Tales of the Gothic: An Introduction

Let me start off by apologizing for my recent absence from the blog-o-sphere. September was a busy, high stress month for me, and my blogging paid the price. But it’s finally October and the beginning of what I like to call the “spooktacular season”, that magical time of year when the pumpkins come out and my inner child goes wild. And though I will undoubtedly write a few posts narrating my epic battle with jack-o-lantern carving, costume construction, and many other Halloween related festivities, this year I wanted to dedicate the month of October to a discussion of my favorite genre of classical literature – the Gothic novel.

Since my time as an English Lit major in college, I’ve always found this particular area of the literary canon most fascinating. Characterized by mystery, supernatural horror, epic castles and dark romance, Gothic novels act as reaction to the extreme rationalism of the Augustan literary era and stand out as the unique offspring of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. They’re ghost stories and accounts of the living dead, paranormal affairs and tales of the macabre. And above all, they're an investigation into the inner workings of the human psyche. Gothic novels are a perfect fit for the Halloween season, and I could think of no way to honor them more than a blog series devoted to the authors who so splendidly captured the soul of genre.

So check back and stay tuned for Tales of the Gothic . . .