The Importance Of Gothic Litrature In Literature

Since 2005, the amount of money spent on Halloween has doubled. What could be the reason for the sudden increase in spending? According to Allegra Ringo’s interview with Dr. Kerr, a “scare specialist”, discusses that dopamine is released into the brain and produces a natural, enjoyable high. Some people also like being in charge while being scared, making them feel more masculine while with their girlfriends. Many people go on dates to haunted houses and such which is more money to the industry. They also state in the interview that some people don’t enjoy being scared. They don’t enjoy it as much because they don’t want people to see themselves scared also some don’t get much dopamine released like others. Usually, people enjoy the scares and will continue to pay to get scared. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” and Louise Erdrich’s “Windigo” both show our attraction to fear of the unknown, while using imagery, tone, and repetition.

In human nature there exists a morbid desire to explore the darker realms of life. As sensitive beings we make every effort to deny our curiosity in the things that frighten us, and will calmly reassure our children that there aren't any creatures under their beds each night, but deep down we secretly thrive on that cool rush of fear. Despite our efforts to maintain a balance of respectable emotions, we are a society of people who slow down to look at traffic accidents and find excitement in the macabre. We turn off the lights when watching scary movies, and when it's time to go to bed, we secretly make sure the closet doors are shut. Fear keeps our hearts pumping and endorphins rushing, for it is an emotion that reminds us of our

Gothic literature is a style of writing that contains elements of both horror and romance. This genre allows readers to experience a mix of horror and romance intertwined. Within the gothic genre there are elements of supernatural events, beings, and gloomy day settings. This style of writing became popular in the late 18th century and early 19 century. Many give credit to it’s uprising to author Horace Walpole, who wrote The Castle of Otranto (1764). His book contains all the elements that constitute the gothic genre. Frankenstein fits perfectly into the gothic category because the gloomy and mysterious setting is placed where most readers think of it as

Modern society thrives on the adrenaline rush from the being scar. Not just scares, but terrified to the point that fear takes on new meaning, invoking thoughts that were never deemed possible. Despite the popularity of facing these fears, it is not a new pastime as many would believe. Horror and Gothic tradition had its beginnings in the early medieval period that dominated Europe in the late fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, but it was American author Edgar Allen Poe of the nineteenth century that made Gothic tradition. A popular literary genre. Poe's troubled, short life had great influence on his writing, which is distinguished by specific, unique characteristics, and has in turn

Other people experience fear in different ways. For example, scary movies make millions in Hollywood. Many people pay to watch a movie that will not only scare them, but also give them nightmares. The viewers enjoy the little rush they get when something pops out or someone screeches in fear of a murderer.

Have you ever wondered why you enjoy being scared? In Allegra Ringo’s interview, “Why do some brains enjoy fear?”, with Dr. Kerr, a scare specialist, he states that many enjoy being scared because the brain triggers “a flood” of adrenaline, dopamine, and endorphins. To enjoy the feeling of being terrified, our brains have to process that we are in a safe space. Scary movies, stories, roller coasters, and haunted houses all create a breathtaking response to fear. These experiences we have with fear are said to create self-confidence, relieve stress, and even bring us together. Americans spend over 7.5 billion dollars on Halloween activities and costumes. Dr. Kerr states in the interview, that people love Halloween so much because it constructs a strong emotional response and build stronger memories. Dr. Kerr also says that when we are happy, or afraid we release hormones that help those moments “stick” in our brain. We all love a good scare! “The Raven”, by Edgar Allen Poe, and “Beware: do not read this poem”, by Ishmael Reed both analyze the allure of fear through symbolism and descriptive imagery, which is a part of gothic literature. Both Poe and Reed signifies their themes differently but both themes allude to the fascination of fear.

People develop multiple reasons to why they like to receive these odd and fear emotions, which now in society we call insanity. In the “Why We Crave Horror Movies” by Stephen King, whose main argument is that we watch horror movies to satisfy our curiosity. In the “How Tabloid Train Wrecks Reinventing Gothic Literature” by Carina Chocano, whose main argument is to prove how gothic literature is very similar to gossip; for example, gossiping makes people turn into ghosts, unnatural. It’s tempting to see Gothic tales as escapism, but these stories will sum up during times of trouble. Fascination with fear or Gothic stories satisfies some emotional need of individuals and of society by making people feed on their inner childhood that is inconstantly needed of satisfaction. People can do that by watching horror movies or reading tabloids and that is why they enjoy scaring themselves.

