By Eliana Fulton
Welcome to a New Series!
Sometimes novels just have a vibe to them. Reading that story can immerse you in a world that is filtered to look dark, cartoonish, vibrant, or glamorous. It’s fun to read, but it’s hard to replicate.
By pinpointing what makes the book feel a certain way we need to dissect it and find the qualities that construct that atmosphere. By understanding and implementing those qualities we can make them our own.
There are several different “atmospheres” that authors have used over the years to create different tones. These span across all genres, but the most popular is magical realism. Stories with magical realism need to set an expectation for the more inventive aspects of the world building, and creating an atmosphere is one way to do that.
From “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman to One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel García Márquez, magical realism stories can set very different tones that almost feel like different genres. “The Yellow Wallpaper” is haunting and crosses into something close to horror while One Hundred Years of Solitude is fantastical and melancholy.
Fantasy also uses atmospheres to paint its world building. Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll feels very different from The Hobbit by J.R.R. Tolkien.
But why? Why does my mind’s eye see some books as animated and some as live action? How can a book make me question what the weather is outside?
This series will explore what makes up these atmospheres, so that we can recreate them. There are details and major necessities that stand as pillars of their atmospheres that you’ll need to add when you're trying to emulate them.
Gothic
This first atmosphere is probably my favorite, likely because it’s on the uptick.
When I say goth you might think of a moody teenager with blackout make-up, but hopefully you also think of a dark and stormy night. Goth is a classic atmosphere that found a lot of popularity with Dracula himself.
In architecture, gothic style dates back to the Middle Ages, so in literature it’s associated with a very old feeling. Back in the days of the French Revolution and Jack the Ripper, the common man grew fascinated by dark and mysterious stories. The people were enthralled by the power over life that murderers and doctors had, and that intrigue led to many classic scary stories.
Gothic literature became an anachronism that blended elevated diction, or the sublime style, with stories made for a lower class. The essential make up of this Dark Romance sub genre has changed over the years, but there are a few elements that remain vital to the atmosphere.
Essential
Antiquated Spaces
Where better to host a gothic story than in some gothic literature? The setting of a gothic story is very important because it is connected to all of the other elements. The old structure might hold some significance to the characters or contain some secret that the plot will uncover.
The most common choices are castles and mansions, but nunneries, cemeteries, and catacombs can also work. Any ancient structure that has an element of vastness is good because it literally leaves doors unopened. These locations could also be connected to each other. There might be a cemetery on the property of a mansion and that might all be above a chasm of caves.
This maze-like shelter should be in a larger setting that also fits the gloomy and haunted aesthetic. Mountains, valleys, looming landmarks, and historical structures can all build on to the general atmosphere of the story.
Mysterious or Frightening Circumstances
Inside of the setting, the context of the story should inhabit some mystery. Similar to the house, the circumstances that brought the character there should leave questions for them to search for.
This should include some kinds of omens, curses, or signs. These symbolic clues to the reader and protagonists are a staple of gothic literature. They can come in many forms including prophecies, nightmares, and visions. Whatever it is, it should come from some shrouded source that elevates the mystery.
Paranormal Activity
Another staple of gothic literature is fantastical horror. This can be something explained and clear like zombies, werewolves, and vampires or something inexplicable. This is where an author can make their genre distinction between magical realism and fantasy.
This is essential because if you explain the seemingly paranormal activity with a simple realistic explanation, you lift the mysterious veil of a gothic atmosphere. Then you just have a Scooby-Doo-like mystery.
Flexible
Romance
The vampiric romance dynamic is an old element of classic gothic literature. It involves the symbolic sexuality of a young virgin woman and a much older (100s of years) vampire gentleman that takes advantage of her innocence. The allegory of biting someone’s neck down plays just how creepy this is, so I’ve listed it under the flexible category.
Romance should be a part of the gothic story, but it’s a piece that has recently modernized and adapted. The story should include themes of exploration of sexuality as part of the following element.
Distress
Historically these stories include a damsel in distress, but the contemporary adaptation focuses more on emotional distress. The story can still be gothic if the woman saves herself or if the male character is not trying to save a woman.
However, it is important that the main character is enduring some kind of emotional distress to increase the angst of the story. As I said, this can include sexual exploration, but also self-doubt, sorrow, grief, and/or anger. This inner conflict exists separately from the main conflict of the story. In addition to their physical struggle, they are questioning something about themself.
Villains
Classically, gothic villains are men in positions of power that have misleading demeanors. The protagonist might believe this character to be a good and moral person, but eventually it is revealed that they are manipulative and immoral. This ties back to the traditional picture of vampires. The protagonist is lured into a false sense of security by this person.
This piece of gothic literature can be altered. The villain does not have to be a man or a person in power, and I believe that certain protagonists can and should be suspicious of these characters from the start.
Anti Hero
An anti-hero is a main character that does not pursue heroic qualities or actions. They do not possess courage, morality, or a clear sense of justice. As far as constructing a gothic atmosphere, this choice is completely optional, but it’s a great way to fit the main character better into their world. Gothic settings are full of temptations and fear that would lead any normal person to question their choices.
Hyperbolic and Elevated Diction
In descriptions of the eerie scenery and sensory details the words or phrases themselves can feel gothic. These are a small detail to add in at will and completely adjustable to the writer’s voice.
Here are some examples:
Ruins
Howls
Infernal
Mystical
Prodigy
Affliction
Breathless
Wonder
Lamentable
Intense
Gigantic
Dark
Raving
Crazed
This is one that you need to feel out as you’re writing, but there are many word banks online, or AI can give you some examples of synonyms for emotions or illustration that are more gothic.
It’s Final Breath Draws Near
As the dusk sets on this atmospheric chronicle the monsters and men emerge to murmur discouragement that writing gothic literature is interminably impossible to execute. In this bleak and cavernous industry, there are many things unknown to new authors. Do not distress, and take this blog post as an omen that you can master writing in a gothic atmosphere. Dip your quill into its dark ink and craft a gloomy and mysterious world to capture your readers in a fictional trance.
Next Time…
Keep an eye out for the next post in the All About Atmosphere writing series about decadence..