Date of Project
5-1-2025
Document Type
Honors Thesis
School Name
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
English
Major Advisor
Dr. Jennifer Barker
Second Advisor
Dr. Conor Picken
Abstract
Since Horace Walpole's The Castle of Otranto published in 1764, the literary Gothic has grown and spread to include a multitude of subgenres in a variety of formats. Gothic literature has served as both a product and a showcase of its contextual influences, providing a deeper look at humanity's deepest flaws, fears, and passions that shape our societies. While the Gothic's historically fluid identity allows Frankenstein to exist in a literary realm alongside Wuthering Heights, something consistent in its core continues to appeal to modern audiences and remains relevant in contemporary literature and other media. This project offers a collection of short stories, each presenting certain key aspects of the Gothic that illustrate how the genre remains relevant and compelling to contemporary audiences. It combines analytical research and creative writing to examine how conventional themes, language, aesthetic, and the incorporation of social structures influence the narrative construction of human fear and uncertainty in Gothic literature.
Recommended Citation
Kilroy, Alyssa, "The Castle is Still Here, and Yes, It's Still Scary: Reconstructing the Gothic Through Contemporary Short Story" (2025). Undergraduate Theses. 197.
https://scholarworks.bellarmine.edu/ugrad_theses/197
Included in
Fiction Commons, Literature in English, British Isles Commons, Literature in English, North America Commons, Other English Language and Literature Commons