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USE OF HORROR IN CONTEMPORARY GOTHIC TEXTS

Gothic literature is a genre of literature and film that combines death, romance and horror into a fictitious piece of work. The essence of gothic literature is to feed the imagination and satisfaction of readers that are interested in horror and romantic pleasures. It builds heavily on a fascination about the past, mostly medieval times and setup, an obsession about the supernatural and magical which is carefully intertwined with the realistic behavior and approach, stimulation of fear capitalizing on the emotional aspects rather than the rational, multiple narrators with plots that contain other plots. It is a genre that is devoted to exploring the darker themes often associated with the darker side of human behavior usually very destructive and irrational.

The horror is portrayed in several ways in the stories. First is through subtle family conversations that suddenly turn horrific. This is when the car the family is driving immediately plunges into a ditch. When all seems well, the Misfit arrives and kills them all. “A Good man is hard to Find” by Flannery is a story about an ignorant grandmother causes a family to be stranded after their car veers off the road and crashes into a ditch. They seem relieved when another car seems to come their way as they hope that this will rescue them. It turns out that the driver of the car is an escaped convict known as the Misfit, who is a cold blooded killer. The accomplice to the Misfit takes the family into the woods, two at a time to kill them. The misfit then turns on the Grandmother and shoots her point blank. The narration begins by painting a picture of a family’s disrespect that ends up with its break. The story looms around suspense and darkness which is set up at the beginning when the grandmother reads about the Misfit. This is contemporary horror, classic in its core. It strikes both fear and suspense as the reader imagines what the Misfit is going to do to the family. As the family drives along they engage in conversation that relaxes the mind of the reader. It makes the reader start thinking about the conversation, the hills, the cat, the difference in generation between the grandmother and the children and the police. It comes as a shock when the family veers off the road into a ditch. This is the first horrific scene of the excerpt. The reader is brought back to thinking of the options the family has in management of the current situation. The second and most horrific scene is the murder of the family. This is not only shocking but also reflects of society as currently is. In the media today we see similar cases where people are murdered in cold blood by relatives and people they know. There are scenes of mass murder like bombings and school shootings where innocent people minding their own business and engaging in constructive activities are used as pawns by killers to send twisted messages to audiences that could care less (Flannery, 128). The element of The Misfit is suggested over and over again to reiterate the horror element. Keep in mind that the Misfit is a horrifying killer that seems to have no conscience. The story also hints towards the presence of supernatural elements. This is reinforced by the fact that most of the events are tied back to the memories of a cat- which is very strange in all aspects. The cat is kept in the story and disappears after the accident, leaving the reader to wonder where it left to and its role in all that transpired.

Frankenstein by Shelley is another gothic literature that talks about a scientist that in a very strange experiment creates a ridiculous and learned humanoid. The scientist pieces together several pieces of a human and brings to life a large and unorthodox being that is too strong and very intelligent. The creature then turns to running around the north in the freezing temperatures causing destruction and killing people (Shelley, 176). The story begins with letters to a sister by a travelling Captain (Shelley, 2). There is a lot of sadness in the story when Victor loses his mother. This leads him to bury himself in scientific experiments and a lot of research work. Due to the creatures hideous looks he is feared by the people of the community where Victor lives (at this point victor is unwell and being nursed back to health by a friend). The creature turns to the woods where he finds a poor family with a blind father as the head whom he befriends and assists in handling chores like collection of firewood. When victor recovers he sets out to look for his creature (Shelley, 45). When they meet the creature pleads for victor to listen to him as he narrates his experiences in the time Victor was unavailable. He then asks that Victor creates a female companion for him. He insists that once the companion joins him, he and the female companion will disappear never to be seen again. But victor is skeptical, worrying that the female companion will be viler than the make humanoid, in turn breeding a dangerous generation. The creature threatens to kill Victor’s family until he is ruined, and then ends up killing Victor’s newlywed wife. This not only destroys Victor but also leads to the death of Elizabeth’s father who is weak and aged. The story concludes with the captains writing about his tour of the north. He finds the humanoid on his ship mourning over Victor’s body and vows to disappear into the freezing ice so that no one ever sees him again. The story again points to contemporary gothic writing. It has suspense making the reader wonder if Victor is going to bow to the threats of the humanoid and create the female companion as well as if the humanoid is going to ‘ruin’ Victors family –and how. The horror is too real when the humanoid begins actualizing its threats leading to Victor arming himself with a pistol and a dagger in what seems to be a sad attempt to protect Elizabeth (Shelley, 170). Another key characteristic of contemporary gothic writing is the relation to the supernatural. This is achieved in this book by the frequent relation of the humanoid to mankind- remember the humanoid is an intelligent and godless creature that seems to be bent on destruction of Victor’s family and all that is dear to him. The creature is also always one step ahead of Victor and is in place to commit the murders and crimes. This is very creepy and creates the horror in the book.

