Hey! Will somebody tell that man to quit holding his breath? He’s turning Blue! And those teeth! What? Hey! He’s biting me! He’s Biting me!

 Gothic literature plunges it’s characters into mystery, torment, and fear in order to pose disturbing questions to our familiar and comfortable ideas of humanity, society, and the cosmos  Man! That fella on that table sure does have some big old feet! I bet he would be good at ski jumping!

 From gothic architecture of the middle ages  Gothic cathedrals: Irregularly placed towers High stained-glass windows Inspire awe and fear in worshippers That sure is long walk up that hill! And that kind of looks like the place where those flying monkeys come from. Hey! Wait a minute! Monkey’s can’t fly! Can they?

 Carvings of small deformed creatures at the corners of gothic cathedrals  Suppose to ward off evil spirits  Demonic look  Mascot of gothic literature  Pssst…Why do you suppose that creature over there ain’t got no eyes? Kind of creeps me out. Oh, Wait a minute! Here he comes! Hey! What are you doing? Quit! Oh! Stop it! Hey! My eyes! Oh my eyes! Man! These gnats are awful!

 Helpless victim No control over the victimizer ○ i.e. – damsel in distress Could be either a man or a woman Now look. I know you guys are not dumb or anything. But if a green man with a flat head comes up to you at a lake and wants to throw flowers into the water with you, you had better run!

Characteristics:  Evil Victimizer Immense or supernatural powers Always associated with some sort of evil Ladies…if you ever come a fellow with eyes the color of blood and teeth like spikes, hang on to him! He is sure to keep all the creepers away! Don’t you think?

 Setting – sense of hopelessness and fear Physical ○ Large house or estate ○ Frontier wilderness Psychological ○ In your mind ○ Dreams ○ Omens ○ Foreshadowing ○ Looks like somebody needs to cut their grass! Somebody call the Homeowner’s Association! Let’s go up and confront that nice old lady who sits in the window up there. Mrs. Bates? Mrs. Bates? Are you up there? Mrs. Bates?

 Mysterious Atmosphere Oppressive, fearful, full of doom ○ i.e. – a crypt Supernatural events Unknown terror Words that indicate fear and mystery Now look Gil, I’m not telling you again to cut those fingernails! You’re going to put someone’s eyes out with those things! I’m not kidding! Hey! Stop it! Ouch! Hey! My eyes! My eyes!

 Victim entranced by Victimizer Fascinated by their power Hey! Don’t look now; but that feller ain’t got no head! Holy moly! That feller on that horse ain’t got head either! What’s going on here? Wait a minute! I thought it was two heads are better than none! Not, no heads are better than two!

 Rational vs. irrational  Guilt and shame  High emotions Anger Surprise Terror Grief Obsessive love Greed All I’m going to say is don’t ever trust a man who is wearing a black turtle-necked sweater. Especially if he has fire on the left side of his body! And those eyebrows! Just you look at those eyebrows! Look like demon wings to me! Hey! What are looking at? Stop it! Cut it out! Stop! Hey! Don’t! Oh1 My eyes! My eyes!

 Thresholds of the unknown  Shadowy region – the fantastic The demonic The insane  Potential of evil in the individual  Peer into the darkness at the supernatural  Let me give you some advice. If you ever, and I mean ever see these two lovely ladies, you’d better turn around and run like there’s no tomorrow! And, I ain’t playing! Never trust anyone whose tube socks are not even!

 Gothic tradition established in europe  American Gothic Writers: Nathanial Hawthorne – The Scarlet A Washington Irving – Sleepy Hollow Herman Melville – Moby Dick Edgar Allan Poe – THE MASTER! Bald-headed men with needle-like finger nails are just naturally creepy; don’t you think? He sure does have a nice jacket, though. I wonder if he would be willing to sell it? Let’s ask! Shall we?