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Today’s post is by developmental editor and book coach Hannah Kate Kelley.
What is Gothic fiction?
Gothic fiction, also referred to as gothic horror, is a subgenre of Romantic literature born out of the late 18th century. These stories typically feature a hauntingly beautiful and dilapidated setting, suspenseful narratives, and dark themes like oppression, guilt, shame, and insanity. Typically, a morally gray anti-hero will enter a vast, isolated and old estate that’s housing a terrible secret or a horrendous monster.
Gothic fiction is firmly rooted in the horror genre, which is designed to evoke fear, dread, and terror in readers. However, Gothic stories differ from typical horror stories in three major ways:
- More ambiguity and subtlety. The villain is not always explicit or literal in Gothic fiction, and readers often doubt whether the supernatural events are real or imagined. Characters are often morally ambiguous, too.
- Slower pacing. One of Gothic fiction’s biggest hallmarks is the slow-building, creeping horror. The true identity of the villain often unravels slowly. and there’s less gore and slasher scenes (at least upfront) than in other horror stories.
- Unresolved endings. In most horror stories, the antagonist is defeated by the end and the survivors achieve a semblance of safety. In Gothic stories, the antagonist may not be fully defeated, storylines may not feel fully resolved, and readers may never know the entire truth behind the mysteries.
The Gothic genre has its own subgenres, too, including Southern Gothic. These stories take place in the southern United States, leaning on irony and the macabre to explore the area’s social and cultural issues. Notable Southern Gothic writers include Zora Neale Hurston, Harper Lee, and William Faulkner.
A brief history of Gothic literature
Gothic fiction began in 18th-century England when both cultural upheaval and the public’s desire for spooky stories collided.
So much was changing so fast, and people were scared. Many readers turned to horror stories to cope. Sound familiar? Turns out horror fans feel more resilient in the face of fear than non-horror fans, just as a team of scientists discovered during the pandemic.
Readers also craved horror stories because mysteries of the natural world were shrinking with geographic exploration. Plus, Gothic fiction was suddenly trendy in a market saturated with novels focused on moral instruction and realistic, non-romanticized subject matter.
The first Gothic story is widely thought to be Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, published in 1764. The story takes place in a medieval castle ruled by Prince Manfred who decides to divorce his wife and marry his son’s intended “virginal” bride to secure his lineage. She tries to flee the castle with a peasant boy, both pursued by Manfred. Battles in dark corridors occur. Romance ensues. Damsels in distress. and at last, a supernatural prophecy is fulfilled when the true heir to the throne is revealed.
Walpole was a Gothic architecture enthusiast, having renovated his home estate Strawberry Hill House into the medieval Gothic style with features like arched windows, stained glass, and castle-like turrets which evoked darkness, grandeur and unease. In true Gothic fashion, he drew inspiration for this novel from a nightmare in his renovated home.
Initially, the public found these stories campy and embarrassing. Even Walpole didn’t want to put his name on the first edition of The Castle of Otranto, claiming it was a recently uncovered 16th century Italian manuscript. But the public knew what they liked and, after a while, the genre became so widely imitated and innovated that it stuck.
Gothic stories, new and old, are still popular with readers today. While readers of yore enjoyed the subtle societal critiques in an era of unrest, modern-day readers similarly appreciate the genre’s creeping horror to reflect the issues and fears we face today.
9 Gothic genre conventions and characteristics
Every genre includes conventions and characteristics to satisfy reader expectations. think of the popular Gothic action film Van Helsing starring Hugh Jackman and Kate Beckinsale, which playfully leans into Gothic conventions, even drawing directly from The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson, Frankenstein by Mary Shelley, and of course Dracula by Bram Stoker.
Whether you choose to craft a Gothic retelling or an original tale is up to you, but writers must consider genre conventions to please their audience. While you won’t find every one of the following nine characteristics in every Gothic novel, you will typically find at least the first four.
1. Conflation of the past and present
The past plays an important role in the present story as if it is a living, breathing thing. The past becomes present through apparitions, prophecies, curses, familial secrets, and embodied trauma. Not only does this conflation add suspense, but it also warns readers of the dangers of unresolved cyclical trauma. It blurs linear timelines and makes the supernatural happenings feel more grounded in reality.
