The Incredible Gothic Literature: Its Origin, Development, and Unique Style

 The Incredible Gothic Literature: Its Origin, Development, and Unique Style

We all have heard about incredibly mysterious gothic literature. It's alternatively termed as gothic horror or gothic fiction. This genre of literature has an absolutely unique style that has segregated it from the rest. It features the perfect combination of horror, fantasy, and romance (at times). Overall, the theme of gothic literature depicts an atmosphere full of mystery, exoticism, fear, and thrill. Especially, the story of any gothic novel revolves around a frightening, dreadful, and threatening character. The character is also dressed up in such a way so that it can represent the theme of darkness and evil. For example, gothic style and its corresponding characters tend to wear a black-colored dress which symbolizes something spooky, eerie, ghostly, and frightful.

In the above sections, you have revealed the key elements of the gothic culture. Let's now talk about its origin. So, where does this gothic literature come from? Well, the origin of the gothic literature dates back to 1764-1765. It has been more than two hundred years since gothic literature has been introduced.

The first official occurrence happened in 1765 with Horace Walpole's incredible story -- "The Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story". Horace Walpole used the word ("gothic") to depict something uncommon and barbarous. Of course, he put some supernatural elements in his story, and this led to the formal introduction of a whole new genre in Europe, Asia, and the rest of the world. Many writers in the 1800s and 1900s used this gothic fiction genre to explore supernatural and spooky elements to their articles. Especially, Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is a classic example of the gothic theme.

Gothic fiction and gothic theme: Gothic theme believes in the extreme expression of self-destruction, personal torment, supernatural feelings, sheer terror, puzzling mysteries, and a solid sense of fear.

Note, "Gothic" word is derived from "goth". Goth represents a one-of-a-kind culture of dark dress, music, and attitude that can be both shocking and disturbing to others.

Gothic clothing and gothic style: The gothic characters are indeed a major element of the supernatural gothic theme. These characters symbolize the theme very well with their unique dressing style and attitude. Here's a classic example of a gothic Victorian dress. This dress is aimed to bring an eerie, uncanny, and spooky feeling with its dark black outfit.

Needless to say, gothic clothing or gothic fashion is closely associated with the conspicuously dark and mysterious features of a classic gothic theme. Gothic fashion is represented by its unique elements of mystery, darkness, and elegance. Apart from pure dark black color clothing, typical Gothic fashion even showcases the use of black fingernails, dyed black hair, and dark eyeliner. Although gothic fashion has a special aim and purpose (related to gothic fiction), it has evolved a lot over time. In fact, gothic fashion has now turned into an inspiration for others as well. Gothic style is now considered to be a great addition in the world of fashion. When dressed properly, this style can help you create an extraordinary, fabulous, enviable, and stunning look.

To summarize, the gothic fashion style features the use of either black or crimson clothes, cloaks or studs, old-style high shoes, ankle boots, bustiers, and corsets. Tattoos, piercings, and the use of eye-catching, unique accessories are also quite common among gothic characters.

The Evolvement of the Gothic Theme

Gothic literature used to employ the theme of dark, spooky, and picturesque scenery in the earlier days. Well, the theme has now evolved a lot, but it still depicts the evils of man, an uncanny and strange atmosphere, and a deep sense of fear. Examples of modern-day gothic fiction are zombie stories, Stephen King novels, and detective stories, etc.

Gothic Literature and Dracula

One of the leading figures in Gothic literature is the use of Dracula. Dracula (the son of the dragon) is a devil, blood-thirsty creature. The character was first introduced in a famous gothic novel (Bram Stoker's Dracula) in 1897. Speaking of the storyline, the Dracula aimed to find the source of new, warm blood and spread the undead curse.

Bram Stocker's novel is full of typical gothic elements like suspense, mystery, fear, and gloom. In addition to it, its unique center character (i.e. Dracula) has made the theme even more spooky, dreadful, and frightening.

The overall image of Dracula is both alluring yet disturbing. The Dracula allures and adversely charms you with his unique misdeeds. At the same time, he seems to present a sense of sheer terror, frightful, and disturbing theme.

Dracula and Vampire

After the first introduction of Dracula in Bram Stoker's story, this blood-sucking folklore creature has appeared in countless stories, especially the vampire stories. These vampires have an oversensitivity to natural sunlight, and they can be mostly seen in nights who will roam around, bite innocent humans, and suck their blood.

Of course, Dracula and vampires have many similarities in their attitudes and natures. Even more, clothing and styling are also quite similar. Here's an example of Dracula-like and vampire-like apparel.

As you can see, there is a common factor in these attires. First of all, they are all in black color which represents the core theme of the vampire and Draculas. Secondly, their dressing style and design are extremely unique, and this styling can't be easily seen in other apparel categories. If you are interested in this Dracula-like gothic clothing style, then here are some recommendations for you to check right away.

The Final Takeaway

With this, you have revealed all the key elements of gothic fiction, clothing, and style. Gothic style has now been a popular dressing option for many fashion enthusiasts. The obvious elements of Gothic style include the use of black, eerie dresses.

Among them, Dracula's image icon is a classic representation of the Gothic style. He is one of the most popular, interesting, and leading figures of gothic clothing, gothic theme, and gothic atmosphere. Dracula's misdeeds along with his unique dressing are ready to land you in an uncanny, ghastly, mysterious, and typical gothic atmosphere for sure.