A story about the past can make supernatural events and strange characters seem more real to your readers. Or, you can write in the present but include lots of elements that hearken back to an older time. Bram Stoker includes modern technology and ancient things in Dracula. He describes typewriters and trains, but he also includes vampires and an ancient castle.
The Overlook Hotel in Stephen King’s The Shining is an excellent example of such a location. The Overlook was once a gleaming vibrant vacation spot occupied by many people, but now only Jack and his family occupy it. [1] X Research source The mood of the environment will influence how the characters act.
Hero or anti-hero. There should be at least one character in your gothic fiction that readers will like, even if he or she has some dark tendencies. Mary Shelley’s Victor Frankenstein is a great example of a hero who is good, even though he creates a monster. Villain. The villain in gothic fiction stories often plays the role of a tempter, who leads the hero down a dark path. A good villain should be both evil and fun to read about. Dracula in Bram Stoker’s Dracula is an excellent example of an interesting, yet evil villain. He does terrible things (like murdering people) and is portrayed by Bram Stoker as the epitome of foreign corruption that threatened Britain’s society at the time. Since this fear of invasion was common at the time ‘Dracula’ was published, it was a very popular Gothic novel. Woman in white. Many gothic fiction novels feature a doomed bride or damsel in distress character who never gets her happy ending. Elizabeth from Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is a good example of a woman in white. [2] X Research source Woman in black. Other gothic fictions include a woman in black character like a widow. Miss Jessel of Turn of the Screw by Henry James is an example of a woman in black. [3] X Research source
For example, in Bram Stoker’s Dracula Mina redeems herself with the help of her friends.
For example, young William Frankenstein wanders off and Frankenstein’s monster murders him. [5] X Research source
For example, a prophecy haunts the family in Horace Walpole’s Castle of Otranto. The prophecy says that the castle will pass from Manfred’s line. The prophecy seems to have come true when Manfred’s son dies. [8] X Research source
Matilda is in love with one man, but another man lusts after her, which puts her in danger throughout the book. [10] X Research source
For example, Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker both use found material framing devices. They present their stories through character letters and journal entries.
For example, Roderick descends into madness in Edgar Allen Poe’s “Fall of The House of Usher. ” His decline intensifies the story and makes it scarier. [16] X Research source
For example, a giant helmet crushes Conrad in Horace Walpole’s Castle of Otranto. Conrad was on his way to get married. [18] X Research source
Edgar Allen Poe includes twists at the end of his stories that lead readers to question the finality of death. Poe includes one of these twists in “Fall of the House of Usher” when Madeline appears in the doorway and falls on top of Roderick. Roderick had believed that Madeline was dead. [20] X Research source