2. Supernatural activity
Gothic fiction features supernatural elements such as ghosts, apparitions, sentient houses, enchanted objects, vampires, and monsters. Whether literal or symbolic, magical or grounded in scientific explanation, the obscurity around the supernatural elements often makes them feel more realistic than they do in other genres.
3. Dilapidated settings
In Gothic fiction, the setting is immersive and has extensive description. The home often has an agency of its own, like how the estate High Place uses brain-altering fungus for psychological influence in Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia. The dilapidation is an important feature, too, as it often references the moral decay of a society and the mental decay of the characters who lose their sanity.
Common settings include Gothic-style castles with underground passages, graveyards, cathedrals, vast oceans, and creepy forests. Early Gothic writers thought medieval buildings referenced a dark and horrific period in history, with thrilling rituals, torture, and hidden corners where anything could happen.
In addition, Gothic settings arrived hand-in-hand with dark atmospheres, including dreary, ominous storms, rain, sudden cold drafts, and screeching winds. Just like Shakespeare, Gothic writers used turbulent weather to mirror their characters’ inner turmoil.
4. The sublime
These days, we tend to think of the sublime as fantastic and great, but back then the word was more akin to something both terrifying and awe inspiring, like standing at the foot of a massive, dark, violent ocean. In his influential 1757 work A Philosophical Enquiry into the Origin of Our Ideas of the Sublime and Beautiful, writer Edmund Burke inadvertently developed the Gothic genre’s tonal recipe: in order to create the strongest emotion in the world (the sublime), Burke believed we must harness obscurity to create terror of the unknown, because terror most often evokes the sublime. Because the sublime is so closely tied to both horror and beauty, pain and pleasure, Gothic writers like playing up the duality in their stories.
Suspense and obscurity are huge aspects of Gothic fiction, too, given that much of the genre’s slow-burning build and ambiguity revolve around the unknown. Plot lines often feature familial mysteries, sudden vanishings, and strange objects—like the massive statue helmet that crushes Prince Manfred’s son to death at the start of the prophecy in The Castle of Otranto.
5. Archetypal characters
Some character types, like the virginal damsel-in-distress, didn’t age so well. Not only were many women characters depicted offensively, some 19th-century European and American writers were proponents of the racist pseudoscience called physiognomy, the idea that someone’s physical appearance reflected their inner character. That’s why many Gothic monsters like Dracula were often depicted with “evil” traits like dark and bloodshot eyes, hawk-like or aquiline noses, red mouths, hairy palms, and dark complexions. Many of the archetypal characters are reimagined by modern writers to suit modern readership and weed out offensive tropes.
- Anti-Heroes. Known as the Satanic hero or the Byronic hero, the Gothic anti-hero is realistically flawed, lonely, and a social outcast—and traditionally depicted as a man. Lord Byron, a popular 19th-century writer, popularized this hero. Atypical protagonists and charming villains confused readers, adding to the suspense of determining the true antagonist. Plus, readers often enjoy relatable, morally complex characters.
- Tall, dark & handsome villains. Also typically depicted as a man, the Gothic villain can be conventionally unattractive. But to flip reader expectations and hide their true nature, villains can also be charming, though there are often hints at their supernatural monstrosity. The antagonist’s monstrosity usually represents repressed desire or societal fears. The antagonist is typically ancient and has been enacting the same cyclical trickery year after year, the truth of which is slowly revealed by the story’s end. This means the protagonist might not directly confront the antagonist late in the story.
- Damsels in distress. In the early Gothic novels, women characters were pure, innocent victims who fled corrupt princes and supernatural beasts until the protagonist men swooped in to save the day. You may have seen a pulp fiction novel cover depicting this very thing: a woman escaping a large castle on foot, her white dress billowing behind her as she screams in terror. Women writers as early as the Brontë sisters and Jane Austen began subverting sexist gender portrayals by including more active, complex women protagonists and critiquing the patriarchal society of their day.
6. Secrets
Secrets can be kept by one character from another, as well as kept by a character from themself, kept by society from the individual, or kept by the individual from society. Secrets might involve concealed family ties, hidden incest and sexual assault (Gothic literature does not shy away from the taboo), buried events, and “shapeshifting” characters who hide their true nature.
