Gothic Horror

1. Gothic Horror The Dark Side of Individualism

2. The Possibility of Evil • Many writers of the 1800’s were unable to buy into the optimism of Transcendentalism due to horrors they had witnessed in their own lives and families. • Gothic Horror tends to explore the same ideas – ambition, human potential, the human mind – but in a much darker sense • Transcendentalists explored our limitless positive potential • Gothic Horror writers explored our limitless potential for evil, as well as the reasons a person might become evil

3. The Path to the Dark Side • What causes a person to become “evil”? • Insanity • Many things fall under this category, including obsession, a hunger for power, delusions of grandeur, and etc, as well as actual mental illness, such as paranoia, hallucinations, depression, and rage • Fear • When people are terrified of violence, pain, persecution, death, the downfall of society, or God’s punishment, they rarely act altruistically • What is the result? • Oppression • Cruelty • Violence

4. Gothic Horror Themes • Selfishness: Thinking of one’s own needs and wants, and disregarding the needs and wants of another • Control: A desire to force others to do what one wants them to, sometimes to feed one’s own need for power, and sometimes “for their own good” • Manipulation: Underhanded or devious methods of controlling others by using their emotions against them • Lack of Empathy: One is either unaware or unconcerned about the feelings of others

5. Gothic Horror Themes • Obsession: A person becomes hyper-focused on an idea, a plan, or another person. They will stop at nothing in their pursuit, even if they harm or kill others in the process. • Perfectionism: A person becomes convinced that if they try hard enough, they can create something perfect. It was believed that only God can achieve perfection, therefore, perfectionism is akin to “playing God.”

6. Gothic Horror Themes • Science Without Morality: Explores the phenomenon of “cultural lag,” in which a society learns HOW to do something before they know IF they should. Literary Examples Real World Examples

7. Gothic Horror Themes • Twisted Perception: A person’s outlook becomes unrealistic, delusional, or hallucinatory. They may perceive a threat when there is none, or they may begin to believe in things that are not real. • Unreliable Narrator:a narrator, whether in literature, film, or theatre, whose credibility has been seriously compromised, due to the fact that he/she is lying, evil, or insane.

8. Word of the Day • Psychopomp: Certain creatures, such as ravens, crows, dogs, cats, etc, that escort souls from the land of the living to the land of the dead. They are said to have the power to move freely between the realms, a privilege that is denied to all other creatures.

9. The Raven & Annabel LeeLiterary Devices

13. Mood • The impression or emotional atmosphere evoked by the text. • "It is the eve of St. George's Day. Do you not know that tonight, when the clock strikes midnight, all the evil things in the world will have full sway?“ • from Dracula by Bram Stoker

16. Setting • The time, place, and circumstances in which a narrative, drama, or film takes place.