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The Appeal of True Stories in Gothic and Horror

October 31, 2019

Based on a true story. You must’ve seen this many times in the opening credits of a film. This is particularly the case with works of the Gothic or horror genres. But why do true stories in Gothic or horror fiction appeal to us so much?

Moreover, does the phrase “a true horror story” make sense or not? Remember, good horror fiction should be about the supernatural – no ambiguities allowed. Movies like The Exorcist accept the supernatural (and treat it as such). Compare that to Scooby-Doo Gothic, where there is always a natural explanation for everything.

The “based on a true story” trope is older than you might think. Moreover, just in case you wondered, “based on a true story” is not a writing gimmick but a case of legitimate creative manipulation.

In this post we’ll take a look at its origins and, more importantly, its significance.

true stories gothic horror — “True” stories in Gothic and horror function as a booster of *affect*

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Language and Context: Destabilizing Narratives

October 25, 2019

Writing

context, manipulation, narratives, society, words, writing

Words are powerful, they can make or break situations big and small. From your Friday date to starting a war, the right (or wrong) words can be the difference between bliss and destruction. But have you ever wondered what’s the connection between language and context?

In other… words, words are powerful in unique ways, that go beyond the surface of things. Just look what I did at the beginning of this paragraph. Yet at the same time, language seems to rely on a wider context to operate efficiently.

Just to clarify, in this post I do not refer to linguistic but to sociocultural context. The issue is not whether the sentence “He did this to me, this way” says nothing without a context about “He”, “this”, “this way” (and even “did”).

Rather, the issue is whether words taken out of their context can have a seriously destabilizing effect. Take these sentences for example:

I use emotion for the many and reserve reason for the few.

Fear defeats more people than any other thing in the world.

Do not compare yourself to others. If you do so you are insulting yourself.

You probably don’t see anything particularly wrong with them. Indeed, they probably come across as good advice, not unlike what you’d see as a quotation – complete, with a sunset sky or butterflies behind it.

I’ve got a little surprise for you, though…

language and context — Words are drops; the surrounding water is the context.
And it makes a hell of a difference whether you’re in your bathtub or the Pacific Ocean

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The Meaning of Dracula’s Castle

October 20, 2019

Criticism

academia, criticism, Dracula, Gothic, reality, Victorian, vision

Note: the following article on the meaning of Dracula’s castle is a modified excerpt from my article “Philosophical Idealism and Vision in Bram Stoker’s Dracula: Photographs, Sight, and Remote Viewing as Tools of Reality Rendering”. Word and Image: Theoretical and Methodological Approaches. Tampere, Finland: Tampere University Press, 2014.

Feel free to also take a look at my other academic publications.

The importance and meaning of Dracula’s castle in the novel becomes evident for a variety of reasons. In general temporal terms, the castle of Dracula serves as a generic reminder and connects with the Gothic tradition.

Examining the text itself, the novel essentially begins and ends with the castle. In fact, the novel ends in the castle twice: the first time in Mina’s last journal entry, describing the seeming destruction of Count Dracula in his home ground (D, 401) and the second in Jonathan Harker’s note, revealing their pilgrimage of sorts to the very same place seven years later (D, 402).

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