10 important gothic elements!

1. Setting in a castle/isolated house

Castles usually are used in Gothic novels because they are large buildings which are usually unoccupied or abandoned which starts to bring up questions to why it was abandoned, these questions create an uncertainty around the buildings, such things as the supernatural are linked with castles because of the sense of emptiness and the unknown. These castles usually have trapped doors, secret rooms and filled with darkness adding mystery to the buildings.

2. A bad atmosphere of mystery or suspense

An atmosphere is usually created by an unknown event which has been built up throughout the novel using suspense, these events are usually inexplicable events such as disappearances or even deaths. A bad atmosphere can also be created by a narrator who is trying to get across the feelings of the characters or the narrator trying to add suspense to the novel.

3. An Ancient prophesy

The ancient prophesy is usually held through a character of the novel or the location such as a castle. These prophesy usually create an unknown feeling to the novel, this is because if the prophesy is usually inexplicable, this tends to make the reader question 'what is it?'

4. Omens, Portents, Visions

A character may usually be disturbed by the supernatural. These supernatural events are usually created by Omens, portents and visions. The visions for example can be used to foreshadow future events, for example if a statue of a character falls over and smashes, then this could be foreshadowing the characters death.

5. Supernatural or other inexplicable events

Dramatic, amazing events always occur in gothic novels, this is because it adds mystery and suspense to the novel. Such things as ghosts or object moving are known as supernatural events, inexplicable events or the events which have no meaning to them however help to add suspense to the novel, these events can help lead to a big event.

6. High emotions

7. Women in distress

8. Women threatened by a powerful male

9. Metonymy of gloom and horror

10. The vocab of horror