Gothic fiction

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Gothic fiction is a genre of literature which combines parts of both horror and romance. The genre is said to have started in England in 1764 with Horace Walpole's book The Castle of Otranto. Its second edition was subtitled A Gothic Story.[1] The idea quickly spread to other European languages.

A famous early example of gothic fiction is Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, in the early 19th Century.[2] The works of Edgar Allen Poe and Bram Stoker's Dracula followed later.[3]

References[change | change source]

  1. Kilgour, Maggie 1995. The rise of the gothic novel. London: Routledge.
  3. Bloom, Clive 2007. Gothic horror: a guide for students and readers. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan.