Index

A
- Abhuman: Something only vestigially human and possibly in the process of becoming something monstrous. 
- Antihero: A fundamentally flawed protagonist. 
- Age of Reason: See 'Enlightenment'.

B

C

D
- Doppleganger: A double, mirror image or alter ego of a character.

E
- Enlightenment: A European intellectual movement of the 18th century emphasising individualism rather than tradition.
- Excess: Hyperbole. 

F

G

H
- Horror: Fear generated by physical shock.


I

J

K

L
- Liminal: Refers to the experience of being on a threshold or a boundary. 

M

N

O
- Obscurity: Darkness, fogginess, confusion and things not seen or understood clearly. 
- Oppositions: Binary opposites e.g. good/evil.
- Otherness: Anything different from ourselves.


P

Q

R
- Revenant: Term used to describe the past or 'what comes back'. 

S
- Sublime: A sense of awe, astonishment, of being overwhelmed in the face of something much bigger than ourselves. 
- Supernatural: Above nature, mysterious and inexplicable.


T
- Taboos: Cultural, moral or religious rules which are violated. 
- Terror: Fear generated through uncertainty and the obscure. 
- Transgression: Breaking moral boundaries. 


U
- Uncanny: The strange, eerie or mysterious.


V

W

X

Y

Z

Introduction to the Gothic

The gothic genre typically has many obvious conventions and concepts which are used frequently throughout many different gothic novels and stories. 

Gothic Concepts

- Horror and Terror 
- The Sublime
- The Uncanny
- Taboos
- The Supernatural or Preternatural 
- Oppositions
- Otherness
- Obscurity
- The Revenant 
- The Doppleganger
- The Liminal
- Abhuman
- Antihero
- Transgression
- Excess


History of the Gothic

The Gothic genre began in the late 18th century and began the Age of Reason (or Enlightenment). It can also be seen as a response to the French revolution or revolution in general. It is often seen as a genre of excess and is thought to have begun with Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto.