Gothic Horror in Susan Hills The Woman in Black and H.G....

Gothic Horror in Susan Hills The Woman in Black and H.G. Wells The Red Room As with all things, the gothic horror genre of literature did not begin at one definable point, but evolved gradually. Gothic horror evolved out of gothic fiction (as opposed to classical fiction, for example the novels of Jane Austen), before establishing itself as a genre in its own right. However, many literary scholars and critics would point to The Castle of Otranto, written by Horace Walpole and first published in 1764, as the first true gothic horror novel, containing as it does many of the clichs prevalent throughout the genre. Gothic horror novels are typified by their dark, lachrymose atmosphere of dread and fear. In fact, the key to†¦show more content†¦These are very important to the gothic feel, and are sometimes augmented by hidden passages and spiral staircases. In The Woman In Black, the main location is an old, isolated, haunted house in the middle of a marsh, even supplemented with an abandoned graveyard for full gothic effect. The castle setting of The Red Room is more traditional for the gothic horror genre, in fact it contains many classic clichs of the genre, such as suits of amour, spiral staircases and underground tunnels. These environments are designed to build up an oppressive atmosphere, and increase the tension even in calm, natural parts of the story. This tension and sense of an oppressive atmosphere is one of the key elements in gothic horror stories. Everything is done to add to this atmosphere. One of the most common tricks is to create a sense of alienation and isolation. One definition of alienation is separation resulting from hostility, ant this is very pertinent to the gothic horror genre; in many books and stories, the narrator feels that people arent telling him everything, and are acting against him (though they are often working to help him), for instance in The Woman in Black, when the landlord at the Crythin Arms is evasive about the Drablow family, Arthur Kipps says I was curious and a little irritated by his manner, a sentiment repeated throughout the text. In The Red