so…why do we like the gothic? what do we get out of the goose bumps?

So…why do we like the Gothic?

What do we get out of the goose bumps?

A way to examine the “darker side of life” A way to question our doubts and beliefs about

Mortality/Immortality Morality/Immorality Reason/Emotion Order/Disorder Mind/Body Masculine/Feminine Sanity/Insanity

A way to safely experience dread or horror, which can be cathartic, thrilling, and enjoyable

Time of political and social unrest Revolutions in America and France Riots in England Nobility lose ground Loss of social identity between classes Advances in science cause new

questions of ethics and morality

“A new and fearful genre for a new and fearful time.”

spectre of social revolution is manifested in the supernatural “spectres” of the Gothic.

A crumbling way of life emerges as a crumbling and haunted Gothic manor

the loss of social identity becomes the Gothic hero/heroine search for identity

Setting in a castle with secret passages and hidden staircases.

Dungeons, crypts, spooky basements, attics

Extreme landscapes Extreme weather conditions An atmosphere of mystery

and suspense

Omens, portents, visions. Extreme sense of isolation A sense of “Other” Magical or supernatural

beings and events Women in distress-fainting,

screaming, needing to be rescued

Women threatened by a powerful, tyrannical male

Ancestral Curse Body Snatching Cemeteries Dreaming/Nightmares Entrapment & Imprisonment Mist & Fog Possession by Demonic Forces Revenge Somnambulism Werewolves, Witches, Zombies,

Vampires

Powerful love Uncertainty of reciprocation Unreturned love Tension between true love and

father’s control Lovers parted against their wishes Illicit love or lust threatens the

virtuous one Rival lovers or multiple suitors

Time to Brainstorm

List as many Gothic horror movies you can remember

seeing—spoofs as well as serious movies

Next step…List all the romance elements in these

movies…in other words, what problems or complications did the lovers have?Here’s an example of what I mean: In The Sixth Sense, Bruce Willis’s wife is

seeing another man.

Now…

List the weather conditions, lighting, sounds, sights,

symbols, plot twists--anything that you can remember that made the movie “spooky.”

Let’s see how you did!

(If you haven’t started yet, now would be a great time to take

notes!)

Wind, especially howling wind

doors grating on rusty hinges

footsteps approaching lights in abandoned

rooms characters trapped in a

room ruins of buildings thunder and lightning

Rain, especially blowing sighs, moans, howls,

eerie sounds clanking chains gusts of wind blowing out

lights doors suddenly slamming

shut baying of distant dogs or

wolves crazed laughter

The metonymies of gloom and doom work for both written works and film…

But, for film alone, additional help is needed to convey the atmosphere…

To add atmosphere, suspense, tone, foreshadowing, and characterization (among other elements) in film:

Camera Angles Lighting Color Motion Transitions between scenes Special effects Sound

In both literature and film, the vocabulary helps to create atmosphere!

To convey a sense of MYSTERY: diabolical, enchantment, ghost, goblins, haunted, infernal, magic, miracle, omens, ominous, portent, spectre, vision

For FEAR, TERROR, or SORROW: afflicted, affliction, agony, anguish, apprehension, apprehensive, concern, despair, frantic, frightened, fright, mournful, miserable, melancholy, shrieks

To show LARGENESS: enormous, gigantic, giant, large, tremendous, vast

For literature, the vocabulary helps to create atmosphere! (cont’d)

To convey a sense of SURPRISE: alarm, amazement, astonished, shocking, staring, surprise, thunderstruck, wonder

To show HASTE: anxious, breathless, flight, frantic, hastened, hastily, impatience, impatient, impetuously, running, suddenly, sudden

To show ANGER: anger, angrily, enraged, furious, fury, incensed, provoked, rage, raving, resentment, temper, wrath, wrathfully

None of these lists is complete, but they are a good place to start!

For additional information go to:www.virtualsalt.com

And click on “Elements of the Gothic”

Let’s see how these elements work in film!