Gothics
Dark romantic fiction
Gothics refers to Gothic novels—a genre of fiction featuring dark, mysterious settings, supernatural elements, and brooding atmosphere.
The term typically describes 18th and 19th century works like *Frankenstein* or *Wuthering Heights*, though it extends to their modern descendants: She spent the summer reading Gothics.
The capital G distinguishes the literary genre from lowercase gothic, which describes the broader aesthetic.
Early British statesman
- RadcliffeFormer women's college, Cambridge
- PoeAmerican gothic writer's surname
- ShelleyEnglish Romantic surname
- StokerGothic horror surname
Frankenstein · Dracula · haunted · specter · ruined castle · heroine · villain · sublime
Apparition of the dead
- vampireBlood-drinking undead creature
- specterGhostly threatening presence
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
- curseInvoked harm through words
possession · séance · occult · witchcraft · demon · haunting · undead · werewolf
Absence of light
- shadowLight blocked by object
- midnightTwelve o'clock at night
- ravenLarge black carrion bird
- obsidianGlassy igneous rock
ebony · black · velvet · lace · corset · Victorian · melancholy · romantic
Fortified medieval residence
- manorLanded aristocratic residence
- abbeyMonastic house of worship
- dungeonSubterranean prison chamber
- cryptSubterranean burial vault
tower · ruins · graveyard · moor · labyrinth · secret passage · hidden chamber · turret
Bishop's principal church
- spireTapering architectural peak
- pointed archArch with angled apex
- flying buttressExternal arch transferring thrust
- gargoyleDecorative architectural waterspout
tracery · rose window · pinnacle · buttress · nave · transept · clerestory · lancet
Walpole
Early British statesman
- RadcliffeFormer women's college, Cambridge
- PoeAmerican gothic writer's surname
- ShelleyEnglish Romantic surname
Stoker · Frankenstein · Dracula · haunted · specter · ruined castle · heroine · villain · sublime · terror
ghost
Apparition of the dead
- vampireBlood-drinking undead creature
- specterGhostly threatening presence
- apparitionVisible supernatural manifestation
curse · possession · séance · occult · witchcraft · demon · haunting · undead · werewolf · revenant
dark
Absence of light
obsidian · ebony · black · velvet · lace · corset · Victorian · melancholy · romantic · ornate
castle
Fortified medieval residence
crypt · tower · ruins · graveyard · moor · labyrinth · secret passage · hidden chamber · turret · parapet
cathedral
Bishop's principal church
- spireTapering architectural peak
- pointed archArch with angled apex
- flying buttressExternal arch transferring thrust
gargoyle · tracery · rose window · pinnacle · buttress · nave · transept · clerestory · lancet · quatrefoil
- Adirondack PeaksGiant, Cascade, Saddleback, Phelps, Allen
- New England MountainsMount Washington, White Mountains, Mount Moriah, Sugarloaf Mountain, Saddleback
Gothicssocial realism
Unidealized portrayal of workers' lives
kitchen sink realism · comedy of manners · chick lit · Regency romance · romantic comedy
GothicsRomanesque
Round-arched medieval building style
Renaissance architecture · Bauhaus · Modernism · Brutalism · Minimalism