Showing results for "Gothic" in Literary History & Criticism

James Krasner, an expert in Victorian literature, takes you on a fascinating journey into the enduring power of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, and Robert Louis Stevenson’s The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. You’ll learn how these three literary masters structured their novels to offer not only scares but also complex insights into cultural debates that still matter to us today.

On the day of his wedding, Conrad, heir to the house of Otranto, is killed under mysterious circumstances. His calculating father, Manfred, fears that his dynasty will now come to an end and determines to marry his son's bride himself, despite the fact he is already married. But a series of terrifying supernatural omens soon threaten this unlawful union, as the curse placed on Manfred's ancestor, who usurped the lawful Prince of Otranto, begins to unfold.

The primal image of the black-caped vampire Dracula has become an indelible fixture of the modern imagination. It's recognition factor rivals, in its own perverse way, the familiarity of Santa Claus. In this critically acclaimed excursion through the life of a cultural icon, David Skal maps out the archetypal vampire's relentless trajectory from Victorian literary oddity to movie idol to cultural commodity, digging through the populist veneer to reveal what the prince of darkness says about us all.

Bram Stoker, despite having a name nearly as famous as his legendary undead count, has remained a puzzling enigma. Now, in this psychological and cultural portrait, David J. Skal exhumes the inner world and strange genius of the writer who conjured an undying cultural icon.

The definitive biography of Edward Gorey, the eccentric master of macabre nonsense. From The Gashlycrumb Tinies to The Doubtful Guest, Edward Gorey's wickedly funny and deliciously sinister little books have influenced our culture in innumerable ways, from the works of Tim Burton and Neil Gaiman to Lemony Snicket. Some even call him the Grandfather of Goth. But who was this man, who lived with over 20,000 books and six cats, who roomed with Frank O'Hara at Harvard?

Published a year before her death at the age of 30, Emily Bronte's only novel is set in the wild, bleak Yorkshire Moors. Depicting the relationship of Cathy and Heathcliff, Wuthering Heights creates a world of its own, conceived with an instinct for poetry and for the dark depths of human psychology. Emily Jane Bronte was born July 30, 1818 at Thornton in Yorkshire. Emily's mother died in 1821 and her two eldest sisters died in 1825, leaving Emily, her brother and two sisters to be raised by their aunt. Later all three daughters were to publish poems and stories.

One of the greatest horror stories ever written, Frankenstein comes to spellbinding life once again in this tour-de-force performance by the acclaimed director and star of Henry V, Dead Again, and Much Ado About Nothing. The definitive recording of one of the most haunting tales of all time, Kenneth Branagh's performance of Frankenstein is a true audio classic.

A fusion of travel literature and cultural criticism investigating the dark history of the US and exploring how past horrors – from witch trials to slavery and genocide – continue to haunt the national consciousness. Haunted States is a unique guidebook that explores the dark, often horrifying, history of the US. Based on the author’s journey across the United States in summer 2022, it explores locations connected to Gothic fiction and film, tracking the relationship between the American landscapes and the various forms of fictional horror the nation has produced over the centuries.

Celtic and Gothic Music Artist Tiffany Apan (also known as The Gothic Celt) talks travel, music, entertainment, and even has the occasional guest on. Enjoy your journey into the world of bonfires, castles, and time travel.

When Jane’s lover, Tom, returns from the navy to find her unhappily married to his betrayer, Jane is caught in an impossible situation. Still reeling from the loss of her mother at the hands of the witchfinder, Jane has no choice but to continue her dangerous work as a healer while keeping her young daughter safe. But as Tom searches for a way for him and Jane to be together, the witchfinder is still at large. Filled with vengeance, the witchfinder will stop at nothing in his quest to rid England of the scourge of witchcraft.

Classic Gothic horror read to you so you can relax

A mix of gothic poetry and songs with lyrics all by author poet Rachel Lawson. sung by Suno Ai. All songs but, 1 composed by Suno, the poem to music narrated by Rachel Lawson was composed by main author Miss Lawson. This is a gothically beautiful podcast Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Do you enjoy reading ghost stories alone at night? Have you ever binged an entire true crime series? Or do you unwind watching horror films like The Exorcist, or reading the supernatural novels of Stephen King? Presented by Dr Katie Mishler, the Dublin Gothic Podcast, is a series looking at the intersection between art, psychology, folklore, architecture, natural history and Ireland’s urban gothic writing.

What do grad school and the Gothic have in common? More than you might think... In My Gothic Dissertation, the first-ever Ph.D. dissertation to be produced in podcast form, Anna Williams invites you along on her quest to complete her Ph.D. in English and escape the Grad School Gothic for good. You'll hear horror stories circulated by Ph.D. students behind closed doors, be a fly on the wall during real-life defense meetings, and hear education experts weigh in on the old-school training practices that can make the Ivory Tower feel like a terrifying place to those who don't traditionally belong....

Visions have always been...my pasture. I almost think there is no wisdom comparable to that of exchanging the realities of life for dreams. Old castles, old pictures, old histories take one back into centuries that cannot disappoint. I waked one morning from a dream of which all I could recover was that I had thought myself in an ancient castle and that on the uppermost banister of a great staircase I saw a gigantic hand in armour. In the evening I sat down to write, without knowing in the least what I intended to say or relate.

Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) changed residences about once a year throughout his life. Driven by a desire for literary success and the pressures of supporting his family, Poe sought work in American magazines, living in the cities that produced them. Scott Peeples chronicles Poe's rootless life in the cities, neighborhoods, and rooms where he lived and worked, exploring how each new place left its enduring mark on the writer and his craft.

An old mansion in Salem, moss-covered and gabled, broods over the destiny of a distinguished but troubled New England Family, the Pynchons. A haunting, centuries-old curse, a forceful probing of national and personal guilt, a romance between the young heroine and an attractive stranger all intertwine in this classic work by one of America's greatest novelists.

In the classic Wuthering Heights, Catherine is forced to choose between passionate, tortured gypsy Heathcliff and gentle, well-bred Edgar Linton. Catherine surrenders to the expectations of her class and sets off a domino effect with lasting consequences. As Heathcliff's bitterness and vengeance at his betrayal are visited upon the next generation, their innocent heirs must struggle to escape the legacy of the lovers tortured past.

Welcome to Eldritch Girl, where I provide the free audio versions of my fiction in full as read-along weekly serials, with short fiction and author interviews as bonus content.

Tonight we present to you, A GOTHIC STORY, a venue for audio story telling. Every two weeks, we provide you with excerpts and full narrations of some of the most well known and terrifying Gothic literature ever put to ink and paper. We also present to you, A GOTHIC STUDY, a deep analytical view of each story we present, hosted by our Gothic experts Bella and Quinton. You can look forward to those in the weeks between our audio presentations.