Gothic Horror exists in a league of its own. While certainly having many of the tropes we see in contemporary horror, Gothic Horror remains separate due to its use of ominous atmosphere and supernatural spookiness. Similar to how Folk Horror uses setting and atmosphere, Gothic Horror amps up the mystical elements of its atmosphere. Along with the mysterious characters, paranormal ingredients, dark color schemes, and curses, you will discover in this article a few other ways you can improve your own Gothic Horror story. Let’s begin.
The Setting in Gothic Horror
It must ooze scary or at least, unsettling to a certain degree that the reader will feel an abnormal sense of place. Wherever you decide to set the story—a castle, a mansion, a small village, etc.—the landscape and buildings must give off a permanent sense of dread and total mystery. There are various ways to do this.
Castle
The castle is a staple of Gothic Horror. This is where it all originated. The castle brings with it a certain atmosphere of the unknown. The large rooms, the secret passageways, and its history are all great reasons to set your Gothic Horror story there. The castle represents power, usually a medieval power, that was involved in something shady. Either a curse or evil acts of power is what made the castle a prime setting in Gothic Horror. The castle symbolizes, in a way, a fall from grace.
A Village
Although evoking elements of Folk Horror, the village can be another great setting, depending on where it is. It cannot necessarily be a modern town with technology. It must likely be a small town with a secret past. But the setting should be one of old buildings, barns, houses made of stone. And at night, mist could run through the town, making it difficult to see and allowing mysterious possibilities to happen.
Quick Ways to Describe Setting
Exposition
Before the story takes off there can be a moment or two where the narrative or the characters reference the setting and its ominous vibes. Perhaps they can show a photo to another character that details the wickedness of the setting.
Or maybe, through the interior monologue of the main character, he or she can recall a previous moment about this particular landscape. It can reveal how disturbing it was for them and how they still cannot get over the aftereffects of that setting.
Building up the setting beforehand will give the Gothic setting its own presence in your reader’s mind before the main character begins exploring the actual landscape. If done correctly, the dread will have been started and the gloom you write next will be easier.
Prologue
This is the section of the novel where a scene or a memory happens that sets up moments to come later. Referencing a setting in this section allows the hard work to be done before the real story begins. Prologues, while a chance to get the details of something out of the way quickly, is not common and should only be written if absolutely necessary. But a prologue does offer a nice, spot to tell the backstory of a setting. After the setting is done in the prologue, you can drop more details within the novel as you go along. But because the majority of the detail was done in the prologue, vast paragraphs of setting details aren’t needed.
Dreams
A dream sequence about a Gothic setting could come at any time in the story. The details of the setting could happen in snippets, leading to a revelation during the climax. This could be a great opportunity for the writer to use eerie details, making the dream sequence spooky.
Common Colors in Gothic Horror
Black
Usually, this will be the go-to color for Gothic Horror and is a standard in this genre. It represents the night. It helps with shadows and makes the villain difficult to see.
Gray
Similar to Black, gray is the mist of the scary woods, the smoke from the castle’s fireplace, and the perpetual color of the sky in the daytime. Blue skies are uncommon.
Red
Red is for blood. It offsets black as it makes it stand out against a black or gray backdrop. If blood spills against black, the red will appear even darker, almost maroon. And if blood spills on white, the red contrasts greatly.
White
This color is used to balance the black. Everything can’t be black or gray. White is the realization of something. A flash of white can blind a villain or enlighten the hero.
*Usually, bright colors or pastels aren’t in Gothic Horror stories.*
Supernatural Elements and Christianity in Gothic Horror
Gothic Horror wouldn’t exist without Christianity. Neither would Folk Horror. Both genres are historically connected to Christianity. Whereas Folk Horror is a contrast against Christianity and usually a mocking of its practices, Gothic Horror stays neutral or embraces Christianity. Because the storytelling of Christianity is so interesting and well-told, it was a matter of time that creative writers adopted certain themes and made their own stories. You can see Christianity’s influence in many stories still popular today.
Frankenstein
The story of Jesus’ resurrection is so global and well-known that author Mary Shelly eventually created her own version of life after death. Except her story used chemistry (the budding science of the time) to bring back the dead. The point is, Shelly created a Gothic Horror novel based on themes from Christianity. And she was the first to do it in that specific way. (The entire zombie genre–Frankenstein–stems from the themes of Christianity)
Dracula
This story is another one that incorporated themes of Christianity. Dracula’s inability to die, his constant thirst for blood (life everlasting), and his opposition to crucifixes are ripe with Christian lore.
Werewolf
Not only does the reference to men comparing to beasts exist in The Bible but it does all over the world, in many cultures. The werewolf symbolizes man’s primitive nature and inability to reason with issues he faces. The werewolf acts from short-term instinct rather than long-term philosophy. Because of these short-term choices, he is associated with a ravenous beast.
Ghosts
This is a no-brainer in Gothic Horror. Ghosts represent the soul still alive after death. Ghosts are there to force another character to solve a problem. The themes of Ghostly spirits exist in Gothic Horror because of, not just the influence of Christianity’s Heavenly paradise, but of many other religions’ promise of an afterlife. However, Ghosts in Gothic Horror, many times, corrupt the positivity of an afterlife for reasons of dark storytelling.
*To understand Western literature, you need a decent understanding of The Bible and William Shakespeare.*
Curses and Ancient Prophecies
In Gothic Horror, there are usually themes of fate that a character must face to reach his or her arc. These fates come in the form of terrible curses afflicted upon a family that will destroy a character unless they face the issue. By the end, the character has either ended the curse or, sometimes succumb to it. Gothic Horror doesn’t always have a happy ending that allows the characters to reach bliss. Gothic Horror can symbolize the never-ending strife that an individual must face. It generally represents the constant struggle we, the reader, the audience, must deal with on a daily basis. It lets the reader that they are not alone in their struggles.
Examples of Curses:
A character could receive word that a relative has passed away and they must return home, which will force them to face the curse they spent their whole life running away from.
A character could find out that they are part of a family curse that they never had any knowledge of before. This could send them into a crazy spiral that forces them to confront others to lift the curse.
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