Main Features of Gothic Stories

Index:1) Main Features of Gothic Narrative..............................12) Beginnings and endings..............................................33) Catching the readers attention......................................64) Setting and atmosphere................................................85) The Use of Commas...................................................106) Creating Expectation..................................................127) Best Gothic Books......................................................138) Creating tension..........................................................159) Sources.......................................................................16

Gothic Stories

Common features: ♬ Wild or remote places ♬ Dark and gloomy settings ♬ Graveyards, tombs, and corpses ♬ Family dark secrets

1

♬ Supernatural Powers ♬ Frightening creatures ♬ Ancient castles and mansions ♬ Psychological torment ♬ Sciences used for evil purposes ♬ Extreme natural events (heavy storms, full moons, etc.)

2

Gothic Stories

* The beginning of the narrative, will be a good way to the progress you are imagining. e.g: Once upon a time there was a princess in a castle... * The story will be related to past events. e.g: A long, long time ago...

How do you begin a gothic story?

3

Gothic Stories

* To get the story going and show what kind of story is going to be. E.g: In a dark and frightening night, the shadow of a big castle appeared.... * To introduce and characterized the protagonists. E.g: Paul, who has just finished the school was a handsome man with a friendly appearance. * To engage the reader to be involved in the rest of the story. E.g: Do you have a pet?

4

How do you finish a gothic story? Depending on what kind of story you are going to tell is your choice.There is a preference for endedness. eg: Happy, unhappy, mixed. They lived happily forever.After her death, he walked under the rain crying in silence.He was sad, but he knew he was doing the best for everyone. You have two basic shapes: Circular: When the beginning has a relationship with the end. Lineal:When the beginning has no relationship with the end.

5

Gothic Stories

Readers are caught by the story, metonymies and elements of mystery and suspense...

Rusty hinger Doors grating Footsteps approaching Clanking chains Baying of distant animals Crazed laughter

6

Gothic Stories

And by attractive words... Ghostly MonsterSkeleton Corpses Deformed Lopsided

Diabolical Dreadful headsAgony Sudden Tremendous Thunderstruck Mournfully

7

Gothic Stories

Setting and atmosphere

It not only allows your reader to get a sense of the world you are creating, but sets up expectations.

For instance, a spooky castle will evoke fear,

mystery and maybe even romance.

It can also provide information to your reader about the characters in your story.

8

Instructions to create the setting and atmosphere 1) Choose an effective setting. Different types of settings will evoke a certain atmosphere. 3) Describe the scenery. 4) Use natural elements. The weather is a great way to create atmosphere. 5) Time can bring different expectations to your readers in setting up atmosphere. 6) Use strong or evocative language, which can create a strong sense of place and atmosphere. 9

The use of Commas:

Gothic Stories 10

- To end a subordinate clause - To provide a dramamtic pause - To add extra information - To separate items in a list

- Ending a subordinate clause at the start of a sentence: "Falling on his knees, the archduke Harry made the..." "Orlando", Virginia Woolf

-Providing a dramatic pause: "I swear to you by the heart I inhabit, and by you that made me..."

"Frankestein", Mary Shelley

11

Adding extra information to sentences: "Caddy held me and I could hear us all, and the darkness, and something I could smell."

"The sound and the fury" William Faulkner.

-Separating items in a list: "But I also know, pursued the old gentleman, the misery, the slow torture..."

"Oliver Twist", Charles Dickens.

12

Gothic Stories

*Write about something new within the story *Sinister beginning * Ase old words * Overgrown gardens, attics, cellars, old trees, a mansion, a dwelling, ancient doors, dark forests, etc. * Mysterious is a key.

CREATING EXPECTATION

13

Some of the best Gothic books of all times:

Dracula by Bram Stocker.Frankenstein by Mary Shelley.The picture of Dorian Gray by Oscar Wilde.Complete stories and poems by Edgar Allan Poe.Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hide by Robert Louis Stevenson.The phantom of the opera byston Leroux.The woman white by Wilkie Collins.Perfume: The story of a murderer by Patrick Suskind.The forgotten garden by Sarah Waters.Salem´s lot by Stephen King.

13

WRITERS HAVE WORDS TO

GRAB AND HOLD A

READER´S ATTENTION.

14

Ways of creating tension and excitement...

Using vivid, unusual words that feed our imagination; Repeating words and phrases; Using short sentences to impact.

15

Gothic Fashion:*Corsets*Lace*Frock coats*Ball dress*Mourning garb

Gothic Activities:*Theatre*Maquerades*Tea parties*Poetry

Sources Duarte, D. (2011) Myspace. Retrieved May 13, 2012 from Photobucket web site:http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/kk164/ZombieGenociderX/Cute%2520Cartoons/Gothic.jpg&imgrefurl= Durant, Charles A., R; Grant, D; Menon; and Turner, B. (2008). Text Building Skills in English. UK. Suigintou, S. Photobucket. Retrieved May 14, 2012 from Coolchaser web site:http://www.coolchaser.com/graphics/tag/gothic%2520cartoons&h

16