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Genre: Gothic fiction

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A genre is a type of story with its own conventions (typical features). Gothic fiction is one of the most influential genres in English, and its spooky settings and mysteries still shape horror stories and films today.

Gothic conventions

Famous Gothic novels

*Frankenstein* by Mary Shelley (1818): a young scientist, Victor Frankenstein, creates a living being and then abandons it.
*Dracula* by Bram Stoker (1897): a vampire count travels from Transylvania to England.
Shelley began *Frankenstein* in 1816, after a ghost-story challenge with friends including the poet Lord Byron.

Practice extract

Spot the Gothic conventions in this original opening.
Worked example

Find three Gothic conventions in the Castle Varn extract.

  1. Setting: a castle on a crag, black against the sky.
  2. Isolation: the driver leaves, so the narrator is alone.
  3. The unexplained: a bell tolls but no one is there to ring it.

Answer: A remote castle, isolation when the driver flees, and an unexplained tolling bell.

Key idea

Gothic fiction uses gloomy settings, darkness, wild weather, the supernatural, isolation and mystery to create fear and suspense. Famous examples include Frankenstein (1818) and Dracula (1897).

The interactive lesson includes the diagrams for this topic.

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