The Power of Darkness

1. The Power of Darkness By: Skylar King, Will Knowles A’kacia McCoy Jordan Mooney

2. Who are Hawthorne and Melville? • Hawthorne was a famous writer whose works were often drawn from the Puritan past. He was also a descendant of one of the judges from the Salem Witch Trials. • Melville was a friend of Hawthorne, and was also a writer. He was famous for his romantic tales of adventure. He used his stories to explore the mystery of the evil he saw in the lives of humans and nature. His most famous work is Moby Dick. • Both Hawthorne and Melville thought Emerson to be “unrealistic” and “nonsense.” They both lean toward the darker aspects of writing.

3. What is Gothic Horror? • Gothic Horror is the dark side of European Romanticism. The main points of gothic horror are the atmosphere and mood. A classic example is Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. • Setting is also a major factor of gothic horror. Many of the characters are driven mad and often contained in dark, decayed dwellings.

4. What is the Terror of the Soul? • Edgar Allen Poe was the first American master of Gothic Horror. Many people like his dark works because it confronts their own fears. • Poe explains that, “The terror of which I write is not Germany [the setting of much gothic fiction], but of the soul.” Poe uses his fears as the basis of his short stories.

5. What do Poe’s stories interpret? Why are they so dark? • Poe’s stories illustrate that his works should have a single unique effect. He invented a new type of fiction called the detective stories. • His first detective story was The Murders in the Rue Morgue. This story combines Gothic horror with solid reasoning.