What makes people seek for experiences that make them feel scared? Fear is the expectation or the anticipation of possible harm, so why do people like it? There is a hormone called dopamine, that is released during scary and thrilling activities, according to David Zald, some individuals may get more of a kick of this hormone than others. Lots of people enjoy scary experiences, because of the feeling that they have after these situations. As reported by ABC News, in “Spooky Business American Economy”, people spend about 7 million dollars in Halloween, looking for costumes, decoration objects, and also in haunted houses. People enjoy scary movies, roller coasters, and haunted houses. Similarly, people enjoy thrilling literature, as Edgar Allan Poe and Louise Erdrich poems, “The Raven” and “The windigo” respectively. Both of these authors write and explore death and the ambiguity of what will happen after death, by using concrete examples of imagery and symbols, structured paragraphs, and a certain type of diction.

Poe demonstrates the downside of fear through his use of symbolism. This is presented through old man´s eye from ¨The Tell Tale-Heart,” which appears strange due to cataracts. The narrator remarks,

Southern Gothic literature dates back to the 19th century, with specific elements that portrayed the society. As Woodstock, Alabama and John is put together for Brian a contemporary piece of Southern Gothic Literature is created. The audience would benefit from listening to S-town because of the many valuable lessons that are taught. Certain elements provide the strongest makeup of Southern Gothic Literature, to give readers real life relations to the topic of the story. S-town is a contemporary piece of Southern Gothic literature because of its use of social issues, outsiders, and irony.

Novels, written in various styles, maintain their value because each one presents the reader with a new thought to consider. Sometimes however, rather than expanding on an entirely new style to “suggest a thought” authors borrow characteristics from other novels to express themselves. These borrowed traits are then molded into a new shape. Authors from the Romanticism era did just that. They borrowed traits from Gothic literature to express their thoughts. Although the novels are unique and valued for their distinctiveness, the borrowed traits remain a parallel between the two genres. Traits such as deterioration of characters, love combating sin, return to animalistic priorities, and alienation of human emotion are all depicted in

American literature has been divided and categorized since its creation. Dating back to the 18th century, writing pieces with defining characteristics began to blend together into distinct literary movements. Although these literary movements and their respective works can be somewhat distinguished from one another by their different time periods of popularity, many novels, stories, and poems exemplify traits from a number of literary movements instead of cleanly falling into the boundaries of just one. Alice Sebold’s The Lovely Bones does just this. Throughout the duration of the novel, influences from multiple literary movements including Romanticism, Gothic literature, and Realism become notably apparent.

The Gothic literature derived from the dark romantic characteristics as evidence by Julita Oleh in A Brief Description In Gothic Literature . Gothic literatures origin came from medieval times and transformed into more horrific events and characteristics through a suspenseful plot. As the writings changed, “settings were changed from medieval to contemporary” (Oleh 3). Just as changes occurred throughout history in gothic literature, the basics remained the same. The basics such as suspense being built in nature, setting were always eerie and dark, and the struggle between good and evil.

They have recently been finding ways to make a profit off of our fears with the help of this new research. According to the Domestic Movie Theatre Market Summary, horror is now number eight on the list of top grossing movie genres with an estimated worth of 8 billion dollars. It is expected to climb even higher this year (Wilshire). The growth of this industry is significant and does not seem to be slowing down. “Haunts are everywhere, and not just limited to houses; there are haunted hayrides, mazes and scavenger hunts. Most of us have been through multiple attractions, and for many people, this was their first taste of horror. They’ve become so popular that Halloween enthusiasts known as ‘home haunters’ create attractions at home simply for the love of doing it. Haunts are here to stay, and their industry will only continue to evolve and grow into more terrifying directions” (Mckendry). As the the industry grows its fan base will grow as well, possibly to other groups and different types of

Have you ever thought about death? What it would be like? How it would happen? When it really comes down to it, are you afraid? If so, what is so captivating about watching death and/or other horror scenes in movies or reading it in books? For many years researches have been looking for ways to explain why the psyche is so attracted to the idea of horror. From books to television and everything in between, horror has been manufactured as a part of our lives, whether it be to trigger a mechanism in our bodies to protect ourselves, or as something to watch as an entertaining pastime. People may never know the real reason fear is so attractive to the human mind, but many theories include that of Evolution, Sigmund Freud’s Psychoanalytical