7. Portents
A portent is a sign that something big and terrible is likely to happen, often revealed through curses, superstitions, and prophecies. The protagonist or a supporting character may have distressing dreams or visions—dreams and sleeplike states are often a vehicle for portents, serving as windows into a character’s subconscious fears and making it easier for the supernatural to infiltrate their minds. Dreams also blur the boundary between reality and the supernatural, confusing readers as to what is real and what is not.
8. Romance
Not just “Romantic” as in the era Gothic fiction derived from, but “romantic” as in love and desire. Romance plot lines feature passionate but troubled love. In Charlotte Brontë’s Jane Eyre, protagonist Jane must navigate not only external threats but her relationship’s inner conflict before finding love. Some Gothic romance is motivated by obsession, lust, and coercion, just like the predatory Prince Manfred in The Castle of Otranto. In many modern Gothic stories, the love interests often work together to defeat the external supernatural forces that entrap them.
9. Dark Themes
Gothic fiction often examines the buried parts of our human nature and may focus on devolving characters and unreliable narrators. Symbolism is a common literary device used to highlight these themes, just as the ouroboros symbol (a snake eating its own tail) signifies death, rebirth, and inescapable cyclical oppression in Silvia Moreno-Garcia’s Mexican Gothic.
How to Outline Your Gothic Story
Let’s use the standard three-act structure, with eleven key plot points. While you can go as in-depth or as abstract as you wish, I always recommend using this structure as a starting point— it works well for any genre.
As we move through each plot point, we’ll look at the corresponding examples from one classic Gothic romance novel: Jane Eyre (1847) by Charlotte Brontë and one contemporary Gothic action novel: Mexican Gothic (2020) by Silvia Moreno-Garcia.
If you’d like help plotting your Gothic story outline as you go along, download my free editable Three-Act Outline Workbook.
Act 1
The beginning act of your story introduces your morally complex protagonist (or protagonists), core cast of characters, unique world-building with an unsettling atmosphere, and central conflict—setting the stage for the story’s descent into literal and figurative darkness.
- The Hook. A hook is a literary device meant to capture a reader’s attention, like a fish on a baited fishing line. Hooks come as early as the first sentence or first paragraphs, usually no later than the end of the first scene. Your Gothic story hook might introduce a compelling protagonist, a thrilling opening image, a haunting first line, or even a mysterious conflict the protagonist must solve in the initial chapter (though this shouldn’t be the main conflict just yet).
Jane Eyre hook: Young Jane Eyre lives in an oppressive environment with her cruel wealthy aunt and cousins, establishing her deep desire for independence and belonging. Readers are hooked by the intelligent, mistreated narrator and hints of supernatural forces as she’s needlessly punished in the eerie “red room.”
Mexican Gothic hook: Noemí Taboada, a glamorous playgirl socialite in 1950s Mexico, is summoned home from a costume party by her father’s pressing news. Readers are drawn into the story by a protagonist that might surprise some readers, given her penchant for smoking cigarettes, how she toys with her beaus, and her flippant, self-indulgent nature. Gone is the damsel in distress trope. In her place stands a wonderfully Byronic protagonist, this time a woman.
- The Set Up. The set up establishes the protagonist’s ordinary world before the inciting incident strikes. The purpose of the set up is for readers to get their contextual bearings and care enough about the protagonist before the inciting incident disrupts everything. This groundwork can include an introduction to the protagonist’s harrowing background, a brief showcase of their greatest desires and motivations, their fatal flaw, hints of the story’s central theme, important world-building details and story context, and the story’s eerie tone. The set up begins on Page 1 and encompasses everything (including the hook) until the inciting incident, ranging between one chapter and several chapters. Even if your protagonist’s primary story goal is yet to be established, the protagonist should still be active in the set up, not waiting for life to finally happen.
Jane Eyre set up: As tension escalates with her cruel foster family, her aunt sends Jane away to the disciplinary Lowood School, where she faces harsh conditions but forms friendships, highlighting her resilience. Though Jane is sent to Lowood, this moment is not the inciting incident, as she is not yet facing the story’s main conflict: her romantic relationship with Mr. Rochester. Therefore, this send-off is a mini-inciting incident that is setting the protagonist on her path toward the story’s catalyst.
