Different Types of Gothic Horror free essay sample

SnatchersIn â€Å"The Judge’s House† written by Bram Stoker, the story takes place at an evil judge’s house that has hanged people, and a student named Malcomson is just staying there for a few days despite being warned not to. Strange occurrences begin with rats disturbing Malcomson while he is staying there but particularly a rat with red eyes sticks out to him. The rat with the red eyes would be in a hole behind a painting of the judge that is hung in the house, and sit in the same position as the judge in the painting. Little did Malcomson know those would be his last days alive since evil never fully dies. The judge comes back to life through the painting to hang Malcomson just like the others before him. Throughout â€Å"The Judge’s House† the four elements of Gothic Horror that occur are repetition, the double, menacing other, and transformation. All these elements contribute to my own interpretation of the story that evil never truly dies. The first element is repetition when the rats, and the rope keep repeating actions. In the beginning he finds out later by looking at the room closely there are rats in the walls: â€Å"Here and there as he went round he saw some crack or hole blocked for a moment by the face of a rat with bright eyes glittering in the light† of his lamp. What impresses him most, however, is the â€Å"great alarm bell on the roof†(Stoker 1) Even the narrator says, â€Å"This evening the scampering of the rats began earlier; indeed it had been going on before his arrival, and only ceased whilst his presence by its freshness disturbed them†¦Tonight the rats disturbed him more†(Stoker 2). One specific rat with red eyes repeats disturbing the Malcomson, and goes up the rope. That evening, the rats’ commotion and noise is greater than it had been the other night. Just like the other night, the rats later become suddenly silent and the red enormous rat disturbs Malcomson by staring at him again, â€Å"with baleful eyes,† from the â€Å"old high-backed carved oak chair beside the fireplace†(Stoker 2). The student throws one of his math textbooks since he was studying at the time the rodent disturbs him, but it doesn’t go away. The next night the sound of the rats again ends, Malcolmson looks up to see the huge rat again, throws several books at it, and finally makes it go away. After the rodent has left, Malcolmson sees, through a hole in one of the paintings on the wall. Examining which books he threw at the rat to identify which textbook makes the rat leave, he sees that it was none of his math textbooks, but a holy book: â€Å"Now for the book that fetched him! † Malcolmson took it up and looked at it. As he did he started, and a sudden pallor overspread his face. He looked around uneasily and shivered slightly, as he murmured to himself: â€Å"The Bible my mother gave me! What an odd coincidence† (Stoker 4). After Malcolmson visits a local physician he starts thinking about who must have been hung based on the judge’s orders again for another night a repetition of the rat with the red eyes bothering him , â€Å"glaring at him steadily. † It swiftly retreats, stirring the other rats in hiding to commotion. sees the enormous rat â€Å"in the Judge’s arm-chair, with the rope hanging behind,† staring at the student â€Å"with the Judge’s baleful eyes, now intensified and with a fiendish glare†(Stoker 5). The rat is constantly repeating the same actions each night to Malcomson. The rat stays there such as bothering him, and sitting in the same position as the judge in the painting giving the same evil look. The rat with the beady red eyes being the judge represents the second element of the double and the third element of the menacing other. The rat is the double of the judge as Malcolmson shows in the end when the transformation occurs, the rat has been a double all along. The rat, and the judge are the menacing other just looking to see what evil things to do to Malcomson. The double, and the menacing other are connected since you couldn’t have one without the other the rat, and the judge need to be a double in order to be an menacing other. From the beginning the rat being a double of the judge shows by it being the most enormous rat, all the other rats are afraid, he has the same eyes of the judge, and sits in the same position on the chair. The rat is linked to the judge, for the stare of the rat Malcolmson imagines the gaze of the judge after seeing the painting of him. The rat being a double makes it be a menacing other by constantly repeating the same behavior to bother Malcomson every night, such as sitting in the same position and watching him. Lastly the element of transformation is shown at the end when the judge appears from the painting. As Malcomson sees that the painting is a portrait of the hanging judge, whose â€Å"face was strong and merciless, evil, crafty, and vindictive, with a sensual mouth, a hooked nose of ruddy colour, and shaped like the beak of a bird of prey†(Stoker 6). The rest of the face was a cadaverous colour,† and â€Å"the eyes were of peculiar brilliance and with a terribly malignant expression. † The eyes disturb Malcolm, for, in them, he sees â€Å"the very counterpart to the eyes of the great rat†(Stoker 6). They eyes of the great rat finally connect the pieces that the rat is the judge showing the last phase of the transformation leading to Malcolmson death. As the narrator says, â€Å" From the painting, the judge now occupies the rooms â€Å"great high-backed carved oak chair† and wears his judicial robes and â€Å"a black cap,† which he dons at the stroke of midnight. Rising from his chair, the judge retrieves the severed rope, fashioning one of its ends into a noose†(Stoker 6). In the final scene the hanging of Malcomson occurs by the judge all he wants is the death of anyone in his house, and he is happy about it since when he returns to the picture he is smiling. The narrator says, There at the end of the rope of the great alarm bell hung the body of the student, and on the face of the Judge in the picture was a malignant smile (Stoker 7). Evil never dies is the interpretation that the story means personally to myself. The judge is an evil figure, and even though he has died, he still contains power to kill. As we can see from the constant repetition of the red eyed rat actions even from the beginning the judge is up to something since he disturbs the student, and just already has evil features in the rat form. The double being the rat being another form of the judge shows he continues to live, and won’t ever die since all his evil even goes into his rat form. The transformation fully shows that evilness will find a way to come back to life to continue their ways. As seen in the ending of the story the judge takes Malcomson’s life by hanging him as he has done too many others. The judge is so full of evil that he will