Gothic Tropes

What makes Gothic Gothic?

Photo by Linnea Sandbakk on Unsplash

What exactly is Gothic literature?

What specifically constitutes a Gothic novel? How do you know if a movie is Gothic? What are consumers’ expectations of the Gothic genre?

These questions about the elements of Gothic fiction might come up if you’re enjoying a spooky season, are Gothic-curious, watching, reading, writing, reviewing, teaching, editing Gothic narratives. You may enjoy the answers even if are an expert in the genre.

What are Gothic Horror, Gothic Romance, and Southern Gothic like?

Watch this short movie to find out! And there’s a list below it to study and save.

Gothic tropes list

Crows or ravens, bats, howling wolves, often portents

Clanking chains

Secret passages, tunnels

Crumbling, decaying ruins of church or state, orphanages

Meeting of fantastic past and realistic present