Lamb to slaughter by Ronald Dahl is a short story of the twisted murder of a husband by a wife. Patrick Maloney was a police detective who was bent on leaving his expectant wife. The wife then killed him and covered her crime scene to ensure that the murder cannot be traced back to her by eating the leg of the lamb that had been used to kill the husband. This short story is packed with the horrific scene of a wife murdering her husband and covering it up so calmly. The suspense leaves the reader wondering a lot while at the same time invoking a terrible amount of fear. A characteristic of gothic texts is the inclusion of romance. In this film, it can be seen that the couple is very romantic. First they set out to eat out every Thursday. But on this fateful day, the husband is tired and the wife offers to prepare a meal for them. She sets out a drink for her husband and listens attentively as the husband plots to leave her. This is the epitome of romance in the film. This story does not exactly fit the descriptions of a gothic write-up. It lacks the attachment to the supernatural but is filled with horrific placements. The wife is initially horrified that the pregnancy has left her all alone and that the husband is not feeling the weight she is feeling. On the other hand, the husband is scheming how he is going to break it down to the wife that he is leaving. When she finds out, she is so terribly afraid that she instantly kills him. As much as this is a horrible thing, the most horrific thing is when the wife covers up the murder. Being close to the police officers she is let go as she is seen to grieve. It paints a picture of very many modern crime scenes, where the perpetrators of the crime walk await free because of technicalities. Unfortunately, the film paints a sad reality of today’s society. In all the stories above the major underlying theme is horror. Horror has been defined as an intense feeling of fear shock or disgust. It is an overwhelming feeling that engulfs the person subjected to it brought about by something that is extremely shocking. The Misfits creates the fear as soon as the family can identify him. The fact that he has escaped strikes fear not only into the reader but also the victim. He then goes ahead to kill the family and leaves the grandmother for last. Frankenstein is also frightful. He is ridiculously huge and with a frightening appearance. While the scientist could not find the small parts to make a life size humanoid, he turned to increasing the dimensions of his creation. This led to the making of a huge creature whose eyes were yellow and skin was not complete leaving him to be frightening at first glance. Then he commits crimes as he moves along the city. He killed people, burnt houses among other things. He is far too intelligent for the authorities to capture him. The author further points that the only person for whom the humanoid is willing to listen to is the maker, who at some point in his life was unwell and being nursed by a friend. Officer Maloney’s murder is also another pointer to the theme of horror. The fear the wife instills into the reader is alarming. She is so calm after committing the crime, that the friend detectives of officer Maloney cannot tell the murder weapon and instead believe her when she says she wished to continue preparation of dinner.

Modern horror writing is meant to provoke a response within the reader or viewer either emotionally or physically. It can be equated to someone seeking out the thrill of a roller coaster ride (Punter 67). This confrontation of fear and reality can be equated to the problems facing the current generation of young people. Writing in the past as is in the present is meant to reflect the society as is. In recent times mankind has experienced an increase in the amount of crime and horror stories that can be attributed to terrorism, human cruelty and other traits. This genre of literature reflects the situation of the world as is. It prepares the reader by simulating in a creative manner the experiences of others. It builds a suspense of the unknown thus increasing the amount of fear in the reader.

REFERENCE

Dahl, Roald. Lamb to the Slaughter (A Roald Dahl Short Story). Penguin UK, 2012.

Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft. Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus 1818. Engage Books, 2008.

O'Connor, Flannery. Flannery O'Connor Complete Stories. Z. El Bey, 2009.