Gothic fiction may have started out as a sophisticated joke, but like so many initially unlikely genres, it picked up a following, developed rules and tropes and then continued to surprise and delight readers for the next two hundred and fifty years. Gothic fiction - like traditional ghost stories - holds up a mirror to the human soul often with unflattering results. Considering its roots in desolate, crumbling castles and stormy nights, its a surprisingly versatile and slippery genre which probably explains why it takes some interesting turns when it travels across the pond. American gothic or southern gothic followed a similar evolutionary path from being a ghastly joke to taking on a life and power of its own. This week, Jules and Madeleine look at the key differences between the parent and child genres as they delve in to what makes the Southern Gothic tick like the Tell Tale Heart. Under the microscope this week - Edgar Allen Poe, Anne Rice's Mayfair Witches, Rosemary Clement Moore's The Splendour Falls and many more.
Title music: Ecstasy by Smiling Cynic
Episode 413: Dragon riders & wolf speakers - the Animal Soul Bond in Speculative Fiction
Episode 412: By the Blade - the Evolution of Heroic Fantasy
Episode 411: Kitchen Heroes - Humble Protagonists who get Things Done in Speculative Fiction
Episode 410: In a Rural Dream - The Rise of Cottagecore
Episode 409: Pitched Perfectly - The Film was Better than the Book
Episode 408: There’s good news and...more good news - 2023 in review
Episode 407: Jingle Bell Rock - Storytelling through the medium of songs the Christmas edition
Episode 406: A Picture Says a Thousand Words - The Rise of the Graphic Novel
Episode 405: The Fairest of Them All - The Pursuit of Beauty as a Literary Device
Episode 404: It was Great Apart from the Ending - Beloved Fiction that Wobbled on the Dismount
Episode 403: The Old Family Business - Gangster Witches and Legacy Monster Hunters
Episode: 402 Of Gold and Hubris - Tracing the Origins of Rumpelstiltskin
Episode 401: Girls on Ice - a History of the Fridging Trope
Episode 399: This Set is Cursed - Strange Events Behind the Scenes at Horror Films
DD Episode 398: Joyous Companions Forever - examining the queerness of the vampire genre
Episode 397: The Beautiful and the Damned - examining the Queerness of the Vampire Genre
Ep 396: It Came from Out of the closet - The Queer Relationship with Horror
Ep 395: Weirdstones and Magic Keys - What makes a Children’s book a classic?
Ep 394: Divas Debutantes and Girls next door - the best and worst female main characters
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