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 275: Mean Girls and Internet Trolls -Positive Body Representation in Speculative Fiction Part 2
Episode 274: Mean Girls and Internet Trolls - Positive Body Representation in Speculative Fiction part 1
Episode 273: The Dark Descent into Hell - Tracing the Origins of Persephone and Other Underworld Goddesses
Episode 272: This is Not 1984 - Stopping Dystopia and False Utopia Spilling into Reality
Episode 271: Maintaining the Mood - How to Avoid Misusing Tone in Speculative Fiction
Episode 270: Its Complicated - the Highs and Lows of Relationships in Speculative Fiction
Episode 269: Making Friends and Influencing People - The Heroine's Journey in Speculative Fiction
Episode 268: He Growled, She Ejaculated - Reader Peeves and How to Avoid Them
Episode 267: The Beast Within - Exploring Characters with Darker Sides
Episode 266: That's Not Equality - When Sexism Dresses as Feminism in Speculative Fiction Part 2
Episode 265: That's Not Equality - When Sexism Dresses Up as Feminism in Speculative Fiction: Part 1
Episode 264 Challenging the System - How Magic Helps Us Deconstruct History, Politics and Social Issues
Episode 263: The Blade Itself - the Genesis of the Sword in History, Mythology and Speculative Fiction
Episode 262: Of Liking and Loathing - How to Hook Readers on your Characters
Episode 261: Reading the Classics - Hidden Meaning and Censorship in Stoker, Bronte and Shelley
Episode 260: Links and Linguistics - Why Word Choice Matters in Writing
Episode 259: Taking a Toxicity Reading - Criticism and Compromise in Speculative Fiction
Episode 258: Frills and Flirtations - What Clothing brings to Speculative Fiction
Episode 257: Peacekeepers to Punishers - The Police Force in Speculative Fiction
Episode 256: Assembling the Skeleton - Showing, Telling and Cutting Out Scenes in Speculative Fiction
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