No one in Gothic Fiction has a happy backstory. Every Legendary Character in a Gothic story already starts out in a state of wanting to return to a time in the past when things were better for them, personally.
Is it just me, Story Quester, or does this time of year put you in the mood to write something spooky? Maybe it’s the music I have running in the background while I work. 🎶 Or the fact that I just binge-watched like 5 episodes of Agatha All Along. 🧙♀️ Or the fact that I’m attending a wedding on Halloween and the invite says dress in your costumed best. (I’m going as Persephone goddess of the Greek underworld and my husband is going as a stylish plague doctor.)
But whatever the reason I’m in the mood for a bit of Gothic Fiction, what about you?
But maybe you’re wondering…
What Exactly is Gothic Fiction?
Well, Gothic Fiction tends to play on both the thrill and fear of the unknown and places great importance on atmosphere. Essentially the atmosphere—the environment—almost becomes a character itself.
Got it? Maybe? 😬
The second—but arguably most important thing—is loss. The Legendary Character (the POV character) has been/or must be dramatically cut off from their past, their lover, their family, or life itself during the story.
Let’s break down the 5 elements you need to write your own Gothic Fiction story into simple pieces.
1) The Transgression
The Legendary Character needs to commit a transgression by crossing a dangerous or taboo boundary in order to reclaim what they’ve lost. Often with horrific or violent consequences to themselves, others, or their surroundings.
2) The Family
Gothic Fiction is about family in some way. Whether it’s about the Legendary Character’s tragic past or tragic present, family secrets, blood lineage, or the person they’re destined to marry.
3) The Tragic Backstory
No one in Gothic Fiction has a happy backstory. Every Legendary Character in a Gothic story already starts out in a state of wanting to return to a time in the past when things were better for them personally.
4) Secret Oaths & Forbidden Knowledge
Your Legendary Character needs to already have or obtain some (usually occult) forbidden knowledge during the course of the story. This is usually the transgression they commit or at least leads to it.
5) The Supernatural
Everything from ghosts to Cthulhu is fair game. The occult, prophesies, curses, vampires, etc. pretty much anything that isn’t from the natural world as we know it is up for grabs.
And there you have it, Story Quester. The 5 elements you need to write your own Gothic Fiction story. If this seems like your pumpkin pie then I hope you’ll give Gothic Fiction a try.
A few last things to consider before you get to writing. Though Gothic Fiction is about the transgression of boundaries and the sometimes horrific consequences of crossing them, they’re NOT meant to be morality sermons. In fact, the Gothic stories of the past were considered extremely progressive for their times.
So it would be accurate to say, that Gothic Fiction shows us the lines that our societies have drawn and then points out that they’re not as clear-cut as they may seem.
And knowing that, it might not surprise you that Gothic Fiction surges in narrative media during times of sociopolitical crises and anxiety. Particularly highlighting our fears about unchecked scientific experimentation & urbanization, the growth of the poor and working classes, and the erosion of tradition, gender roles & religion/faith.
Gothic Fiction Fun Facts
- Gothic Horror is one of the oldest of the horror genres. And it’s sometimes considered the parent of ALL modern genre fiction.
- The Castle of Otranto by Horace Walpole is widely considered the first Gothic horror novel and it was written back in 1764!
- Mary Shelley wrote Frankenstein—regarded as one of the oldest classics of Gothic Horror—in 1818 when she was only 19!
- The most important German author of Gothic fiction was a Prussian named E. T. A. Hoffmann. That work of Gothic Fic was The Devil’s Elixirs (1815). However, the work he’s actually most famous for is the short story “The Nutcracker and the Mouse King” (1816) from which the famous ballet is derived.
- Edgar Allan Poe is considered the most important writer of Gothic fiction but did you know he also wrote the first Great Detective Mystery?
- Charles Dickens, Louisa May Alcott, Robert Louis Stevenson, and the Brontë sisters were all Gothic Fiction writers. Louisa May Alcott wrote The Little Women but she also wrote Gothic Romance under the pen name A. M. Barnard. And Robert Louis Stevenson wrote Treasure Island but he also wrote The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.
- 3 modern genres born from Gothic Fiction are Gaslamp Fantasy, Noir, and Supernatural Fiction.
Here are 7 more movies & TV shows to watch to get you in the mood to create some Gothic Fiction
Guillermo del Toro’s Crimson Peak
The Fall of the House of Usher (TV Show)
The Woman in Black
Penny Dreadful (TV Show)
The Pale Blue Eye
Sleepy Hollow
Carnival Row (TV Show)
Well until next time, Story Quester, this is your friendly neighborhood storytelling Kat
wishing you a hauntingly creative week.
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