never die, and he will continue to kill anyone that enters his house. â€Å"The Judge’s House† shows the three element of gothic horror starting with repetition, the double, menacing other, and transformation. The repetition being with the rats running out every night to disturb the narrator. The double being how the rat, and the judge are the same Lastly the transformation of the judge coming out of the painting, and killing the narrator with the rope by hanging him. All these elements contribute to my own personal interpretation that evil never fully dies. The judge is truly evil, and uses the painting as his way to contribute his evil ways, and to keep hanging as many people as he wants that enter his house. Elements of Horrors: â€Å"Dracula’s Guest† In the story â€Å"Dracula’s Guest† written by Bram Stoker there are three elements of gothic horror are seen throughout the entire story. The story is about basically a guest of Dracula’s that get lost in the woods after trying to be adventurous. The first element that is seen in the story is the use of extravagant language when un named narrator is speaking to other people. They also were using a foreign language during the story. The foreign text used is, Johann answered with an emphatic, Ja, mein Herr,†¦ He crossed himself, as he answered laconically: Walpurgis nacht (Stoker 1). The second element is the remote location since the narrator gets lost in the dark, cold night. The narrator doesn’t even know where he is at after the carriage leaves him. The narrator says, â€Å"As I looked there came a cold shiver in the air, and the snow began to fall. I thought of the miles and miles of bleak country I had passed, and then hurried on to seek shelter of the wood in front. Darker and darker grew the sky, and faster and heavier fell the snow, till the earth before and around me was a glistening white carpet† (Stoker 5). The narrator has to continue walking to find some place for shelter which was a tomb but a hailstorm hits that makes him go unconscious in the remote location. The third element is the uncanny because of the werewolf protecting the narrator and keeping him warm. As the story says, â€Å"Look at his throat! See comrades, the wolf has been lying on him and keeping his blood warm. The officer looked at my throat and replied, He is all right, and the skin is not pierced. What does it all mean? We should never have found him but for the yelping of the wolf. (Stoker 4). â€Å"Dracula’s Guest† shows all three elements from extravagant language, remote location, to the uncanny. The extravagant language being used throughout the story, and the remote location since we don’t know exactly where the narrator is at. The uncanny being the presence of a were wolf protecting the narrator. Elements of Horrors: â€Å"Canon Alberie’s Scrapbook† In M. R. James story â€Å" Canon Alberic’s Scrapbook† three elements of gothic horror are seen throughout the story. The story starts with Dennistoun being in a church, and there he meets one of the religious people of the church, and goes back to his home. There he meets the daughter, and sees a book by Canon Alberie he decides to buy it from them but they seem to be happy for the book to be gone. Before he leaves the house the daughter offers him a cross, and after that strange things happens when he removes the cross. The first element that is shown is the acuteness of senses when Dennistoun encounters the demon from the book. He describes the demon as â€Å"He flew out of his chair with deadly, inconceivable terror clutching at his heart. There was black and tattered drapery about it; the coarse hair covered it as in the drawing. The lower jaw was thin what can I call it? shallow, like a beasts; teeth showed behind the black lips; there was no nose; the eyes, of a fiery yellow, against which the pupils showed black and intense, and the exulting hate and thirst to destroy life† (James 5). The second element is the uncanny such as the book actually being possessed in a sense. The brings the demon to life, and harms whoever has the book in there possession. It makes sense why the man, and the daughter is more than willing to sell the book. The last element is the menacing other which is the demon from the book since it seems like it wants to cause harm, and possibly kill Dennistoun. After he removes the cross Dennistoun feels strange then he sees the demon in the picture there as it lunges for him. The demon is the menacing other as it tries to cause the death or great harm to Dennistoun. â€Å"Canon Alberic’s Scrapbook† greatly shows these three elements of gothic horror. First being the acuteness of senses, the uncanny, and the menacing other. The acuteness of senses being how Dennistoun sees the demon, and feels. The uncanny being that the book is possessed, and wants to do harm. Lastly the menacing other is being the demon itself for trying to cause harm to Dennistoun. Elements of Horrors: â€Å"The Body snatcher† In the story â€Å"The Body snatcher† written by Robert Louis Stevenson throughout the story three elements of gothic horror is seen. The story is a re telling of two grave robbers MacFarlane and Fettes that would get bodies for a doctor both of them were medical students. Fettes is re telling the story t a group of friends but still seems traumatized by the events that occurred earlier in his life. The first element that shows in the story is the acuteness of sense when Stevenson is describing the body snatchers doing the work of getting the bodies. Also describing how Fettes feels intimidated by MacFarlane since he is basically threatened that if he says anything he might be the next body he uses. Another element of gothic horror is the uncanny which is seen at the end when the body turns out to be the wrong person. Fettes describes the finding of the wrong body as lamp fell, broke, and was extinguished; and the horse, terrified by this unusual commotion, bounded and went off toward Edinburgh at a gallop, bearing along with it, sole occupant of the gig, the body of the dead and long-dissected Gray†( Stevenson 4). The body of the woman is no where to be found but somehow the body of the person MacFarlane most likely killed in the beginning has suddenly appeared. The last element is the remote location the body snatchers never disclose exactly were they are going for the bodies. All the reader knows is that they collect the bodies at night at a grave sight. The body snatchers are very secretive about their work that everything is done that the story gives a mysterious edge about not knowing where they are. In the body snatcher the three elements of gothic horror is seen throughout the story such as acuteness of senses, the uncanny and remote location. The acuteness of senses, and the uncanny being when the body turns out to be the wrong person. The last being the constant remote locations that the body snatchers are in.