Mexican Gothic set up: Because the inciting incident occurs in Chapter 1, there is only about a chapter’s worth of set up before Noemí sets off for her new home. Readers learn Noemí struggles with her impulsivity (in love and in life), wants to get her masters in anthropology, loves to play the piano, and is a popular socialite. This brief set up works for this story because part of Noemí’s flaw is that she is flighty and doesn’t have much direction.
- The Inciting Incident. The inciting incident is the life-changing event that disrupts the protagonist’s ordinary life and pitches them into the main conflict of the story. This moment of no-return should be the first time the protagonist faces the primary antagonist/conflict. In Gothic fiction, this event often involves encountering something strange like a sudden disappearance, a mysterious message or invitation, an omen or prophecy. It might involve meeting an alluring and handsome love interest, or encountering an inexplicable event. Though the inciting incident can fall at the recommended 10–12% mark of your story, this catalyst can also occur a little after this mark if the set up is engaging enough like Jane Eyre, as early as Chapter 1 like Mexican Gothic, or even in the backstory before the story begins.
Jane Eyre inciting incident: After completing her education at Lowood eight years later, Jane accepts a governess position at the isolated Thornfield Hall, where she soon encounters the mysterious owner Mr. Rochester. In a story where romance is the primary plot line like Jane Eyre, the first meeting of the two (or more) love interests is most often the inciting incident.
Mexican Gothic inciting incident: Noemí’s father receives an eerie, disturbing letter from her cousin Catalina claiming her new husband Victor and his estate (High Place) is killing her. Not only is Noemí motivated to help her cousin, but her father finally grants her permission to attend university for her anthropology degree, if she agrees to go to High Place. After the inciting incident, she arrives at the dilapidated estate where the family and servants act strangely, the windows in her room won’t budge open, and she has strange dreams about the house’s mold-covered walls.
Act 2
The middle of your story is where the mystery deepens, the stakes rise, and the pacing quickens. In Gothic fiction, this act often focuses on the protagonist’s gradual immersion into the unknown as the antagonist or conflict slowly comes to light. The protagonist faces both external challenges and internal fears.
- The First Turning Point. By the first turning point, the protagonist is well past the inciting incident and faces a key decision to either further combat the central antagonist or conflict or step away. The protagonist might drag their feet or develop a clear strategy before moving forward. This moment can close out Act 1 or fall within the initial chapters of Act 2. The first turning point could involve discovering something supernatural, encountering the villain, or suddenly realizing that there’s no easy way out of the situation they chose to enter. Often the conflict becomes personal for the protagonist, increasing or more clearly defining the stakes.
Jane Eyre turning point 1: Jane begins to develop romantic feelings for Mr. Rochester. Meanwhile, Thornfield Hall is littered with strange happenings like mysterious laughter and the housekeeper’s dodging answers, suggesting dark secrets are at play.
Mexican Gothic turning point 1: Noemí solidifies her decision to save Catalina at the end of Chapter 8 because she is beginning to suspect the root of her cousin’s illness is not actually tuberculosis but rather something dangerous, perhaps airborne, hidden at High Place.
- The First Pinch Point. The first pinch point is a moment of tension or pressure that reinforces the central conflict’s power, whether the conflict is external or internal or both. In Gothic stories, this plot point might take the form of a supernatural event, a terrifying vision, or a revelation that heightens the sense of dread. The protagonist feels the weight of the unknown bearing down on them, deeply urging them to face their fears, though they are not yet ready to fully confront those fears. While the central antagonist or conflict might not be obvious, there are hints as to what the true threat is.
Jane Eyre pinch point 1: Jane saves Mr. Rochester from a sudden, inexplicable fire in his bedroom, deepening their emotional connection. However, she is puzzled by Mr. Rochester and Grace Poole’s explanations of the fire, suspecting they are not being fully honest with her. Though she does not yet know Mr. Rochester’s hidden, mentally ill wife Bertha Mason is behind the mysterious happenings, Jane is getting closer to uncovering this major conflict in her relationship with Mr. Rochester.
