Gothic Literature Research Paper

Gothic literature usually brings to mind Edgar Allen Poe and dark foggy London streets but that's not all gothic literature is. Gothic literature usually has themes of mystery and eerie settings or characters. Themes such as physical and mental decay and isolation, abandonment, and entrapment are very prominent in Prey by Richard Matheson, The Feather Pillow by Horacio Quiroga and The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe.

Gothic writers are well known for their works that induce grotesque and demented images to enter a reader’s brain. However, blood and gore is not the only way that Gothic writers can make your skin crawl, and the hair on the back of your neck rise. Gothic literary works contain themes of supernatural occurrences, and entrapment to induce feelings of fear, and mystery into the reader.

“John B McLemore lives in Shittown, Alabama,” Brian Reed quoted. Many people today can relate to some of the problems John faces in S-Town. Most of these problems are derived from southern gothic characteristics within the podcast. The podcast uses many different southern gothic characteristics in order to make it more interesting. Many of the examples of these characteristics are more modern so that they relate to our current society. S-Town is a piece of contemporary Southern Gothic Literature because of its use of social issues, irony, and outsiders.

Gothic literature contains many thematic elements such as horror, death, and even at times romanticism. This type of literature incorporates various different elements, in order to evoke the emotions of terror. There are many authors who are extremely talented and are still remembered and read in classrooms today. These are authors like Edgar Allan Poe, best known for his mysterious poems and short stories, Richard Matheson and Horacio Quiroga, who have all incorporated psychological problems and violence themes in their short stories in order to fascinate the readers and add suspense to the story. These three gothic authors correlate the themes of violence and the psychological/ mental issues in order to depict anticipation and terror

In all of Gothic Literature, many strategies are used to give the reader chills during his or her downtime. Themes like Entrapment and supernatural forces are displayed throughout this genre of writing to further portray an overlaying message. Edgar Allan Poe, Washington Irving and Horacio Quiroga use Entrapment and Supernatural powers to provide an intense feeling in the reader involving scenarios beyond conventional limitations.

A Gothic novel is one which incorporates modes of literature such as horror, the setting, suspense, superstition, atmosphere, horror etc. In the story Dracula the author shows these traits in various sections of the story that makes it a lot more interesting and it is one of the the main characteristics beside the various other features that makes this story great. Dracula was published by . Surely there are many other novels such as Frankenstein, The Vampyre etc, but Dracula is one of the prime example of a Gothic novel that has a lot of different attributes that make the story distinct from the others. Mr.Bram Stoker in his phenomenal book Dracula encompasses the different Gothic traits, how they make the story extremely intriguing and engaging and have a significant effect on the story.

Southern gothic literature is partly inspired by gothic literature. Southern gothic literature is a southern genre where the story is focused around gruesome or dreary ideas. The characters are also normally damaged, delusional or mentally ill. In the two short stories, “A Rose for Emily” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find” both have elements of southern gothic literature.

Gothic literature has a different way of captivating the reader. Page by Page, gothic themes are present that create mystery and evoke suspense. The Night Circus, a novel by Eric Morgenstern, “The Devil and Tom Walker”, by Washington Irving, and “The Oval Portrait”, by Edgar Allan Poe share two important themes: eerie setting and isolation. All the stories connect through a lesson that passion can become harmful.

The Book Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children shares many gothic elements with classic works of gothic literature. Mrs. Peregrines Home For Peculiar Children shows the effects of the death of a loved one similarly how it is shown in the raven by Edgar Allan Poe, it shows fascination with the pask like in Dr. Heidegger's Experiment by Nathaniel Hawthorne, and the aspect of monsters in The Feather Pillow by Horacio Quiroga.

The gothic literary movement is a part of the larger Romantic Movement. Gothic literature shares many of the traits of romanticism, such as the emphasis on emotions and the imagination. Gothic literature goes beyond the melancholy evident in most romantic works, however, and enters into the areas of horror and decay, becoming preoccupied with death. “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe is a powerful example of gothic fiction, whereas James Fenimore Cooper’s The Last of the Mohicans serves as the romantic predecessor, illustrating the differences and the similarities between romantic and gothic literature.

Stories come in many different shapes, sizes, and genres. Even genres that sound similar can contain quite a few differences that make them unique. This is the case with Gothic Literature and Southern Gothic Literature. Even though both styles are referred to as Gothic, they each have different elements that set them apart from one another. They also have elements that they share, however both go about expanding on these elements in diverse ways. One way to recognize the differences is comparing stories that represent the two sides. For Gothic Literature I’ve read “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe and for Southern Gothic Literature I’ve read “A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner. Even though both stories are classified under the umbrella of Gothic Literature, they each have distinct differences in their style. They may share some

Jacob, the main character of the novel Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs, is, since the beginning of the novel, searching for his identity. In his hometown he does not fit. He only has one friend, he does not understand his parents and they do not understand him. The only person who was always there for him has recently passed away, his grandfather, Abe. After he has mysteriously died, Jacob decides to go to the place his grandfather has always told him about, the Home for Peculiar Children where he has lived as a child.

Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children are the bloody deaths of someone or some people. In the novel, Jacob’s grandfather is brutally murdered by a monster who was hunting him. When Jacob found him, “his undershirt was soaked with blood,” (Riggs 35) and he died shortly thereafter. Upon hearing his grandpa’s last words, Jacob had to figure out what they meant. He dove headfirst into figuring them out, which is how all the events took place and how Jacob discovered so many things. Had his grandfather not died the way he did, Jacob would never have had the incentive nor drive to look further than he ever had before. In “The Masque of Red Death,” there was a disease going around town which caused “sharp pains, sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores” (Poe 446). The fear of contracting this deadly and bloody disease caused the prince to host the wealthy and elite at his palace, away from all the infected people. The blood and deaths of all the villagers incited fear that would not have been there otherwise. This gothic element really drove the stories, as they would not have taken place without the death of somebody special like Jacob’s grandpa or many people like the

on the aid of Hell itself, and to find things familiar in the world of

Hiding in plain sight, belittled for their differences, and ridiculed for trying to be normal, the peculiar children are outcasts of society. In the present, we see these peculiarities as gifts. In the 19th century, however, these gifts are seen as nothing more than unfortunate curses. Miss Peregrines Home for Peculiar Children is about an adolescent boy named Jacob whose grandfather died in a rather obscure way. This book revolves around Jacob’s grieving process as he searches for answers about his grandpa’s death. While traveling to his grandfather’s childhood home, Jacob finds a little more than he anticipates during his expedition. In this journal I will be evaluating, questioning and predicting.