1. Lesson 3: Tone and Mood in the Gothic/Horror Genre
9/13/2017

2. Learning Objective
To analyze how authors create a tone or mood for the story. 2

3. What is Tone?
Tone: The writer’s attitude towards the subject of the piece, the audience, and self. Also known as, the way feelings are expressed.
Conveyed through the use of:
Diction (the words that the author uses in his/her writing)
Point of View (the author’s view and how it affects his/her writing)
Syntax (the arrangement of words to create sentences)
And, the author’s level of formality (how formal or informal is the piece?)

4. What is Mood?
Mood is the atmosphere of a piece of writing that influence the way the reader feels.
Writers use many devices to create the mood in a text:
Dialogue (language between the characters)
Setting (where/when the story takes place, who the characters are, etc.)
Plot (the rise and fall of action and events throughout the piece)

5. The MOOD of the passage is ______________ The ______________ relays the MOOD.
The door swings open to reveal all of my family members standing around the Christmas tree. The lights are twinkling and the fireplace is roaring with a warm fire. Everyone is singing Christmas carols as the snow falls quietly outside the window. 5

6. The MOOD of the passage is COZY/FAMILIAR The ATMOSPHERE relays the mood.
The door swings open to reveal all of my family members standing around the Christmas tree. The lights are twinkling and the fireplace is roaring with a warm fire. Everyone is singing Christmas carols as the snow falls quietly outside the window. 6

7. The MOOD of the passage is ______________ The ______________ relays the MOOD.
The door swings open to reveal a Christmas tree, alone in the middle of the room, sparkling with hundreds of lights. Silence greets me as I glance around the room. The fireplace is empty and the snow storm howls outside the window. My family has gone and I am left alone with my thoughts. 7

8. The MOOD of the passage is GLOOMY/LONELY The ATMOSPHERE relays the MOOD.
The door swings open to reveal a Christmas tree, alone in the middle of the room, sparkling with hundreds of lights. Silence greets me as I glance around the room. The fireplace is empty and the snow storm howls outside the window. My family has gone and I am left alone with my thoughts. 8

9. The MOOD of the passage is ______________ The ______________ relays the MOOD.
The night it happened was one we will never forget. The wind was screeching outside as rain pounded against the window. We had lost electricity hours ago and had nothing but candles to light the house. The battery powered radio we had was broadcasting a warning to lock your doors and stay inside; there was a killer on the loose. 9

10. The MOOD of the passage is SCARY/SUSPENSEFUL The ATMOSPHERE/SETTING relays the MOOD.
The night it happened was one we will never forget. The wind was screeching outside as rain pounded against the window. We had lost electricity hours ago and had nothing but candles to light the house. The battery powered radio we had was broadcasting a warning to lock your doors and stay inside; there was a killer on the loose. 10

11. Gothic/Horror Tone
The tone of a Gothic/Horror story is usually serious, foreboding, mysterious, suspenseful, but sometimes it can be
playful and comedic

12. Gothic/Horror Mood Unusual/Exotic Cold, Dark and gloomy
Remote, desolate, decay
Eerie and Spooky
Foreboding/Ominous
mysterious
Tense

13. The attic door creaked open. Something rustled in the darkness
The attic door creaked open. Something rustled in the darkness. I stared, but could see nothing beyond the vague shapes of old suitcases and trunks piled high. It smelt damp. I struggled up into the attic and wedged the door open. Light poured into darkness. The darkness in the head of the house. I balanced carefully upon the floor beams. I knew that if I stepped onto plaster I could fall straight through into the room below. A cobweb brushed my face and I felt the sudden tickle of a spider crawl across my cheek. As I made my way forwards, it grew darker and colder. I was blocking the light from the attic door. There were piles of old newspapers, brown bags tied with string cardboard boxes and ancient, moth eaten rugs that smelt of mothballs. Thick dust powdered every surface. I kept thinking that I could slip and put my foot through the floor. I stopped at a pile of old camping equipment. It was a jumble of guy ropes, torn canvas, poles, wooden pegs, metal skewers and a mallet. It was there that I saw the hand. It was quite still – and white. At first I thought it was marble. But then it moved.

14. The attic door creaked open. Something rustled in the darkness
The attic door creaked open. Something rustled in the darkness. I stared, but could see nothing beyond the vague shapes of old suitcases and trunks piled high. It smelt damp. I struggled up into the attic and wedged the door open. Light poured into darkness. The darkness in the head of the house. I balanced carefully upon the floor beams. I knew that if I stepped onto plaster I could fall straight through into the room below. A cobweb brushed my face and I felt the sudden tickle of a spider crawl across my cheek. As I made my way forwards, it grew darker and colder. I was blocking the light from the attic door. There were piles of old newspapers, brown bags tied with string cardboard boxes and ancient, moth eaten rugs that smelt of mothballs. Thick dust powdered every surface. I kept thinking that I could slip and put my foot through the floor. I stopped at a pile of old camping equipment. It was a jumble of guy ropes, torn canvas, poles, wooden pegs, metal skewers and a mallet. It was there that I saw the hand. It was quite still – and white. At first I thought it was marble. But then it moved.

15. Is this a Gothic/Horror Story?
1. Jane leaned on the railing of her apartment balcony, gazed across the shiny, blue sea of the bay, and sighed with happiness.

16. How do the story details create the mood?
Mood Created
Shiny blue sea of the bay
…sighed with happiness
…perfect holiday
Wistful, calm, happy

17. Is this a Gothic/Horror Story?
Heath Manor finally rose into view behind a line of dense, gloomy fir trees. The closer we got, the more it looked like a brooding monster -- battered and bruised, but still menacing. A fierce wind tugged at its broken shutters.

18. How do the story details create the mood?
Mood Created
…dense, gloomy fir trees.
…brooding monster…menacing.
…fierce wind…broken shutters
Foreboding, mysterious, suspenseful

19. Is this a Gothic/Horror Story?
"Surrender" boomed the voice of the Stragor commander. "Surrender, or we will destroy your ship and all on board." Martin Strang, leader of Solar Expedition 29, was not easily scared. He readied the stun missile tubes

20. How do the story details create the mood?
Mood Created
…boomed the voice.
…we will destroy your ship.
…not easily scared.
Suspenseful, adventurous, exciting