Gothic horror
gothic - gothic architecture - gothic novel - gothic rock - Goths - horror
Still from
The Company of Wolves (1984) - Neil Jordan [Amazon.com] [FR] [DE] [UK]
Dracula (1897) - Bram Stoker
Gothic horror
The gothic novel, of the early nineteenth century, was responsible above all else for the term gothic being associated with a mood of horror, darkness and the supernatural. They established what horror stereotypes became by featuring graveyards, ruined castles or churches, ghosts, vampires, cursed families, and melodramatic plots. A notable element in these novels were the brooding figure of the gothic villain, which developed into the Byronic hero, a key precursor in the male goth image. The most famous gothic villain of this genre would be Dracula. In 1993 Whitby became the location for what became the UK's biggest goth festival as a direct result of featuring in Stoker's Dracula.
The work of Edgar Allan Poe, master of the gothic short story, has also been an inspiration for many goths. Also, the modern figure of the femme fatale, which has its roots in Romantic literature, is a key image for female goths.
Gothic literature lives on with authors such as Anne Rice (Interview with the Vampire). --http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Goth#Gothic_horror [Feb 2005]