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Characteristics Of Gothic Fiction

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Gothic fiction or Gothicism, which is widely known by the genre of Gothic horror, is a mode of literature and film that combines fiction, horror, death, supernatural and romance. Its origin is attributed to English author Horace Walpole, with his novel The Castle of Otranto. It originated in England in the second half of the 18th century and had much success in the 19th century, as witnessed by Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and the works of Edgar Allan Poe. Another well known novel in this genre, dating from the late Victorian era, is Bram Stoker’s Dracula. The name Gothic refers to the emulating Gothic architecture, in which many of these stories take place. This extreme form of romanticism was very popular in England and Germany. The basic plot created many other staple Gothic generic traits, including a mystery and an ancestral curse and as well as countless trappings such as hidden passages. Walpole published the first edition disguised as a medieval romance from Italy. When Walpole admitted to his authorship in the second edition, its originally favorable reception by literary reviewers changed into rejection. The reviewer’s rejection reflected a larger cultural bias. The romance was usually held in contempt by the educated as a cheap and debased type of writing; the genre had gained some name only through the works of Samuel Richardson and Henry Fielding. A romance with superstitious elements, and void of didactical intention, was unacceptable and not suitable. Romantic

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