Gothic literature through the ages

By Sophia Hadef

It is November, and it is cold, so what is better than some Gothic literature to accompany us on a dark and rainy day? There is nothing more charming than a melancholy ambience, a mystery and suspense atmosphere to give you chills (chills of pleasure when you’re a Goth), a powerful and meaningful love story and a subtle supernatural touch. Gothic fiction brings you dark forests and haunted places enlightened by the moon and at the same time philosophy and fascination for the afterlife.

That gloomy genre started in 1764 with the publication of ‘The Castle of Otranto’ by Horace Walpole. A dark castle in a foreign place, and a young woman trying to escape from an evil and dangerous man. It discusses the morality, the religion and temptations and has strong metaphors like the battle of humanity against evil and supernatural forces. It shows you at the same time a certain attraction for the darkness and its characters. Mixing horror and romance, they are the core of a Gothic novel.

In 1794, the ‘female Gothic’ started with ‘The Mysteries of Udolpho’ by Ann Radcliffe. In that novel, Ann explained the irrational with a sublime scenery. Full of paranormal thrills, the dark romance hypnotises the reader. Soon after, Matthew Lewis published ‘The Monk ‘– the story of the diabolical decline of a capuchin who succumbs to lots of temptations made by the devil himself. Sensationalist, moralistic and with a psychological insight, Lewis made a Gothic masterpiece. It was the book of the month in October for the Gothic literature Club that I created on Instagram - #GothLitClub.

In 1816, the vampire made its entrance in the English Gothic horror fiction with ‘The Vampyre’ written by Lord Byron. An attractive and dangerous stranger suffering from a strong melancholy and desolation - the novel was a success. The same year, the talented Mary Shelley wrote ‘Frankenstein or the Modern Prometheus’. She gave a scientific view of the genre with the creation of a monstrous creature. In 1818, Jane Austen did an excellent parody of the genre when she wrote ‘Northanger Abbey’ – its main character is a young girl totally obsessed with gothic stories. In 1824, James Hogg published ‘The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner’, the story of a man haunted by his doppelganger.

Doubles are an essential element of Gothic literature. (It has to be and stay spooky and that’s what we love). And when we talk about gothic, we can not forget Edgar Allan Poe’s collection of short stories: ‘The Essential Tales and Poems’. With the famous ‘The Black Cat or The Murders in the Rue Morgue’, and the beautiful poems haunted with love and losssuch as ‘The Raven’ which is one of my favourites.

In 1847, Emily Brönte wrote ‘Wuthering Heights’, a very soft and not horrific gothic novel. Emily took the gloomy elements of the gothic while staying very poetic. Emily’s sister Charlotte wrote a masterpiece, my favourite book ever: ‘Jane Eyre’. It’s the most feminist and gothic story you can find. Dark secrets and mysteries are the core of the novel.

“I do not think, sir, you have any right to command me, merely because you are older than I, or because you have seen more of the world than I have; your claim to superiority depends on the use you have made of your time and experience.” Powerful.

In 1859, Wilkie Collins wrote ‘Woman in White’, always with a creepy atmosphere – it questions identity and insanity. One of my other favourites is ‘Carmilla’ by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (a fantastic Irish writer who wrote many gothic stories), Carmilla is a beautiful woman who bewitches a young girl in a castle – an explicit lesbian story in a Victorian time. In 1886, Robert Louis Stevenson published ‘The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde’, a success during the Victorian era, the story talks about the double theme and the distinction between the good and the evil.

To finish with those treasures of the past, ‘Dracula’ by Bram Stoker. A fantastic and chilling masterpiece with all the famous elements of Gothic

By David O’Connor

Full disclosure: I subscribe monthly to Netflix and Spotify. So I’m not some false Messiah coming with a warning and leaving without a solution.

I subscribe to them for the same reasons as you: the instant gratification. I get what I want, when I want it.

Thus far, I’ve been happy in my constant state of contentment, watching my favourite shows on repeat. Every time I have breakfast or dinner, I stick on a 20 minute show for myself. It’s a habit I really want to break. Which has pulled my mind towards the negative effects of subscriptions.

It happened when I saw my uncle’s collection of DVDs. He had a large bookshelf solely containing DVDs. He had no Netflix account to watch movies on, just a DVD player. While flicking through his collection he remarked, “At least if the world goes to the dogs, I’ll still have my collection.”

It made me realise that if the world did in fact, “go to the dogs”, I would own nothing in relation to movies. The world doesn’t even have to fall into chaos for that to be the case, Netflix just has to go defunct.

We don’t own the content we use anymore, we rent it. The moment the price of the subscription goes too high and we stop paying, the moment the website goes down, we lose all access to culture.

The same goes for music (Spotify) and books as well (Kindle Unlimited). My uncle will be laughing with his ‘Mean Girls’ DVD while I have no evidence of all the time and money I spent on the rented content.

So I began to think more about the possibility that subscriptions aren’t the way forward. Even if you look at the basic reason for subscriptions, which was to provide a cheaper alternative to cable TV, that argument no longer stands due to the amount of entities getting involved with streaming and offering exclusive content. If you add all the streaming sites up, you’ll find you’re paying far more than the standard cable TV price. Photo: Sophia Hadef

literature. It’s the tale of the supernatural and evil Transylvanian count obsessed by the woman he loved in the past.

If you are looking for modern Gothic stories, ‘Rosemary’s Baby’ by Ira Levin is an excellent one about a dark cult and ‘Pet Sematary’ by Stephen King is a great creepy folk Gothic story.

Earlier this year, I created my publishing house company: Dubh Publishing, a company specializing in Gothic literature. If you are a gothic writer, you can send me your work on dubhpublishing@gmail.

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com for a possible publication in 2021.

Then there is the fact that a lot of the material on Netflix, for example, is transient. It is here today and gone tomorrow. You can find out what shows will be discontinued at the end of the month, giving you a deadline. Which creates a pressure on the consumer to constantly engage, to never stray too far and find something else to take up their time and income. Taking advantage on the consumer anxiety. Another aspect is the unfair notion of exclusivity in today’s watercooler world. There is pressure placed on people to pay the fees and keep up to date.

If the world did in fact, “go to the dogs”, I would own nothing in relation to movies.

For example, when did you last say to someone “What are you watching on Netflix tonight?” or “Any suggestions for Netflix?”

Believe it or not, going to the cinema used to be a communal experience that brought people together. One could go along and become part of a greater being, one that is experiencing a similar emotion to everyone else in the room at the exact same time. This has been destroyed. Cinemas come in second place now. One dares not discuss movies in person for fears of spoilers.

Finally, the subscriptions imply you are pledging your allegiance to a singular corporate entity. In the past, you watched whatever was on TV and whatever was in cinema. Now, you sign up monthly to Netflix, Disney+, Amazon Prime, etc., and you get their sole content. All in competition with each other, all vying for your loyalty.

Again, I must stress that there are plenty of positives to this new lifestyle of ours too. However, I wanted to share what has been on my mind recently, and hope to start a conversation on it and perhaps not just to accept blindly whatever is thrown our way.