Gothic novels in english literature plan introduction the Rise of Gothic Fiction in England

Gothic Horror Novels

Ann Radcliffe helped define the Gothic novel by distinguishing between ‘terror’ and ‘horror.’ She suggests that terror 'expands the soul' while horror 'freezes' it.¹ Based on this, it is possible to distinguish Gothic Terror, which holds the reader in suspense, and horror gothic, which aims to shock the reader.
Gothic Horror relies on evoking a sense of fear among the readers and does so with a backdrop of a bleak, perhaps even haunted setting, and a dark Mood that is enhanced by paranormal figures. Gothic Horror engages with the psyche of its main characters, and relies on hallucinations, tricks played on the mind, and often disturbing pasts and back stories to 'freeze' its readers.
Typically, in a Gothic Horror Novel, questions of morality, philosophy and religion would be raised. Good and evil would battle it out with 'good' being represented by human figures and 'evil' traditionally represented by unhuman or paranormal forces.

Frankenstein

A sea voyager writes about how he has rescued a dying scientist called Frankenstein, who then tells his story of how he created a monstrous being he calls ‘the Creature.’ The story flashes back to Frankenstein’s days as a student, which he spent discovering the secret of life. Frankenstein builds a man from body parts he obtains from dissection rooms and brings him to life. Horrified by what he has created, Frankenstein rejects the Creature, who then disappears into the outside world. After several murders and much travelling, Frankenstein dies at the end of the story. The sea captain closes his narration with him having met the Creature who, informed of Frankenstein’s demise, disappears on a raft across the waves until he is ‘lost in darkness and distance’ (chapter 24).

Dracula

Jonathan Harker, a young solicitor, travels to Transylvania to settle a sale of land with a client called Count Dracula. He discovers that Dracula is a vampire, capable of turning into a bat. Harker narrowly escapes the Count’s clutches and falls into a fever at a convent, where his fiancee Mina joins him. They travel back to England, only to discover that Dracula has bought the old Abbey near Mina’s home. Mina’s friend Lucy comes under the influence of Dracula and is ‘turned’ into a vampire herself. She dies as a human, but returns as a vampire. Aided by Dr van Helsing, a vampire hunter, they dig up Lucy’s body and decapitate her. Harker, Mina, and three of their friends unite with Dr Helsing in bringing down the Count.

The Woman in Black

This is a ghost novel in the gothic tradition about a malignant phantom that haunts a small coastal town in England. Whenever the ghost is seen, it means a child will soon die. She is seen several times by a young lawyer who has been sent to tie up the paperwork and estate of a deceased client. Deaths of the children soon follow, and the lawyer is caught up in unravelling the connection with the deceased client and the phantom of the Woman in Black.
The Woman in Black has been adapted for radio, television, film, and stage; the stage version is so far the second-longest running Play in the West End.