The Handbook of the Gothic

From Anne Rice’s best-selling novels to our recurrent interest in vampires and the occult, the Gothic has an unyielding hold on our imagination. But what exactly does "Gothic" mean? How does it differ from "terror" or "horror," and where do its parameters lie? Through a wide range of brief essays written by leading scholars, The Handbook of the Gothic, second edition, provides a virtual encyclopedia of things Gothic. From the Demonic to the Uncanny, the Bronte sisters to Melville, this volume plots the characteristics of Gothic’s vastly different schools and manifestations, offering a comprehensive guide of Gothic writing and culture.

Among the many topics and figures discussed are: American Gothic, the Bronte Sisters, Angela Carter, the Demonic, Female Gothic, Ghost Stories, Film, Washington Irving, Henry James, H. P. Lovecraft, Madness, Herman Melville, Monstrosity, Orientalism, Post-Colonial Gothic, Anne Rice, Romanticism, Sado-Masochism, Bram Stoker, the Sublime, the Uncanny, Vampires, and Werewolves.

This revised edition of The Handbook of the Gothic contains over twenty new entries on Gothic writers such as Stephen King and Daphne Du Maurier, new genres such as African-American Gothic, new terms like Gothic Graphic Novel and Comic, and a new preface which situates the handbook within current studies of the Gothic.