three cheers for the

                           ³GgOoTtHhIiCc NnOoVvEeLl!
                           ¢GgOoTtHhIiCc NnOoVvEeLl!

                             ²by Scorpion of Edge

In a time where thrillers take up more and more space on the bookshelves, both
in bookshops and in the homes of ordinary people, the horror story has been
gravely neglected. By horror I do not mean the technically advanced,
oh-so-realistic stories of violence or abuse, which apparently are in very high
favour of film producers and the like, as they are always putting them to the
screen. Rather, I wish to draw attetion to the classic horror story, the Gothic
novel as it were. Novels such as Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Bram Stoker's
Dracula and Henry James' The Turn Of The Screw.

  The period from 1898 through 1911 is often refered to as being the golden era
of the Gothic novel. The reason why it, rather suddenly, died out is probably
the racing development which started off in those years. Beings such as ghosts
and demons loose much of their credibility in a society which makes
revolutionary scientific and technological discoveries with each passing year.
Communication was not nearly as fast, easy to get through or wide spread as it
is today.
  This kind of story relied heavily upon isolating the distressed hero/heroine-
a requirement which is very hard to come by these days. After all, the old
house on the edge of the moors looses much of its psychological effect when the
countess can just jump on the first bus out of the place, or pick up the phone
and call for anything from an ambulance to a SWAT team!

  The Gothic novel, and the short story in particular, seldomly has an
overcrowded cast of characters- like the detective story it has to maintain
your interest and keep you on the edge of your seat. If not, it has failed to
arouse what was its primary itention: Suspense. But often the author has
another intent that mere entertainment. The stories are often surprisingly
moral. We are told not to interfere with that which we do not understand- be it
the province of God or the Devil- nor are we to tamper with the master plan,
say, creation or the afterlife. Unlike most of today's horror and/or ghost
stories, the Gothic horror stories do not aim at giving an explanation as to
what the supernatural phenomena actually are- one simply has to prepare for not
getting any answers whatsoever (except, perhaps, that they can't be explained
through reason.)

  A typical trait of the Gothic novel is the environment in which the action
takes place. Most often, the author chooses an intellectual or artistic
background for his characters and settings, such as a college or a university.
This sets the mood for whatever is about to unfold and creates a suitable
conflict for the sensible and learned student when confronted with the
supernatural. Moreover, the Gothic novel possesses a quality which - in my
opinion- most modern horror stories lack gravely (unfortunately the English
language lacks a term that fully covers this concept) namely: The greatest of
all virtues: (and any proper Dane will probably know what I'm refering to by
now)

                      ²>>>>> GOD, GAMMELDAGS HYGGE! <<<<<
                            (good old cosyness -Ed)

So, if you too are fed up with modern horror writers, such as Stephen King who,
in my opinion, is VERY boring and all too predictable, try getting your hands
on the works of some of these authors:

²Edgar Allan Poe, Henry James, Montague Rose James, W.W. Jacobs, ²Bram Stoker,
²Mary Shelley, Edward Litton and H.P. Lovecraft.


      Happy horror reading!
      ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~