Mexican Gothic pinch point 1: In terms of external conflict, Noemí experiences increasingly vivid dreams that warn her High Place is a danger until she finds herself dangerously sleepwalking into a series of visions. In terms of internal conflict, Noemí is faced with her fatal flaw when she regrets callously insulting her newest love interest, Francis.
- The Midpoint. During the midpoint, several big things happen: the stakes rise because the protagonist gains new information or insight, the tone becomes more serious, and the protagonist transitions from a reactive role to a more proactive role. In Gothic fiction, the midpoint often also reveals a hidden truth or exposes what the antagonist wants and why. The midpoint can mark a false high or false low in your protagonist’s journey. If they encounter a false high, the protagonist’s goal will feel closer than ever, whereas a false low will manifest as the character losing faith in ever reaching their goal. Either way, mounting conflict will still stand in their way as they approach the second half of the story.
Jane Eyre midpoint: Mr. Rochester proposes to Jane and she gladly accepts to wed the man she loves. This is a false high because underlying tensions linger, and she still has not uncovered the truth behind the eerie happenings at Thornfield Hall.
Mexican Gothic midpoint: Noemí still cannot identify the antagonistic force and refuses to believe in the supernatural, though she is beginning to better understand that something airborne is affecting her and Catalina’s mental health. Francis warns her in secret to leave High Place before the haunting or the family hurts her, though he still will not disclose what the true antagonist is or what it wants with her.
- The Second Pinch Point. Like the first pinch point, the second point serves as an even stronger reminder of the looming conflict. Perhaps a terrifying occurrence threatens the protagonist’s safety or sanity, or sheds light on the protagonist’s internal conflict. This second pinch point tightens the suspense and pushes the protagonist closer to a final confrontation.
Jane Eyre pinch point 2: As the wedding date approaches, Jane believes she dreams up a monstrous creature towering above her bed. When she “wakes,” she finds her wedding veil torn. Mr. Rochester tells Jane once again it was his maid Grace Poole, and though Jane still doesn’t quite buy it, she appeases him by letting the matter go. This is similar to Bertha Mason’s fire at the first pinch point but now the attack feels more personal as it is directed towards Jane. In part, this moment reveals the “villain” because Jane sees Bertha’s face (even though she still believes it was all a nightmare).
Mexican Gothic pinch point 2: Noemí’s trance-like sleepwalking finally draws her out of her private bath and into Victor’s bedroom, where he waits with predatory intentions. She imagined he lured her there, but still has no proof he is the antagonist behind her cousin’s failing health or the supernatural events—all she knows is she cannot trust him and that she now wants to leave the estate.
- The Second Turning Point. The second turning point is the final major event that propels the protagonist into Act Three. The worst possible thing finally happens to the protagonist, what they’ve been dreading perhaps all along, and they step into their hour of greatest darkness. Perhaps even literal darkness. The protagonist uncovers the darkest part of the mystery, or makes a crucial discovery. The end of this plot point will feel like a gut punch or a cliffhanger.
Jane Eyre turning point 2: On her wedding day, Jane discovers Mr. Rochester’s secret—the existence of his legal wife, Bertha Mason, who Mr. Rochester keeps hidden because of her mental illness. After their marriage, his wife proved dangerous and violent, so he hid her to protect herself and others. He thought his love life was doomed until he met Jane Eyre. Devastated by this betrayal, Jane decides to leave Thornfield Hall forever, choosing her moral integrity over her love of him.
Mexican Gothic turning point 2: Noemí plans her escape from High Place with Catalina, but they are physically trapped at the last minute by the cruel family’s supernatural abilities. Noemí finally uncovers what the family wants and why: to use Noemí as a living host for the forced insemination of their supernatural rebirth, so they may live forever. With the estate’s fungus, they poison her into submission, and she fears they will never escape now.
Act 3
The final act usually brings the protagonist into direct and final confrontation with the central antagonist or conflict. Readers need their big questions answered: Will the protagonist find love at last? Will the protagonist defeat the villain? The tension peaks as the protagonist must make critical choices, often involving moral dilemmas and facing the darkest parts of themselves. The Gothic climax is intense, and the resolution, while offering closure, may still leave lingering unease or ambiguity. The protagonist might escape, defeat the antagonist, or resolve their conflict—but they rarely emerge unscathed.
