In a new blog post, DeAnna Knippling says that setting is the key to creating a good gothic story.
“In order for a gothic to feel properly atmospheric, horrific, and bittersweet, then the setting has to seem to come alive as the negative behaviors and emotions of one or more of the human characters are projected on the setting,” she explains. “In other words, in a gothic story, some element of the setting has to personify the moods or personality of one or more of the characters.”
Knippling offers a number of examples of how setting influences the atmosphere of gothic novels such as Frankenstein, Dracula, The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Rebecca, and Rosemary’s Baby.
