What is Gothic Horror?

I was just curious if anyone could explain this to me in 'simple' terms. Haha. I understand that some of the primary characteristics of this genre is that it takes place in what you would consider Gothic-kind of architecture such as a castle or some Victorian Mansion. In addition, there are usually some elements of love for the supernatural that never ends well. The love isn't always romantic, but more often than not it is. Beside those two things, I don't know what is gothic horror.

For some reason it isn't as easy to define as Fantasy or Sci-fi and I am guessing that it is because it is a sub-genre.

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@PJWAJL Gothic horror is often called "Gothic" in general. You're right about having elements of both romance & horror. There are always certain characters that are portrayed in this type of writing. For instance the young maiden, older, foolish woman, the hero, the evil dude & there might be a comic relief. A good example of a Gothic writer would be Edgar A. Poe.

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@Rayvin Oh snap! I completely forgot about this thread since I was offline from last week. I like that you characterized the genre a bit more with the type of characters usually prevalent in the form of fiction and referencing Edgar. It is always easier to wrap your head around concepts when you are given solid examples.

For some reason I feel as if it shouldn't be a category of itself. This might be odd to say, but I am actually starting to think that Gothic, as you say, is a broader category to some of the genres we know today. Okay, maybe not a broader category, but it might have help develop some of the genres that we know today. Gothic has bits and pieces of each genre which is why I couldn't grasp it.

Thank you for answering! You provided insight as well as saved my thread. =]

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I would answer that to achieve Gothic Horror atmosphere is critical. You need really strong visual elements to your story that give a sense of deep foreboding. Characters are normally obsessed and nobody is ever telling the whole truth. This genre is all about secrets, partial truths and clues. You need a magnetic but mysterious character who is enigmatic and you need a second character who is hopelessly naive. Tha magnetic character is trying to get the naive character to do something that is against their nature and will and must manipulate the naive character to get them to do it. These stories speak to the primevil self. I hope this helps @PJWAJL

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