- The Crisis. This might feel like an “aha!” moment for your protagonist. Or they may dig deep down to finally uncover the lesson of the story or the secret to defeating the villain. Either way, your story needs this crisis plot point or the climax will fall flat. Readers want to see how your protagonist has grown and changed throughout the story before they conquer the central conflict. The crisis moment can occur over a string of scenes between the end of Act 2 and the climax, or it can occur during the climax itself.
Jane Eyre crisis: Some time passes after Jane flees Mr. Rochester and Thornfield Hall, and she finds refuge with clergyman St. John and his sisters. After inheriting a fortune, Jane finally gains independence. When St. John asks her to marry him, she mostly protests the marriage because they do not love one another and she doesn’t want to do missionary work in India with him, yet he nearly convinces her to accept the proposal—until she strangely hears Mr. Rochester’s voice calling out to her in a supernatural manner. She debates accepting St. John’s proposal or going to see if Mr. Rochester is well. Both men seemingly need and want her, but which man does she want?
Mexican Gothic crisis: Noemí is struggling not to succumb to Victor’s brainwashing, though she is growing weaker every second. As much as she hates Victor, his power over her appeals to her greed and impulsivity. At last, she is able to break free of his mental holds and realizes how to defeat the dangerous spores and her captors by burning down the source.
- The Climax. The climax is the final, decisive confrontation between the protagonist and the antagonist/conflict. This often involves a battle against both external threats and internal fears. A Gothic crisis often includes the protagonist overcoming the supernatural or oppressive forces, or finding love at last. This moment could feel like the ultimate showdown between the protagonist and their villain, including gore, violence, and flashy action. By the end of the climax scene or cluster of scenes, readers understand whether the protagonist will achieve their primary story goal or not.
Jane Eyre climax: Jane returns to Thornfield Hall and is shocked to find it in blackened ruins. Bertha Mason is now dead from suicide and Mr. Rochester blind and disabled because he attempted to save his wife’s life. Jane finds Mr. Rochester at his other home, still unmarried and in love with her. When he proposes marriage again, she agrees, now on equal terms where she can finally balance her sense of self-worth and independence with her love of him. (and convenient, too, that his poor first wife is now out of the picture.)
Mexican Gothic climax: In a series of final high-action events, Noemí, Catalina and Francis finally destroy the supernatural powers and evil family of High Place. She tosses her lantern’s flame against the source and it catches fire. As the estate burns down, the three characters narrowly escape the fire alive. At last, she has saved Catalina, found a worthy lover, and overcome her external and internal conflict.
- The Resolution. The resolution ties up the loose ends of the story and gives the reader closure, at least in part. A Gothic denouement often leaves readers with a lingering sense of ambiguity or unease, in keeping with the genre’s tone. Even if the ending is a happily-ever-after or happy-for-now, the characters rarely emerge physically and emotionally undamaged.
Jane Eyre resolution: Ten years later, Jane is happy in her marriage with Mr. Rochester, who regains some sight in one of his eyes after a few years. They have a son, St. John’s sisters visit her often, and she and St. John remain on good terms (though he will soon die from overworking himself).
Mexican Gothic resolution: Noemí, Catalina and Francis are safe for now. Though the threat is mitigated as far as they know, much is still unknown about the supernatural powers of High Place. Noemí cannot be sure she or Francis will ever truly escape its influence. They are happy for now, though they wait for the other shoe to drop.
Next steps
If you get stuck plotting your Gothic tale, don’t panic. Tweak your story’s events and characters until the plot points and pacing feel suitable, drawing on support from a trusted reader or editor whenever you need one.
If you’re looking for a step-by-step walkthrough for your Gothic novel planning process, don’t forget to download my free Three-Act Outline Workbook.
Hannah Kate Kelley is a developmental editor and Author Accelerator certified book coach helping fiction writers write, revise and launch their stories. She lives in New York City with her partner. For more writing resources, head over to www.kelleyeditorial.com.
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