The Gothic

Gothic horror as a genre of literature explores the themes of eery horror with romance and gothic authors find interesting ways to express contemporary fears by using time, locations, situations and including characters that the readers can relate to. All these themes and elements makes it exciting and captivating for the reader. 
The genre is thought to have been begun by Horace Walpole, an English author when he wrote 'The Castle of Otranto' in 1764. This novel was inspired by a dream he had in his beautiful gothic home Strawberry Hill House in which a gigantic armoured fist on his staircase. The Castle of Otranto inspired novels such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein and Bram Stokers Dracula (the endless list goes on). 
Walpole used wild, remote and exotic landscapes to very uncomfortable and imprisoning locations as settings for his stories
Gothic novels include monsters, vampires, ghosts, werewolves, the Devil and characters that have a dominating and supernatural feeling presense, these creatures give the readers the fear and thrill that is sought after by Gothic Horror fans. There is also the helpless, scared victim who is forced into situations they may not want to be in; for example how Pip from Great Expectations felt when he was first ordered to go to play with Estella at Satis House under the demand of Miss Havisham and how Havisham manipulated both Estella and Pip into doing different things, in this case it was Estella breaking Pips heart and setting Pip up to fall in love with her. 
Gothic novels include contemporary fears such as poverty, sickness, class and death to really connect with the reader.
Key motifs in Gothic novels:
- Strange places
- Clashing time periods
- Power & constraint
- A world of doubt
- Terror vs. horror
- Sexual power
- The uncanny
- The sublime
- Crisis
- The supernatural and real

When I think about the term 'Gothic' I think about old, haunted houses and castles, ghosts, a place with a bad atmosphere and where dark things have happened, black and white, bad intentions, suffering, coldness, dirt, decay, Gothic architecture and an overall feeling of being very uncomfortable. 

References:
http://www.strawberryhillhouse.org.uk/horace-walpole.php
http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/themes/the-gothic
http://www.bl.uk/romantics-and-victorians/articles/gothic-motifs