A Resurgence of Gothic Horror?

I hope so. I watch horror movies mainly for setting and atmosphere, novels too. I love the old Hammer films and their ilk. Here's hoping for a comeback!

Anybody have any contemporary gothic horror recommendations?

Count me among those who'd like to see Gothic Horror come back.

I seriously doubt it. Hollywood is too in love with the big action extravaganza, as are the audiences, to sit through a 2 hour character-oriented gothic horror flick.

Explosions, action, sex, and graphic violence is what gets audiences into the seats these days.

However, it's also not always true. The prequel to John Carpenter's 1982 version of The Thing? So far as I can tell is a sleeper.

Just like the 1982 version.

This despite explosions, action, intrigue, graphic violence, and more.

I think audiences want the big explosions, the fireworks, the action, the blood and gore because, as in the 1930s, we're using movies more and more to forget the dreary realities of our humdrum day-day drudgery of existence.

I would LOVE to see a resurgence of Gothic horror fiction.

I certainly hope so. Gothic/literary horror is where I like to romp.

While I see Greg's point, I think more fans are getting more vocal about wanting something else besides the next installment of Saw or the next remake of whatever's come out of Japan or Korea most recently.

I would love to see a resurgence of gothic horror. I love that stuff. Maybe it's too much to hope for in the film world, but if the literary world starts that train I will be on it.

ETA: Just to clarify, I love A-horror. They are my hands-down favorite horror movies being made right now. But I do tire of the constant remakes.

I wouldn't put it quite like that. I think it's up to us as readers and consumers to get that train going. Consumers as movie-goers made A-horror popular, as well as pushing the Saw and Final Destination franchises as far as they've gone. Trends don't get big because of what writers are writing, but because of what the audience is buying.

Example: Twilight. Vampires may not have sparkled before this happened, but there were plenty of them around, in schools, getting angsty and romantic with humans, as well as being monstrous and homicidal dead things. But for some reason, the audience for angsty, romantic, de-fanged vampires blew up with that book, and loads more followed. That is based on the consumers' reactions to it--not on what Stephenie Meyer and others like her came up with.

TattooedWriter said:

Isn't that where we come in as writers? Throw it out there and see if anything blows up.

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As I have said before, ideas are the hand grenades of the intelligent.

I love gothic horror (films and books). It's what I write, too.

It may not be hot and trendy, but I also don't think it's ever gone out. There always seems to be a certain appreciation for it.

Who knows. With all the bozo's out there currently losing money, a gothic horror flick might break even and then we'd see more of them.

I'd like to add my hopes for a resurgence of gothic horror. Atmosphere, emotion, suspense, lingering disturbance rather than lingering squick -- I'll take all of that, please. The arts have fashion periods just like clothing and decor, and we have been living through a long, dull (imo) period of ACTION! horror. But fashion runs in cycles, so I'm hoping the gothic mood will return soon. If people can finally get bored with Saw, then there's hope. Hell, maybe even the tweeny-taste for Twilight could be evidence of a swing back towards story/character driven chills rather than rollercoaster thrills and shocks.

ETA: Based only on my own reading, I think there were Saw-style fans even in the heyday of romanticist gothic. Literary periods are defined by what lasts out of them, but if you dig deep enough into 19th/early 20th century horror you'll find plenty of "grues," which were nothing but gore-fests similar to the Saw and Hostel franchises, only in books. It's just that back then, they didn't have the popularity they do now (and did for a short "Grand Guignol" time before). There's a market for gothic horror now, too. It's just that it's tiny and in a publishing world driven by sales more than a publisher's tastes, it's even harder to get a chance with it. So A-horror was there while gothic was in vogue. Gothic is here while A-horror is in vogue. We might think of it like the voter bases of the political parties, the magic minority percentage who will never waver in their preferences -- thank heaven for them.

^What she said.

I'd also like to point out that a good deal of A-horror is very subtle and gothic in atmosphere. It's not all "extreme," although the certain members of the fanbase and packaging might make you think otherwise. A Tale of Two Sisters has a couple of squicky moments, but it's more slow-burning and very mysterious. Beautiful, beautiful film.

BigWords said:

As I have said before, ideas are the hand grenades of the intelligent.

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This. This just made my day.

Don't know about the movies, but I think horror fiction is ready for it.

I sure hope horror's ready for it because it's what I write. Some of you might be familiar with Leisure Horror (Jack Ketchum, Richard Laymon, Brian Keene, etc.) and its legendary editor Don D'Auria. Well, when things went bad at Leisure, Don ended up at Samhain Publishing, where he started a new imprint called Samhain Horror.

He then acquired my first two novels, both of them gothic horror. The first--THE SORROWS--was published in ebook form a few weeks ago (with the trade paperback to follow in March). The second, another gothic horror novel title HOUSE OF SKIN, will be published in both ebook and trade paperback this summer.

Here's a link to The Sorrows: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00699SD5A/?tag=absowrit-20

And here's a short synopsis...

The Sorrows, an island off the coast of northern California, and its castle have been uninhabited since a series of gruesome, unexplained murders in 1925. But its owner needs money, so he allows film composers Ben and Eddie and a couple of their female friends to stay a month in Castle Blackwood. Eddie is certain an eerie and reportedly haunted castle is just the setting Ben needs to find musical inspiration for a horror film.

But what they find is more horrific than any movie. For something is waiting for them in the castle. A being, once worshiped, now imprisoned, has been trapped for nearly a century. And he’s ready to feed.

And here's my blog, as well as the first look at the cover art for HOUSE OF SKIN: http://jonathanjanz.com/2011/11/01/house-of-skin-cover-art-revealed/

I apologize for the plug here, but it did seem relevant to this thread. Plus, I've been lurking (and very occasionally posting) at AW for years, so it's not like this is a drive-by spamming.

Thanks, all, and I hope you check out THE SORROWS!

I hope so, too! I have a Gothic flavored horror novel awaiting my agent's editing mojo.

Also, I just started reading JJ's The Sorrows and I'm totally hooked. I most definitely recommend it!

dgrintalis said:

I hope so, too! I have a Gothic flavored horror novel awaiting my agent's editing mojo.

Also, I just started reading JJ's The Sorrows and I'm totally hooked. I most definitely recommend it!

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Wow, thank you so much, Damien! I hope you find the rest of it as enjoyable.

And now you've got me excited about your own book. I've read some of your poetry and short prose; taking that skill/talent into the realm of the gothic novel would make for some seriously great reading.

I think it really depends whether or not those movies are successful. It's kind of like The Twilight Saga effect as sometimes call it. When The Twilight Saga, movies and books, became really popular and the "in" thing, there was an explosion of vampire/werewolf books/fiction. Granted, vampires and the paranormal were popular before, but since The Twilight Saga and all of that(True Blood, Sookie Stackhouse series, Vampire Diaries) they have grown magnificently in popularity. It really just determines if these two movies are really, really popular.