Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne
"The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
The fiction of Edgar Allan Poe
The fiction of H.P. Lovecraft
We Have Always Lived in the Castle by Shirley Jackson
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

Movies[]

Book adaptations aren't included, as there are many variations.

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Nosferatu (1922)
The Others (2001)
Crimson Peak (2015)
Tim Burton's body of work

Theatre[]

Macbeth and Hamlet by William Shakespeare. (These actually predate Gothic literature, but the motifs match.)

TV Shows[]

Hannibal (2013)
Penny Dreadful (2014-2016)

Video Games[]

Quake (1996)
Haunting Ground (2005)
Hellgate London
Gears of War (2006
The Fallen London games
The Amnesia series
Bloodborne (2015)
Layers of Fear (2016)
Arcaea (2017)
Blasphemous (2019)

Music[]

Please note that this is different to Goth music, which includes rock, electronic, and other contemporary elements. The music of Gothic media tends to be sinister-sounding classical music, often with organ.