Reality of Gothic

What is Gothic??

When I first think/hear the word Gothic I think of  it being dark and gloomy, I also think of "emo", a rock music genre and fashion style.but the more I looked into Gothic, its more about vampires and very supernatural things. Rather then just a fashion statement.

 I realised that Gothic was a lot of personal emotions within each piece whether that be a novel or painting. Most of these personal emotions were the writer/artists experiences or hidden emotions. I got really intrigued in this information, while I was researching I came across this image (L), it reminded me of  my "secrets". I tend to put a happy face on and hide my problems. I also found another image (R) which reminded me a bit more about what people don't see, a lot  of people bottle things up to the point where they can't function or hide it anymore.

Gothic can show us fears and reality in written or picture form. Gothic got its name from an Italian writer named Giorgio Vasari, he named it "Gothic" in the 1530s because he thought buildings from the middle ages were not planned and measured carefully.

The Gothic.

When I hear or read the word 'Gothic' I think back to when my mum and I where in Europe and we snuck into a church through a side door. Its Gothic architecture seemed like something out of a scary novel that I might read, with witches and vampires. 

When I was researching I came across this image of a, what I assumed, haunted mansion and it made me think of a classic Scooby-Doo episode where there hunting vampires and it turns out to be the old caretaker.

The Gothic invokes fear and a sense of dread. It stems into art, literature, architecture ad fashion. 'Gothic' is a genre not an era, however, the first use of the word 'Gothic' was the release of the novel 'The Castle of Otranto: a Gothic story' by Horace Walpole, 1765.  

Initial Thoughts

"Emo Fashion" Stereotypically 

When I first hear the word Gothic, my brain instantly brings me to the "Emo" phase of fashion. Then when I really thought about it and the story of Frankenstein, vampires, and other supernatural things came to mind.  


When I started to research about it I came across this image.  It instantly reminded me of my Anxiety, and how I picture it. It's like a little demon on my shoulder asking me 'what if' questions it makes the hair stand on the back of my neck every time. It is something that can make something so good turn into one of the most traumatising days. 

Gothic can show us fears we didn't think were possible to have. Today Gothic is usually told in ghost/horror stories at a sleepover and around a campfire. 

Terrors of the Night

The Gothic

When I think of the Gothic I think of this painting by Henri Fuseli - 'The Nightmare' (1781):

The reason I think of this is because what this painting depicts is a natural phenomenon that I have personally experienced many times in life and it is very creepy.

The Gothic to me is the uncanny, the terrifying, the horrific. However, my association is the mental horrors and terrors we may experience - what can the mind do to us? Our thoughts alone can make our hearts race and our palms sweaty. Our fears and anxieties can be traumatic... and so can our dreams...

I dream every night and mostly these are unpleasant, and, I remember my dreams. Sometimes I have a weird kind of awake nightmare where I can't move or speak but I am awake, and I feel like something physical is pushing down on my chest, trapping me and preventing me from moving.

Growing up I was lead to believe that this may be some sort of 'devil' or evil spirit attacking me (yes, I know, terrifying!) but as an adult I decided to research what was happening to me.

Turns out this happens to many people and is actually a type of sleeping disorder - sleep paralysis.

The early meaning of the word 'nightmare' included the sleeper's experience of weight on the chest, combined with sleep paralysis, dyspnea or a feeling of dread. The painting incorporates a variety of imagery associated with these ideas and feelings, depicting a mare's head and a demon crouched on top of the woman.

So, it turns out, this phenomenon is what is depicted here in this painting (quite accurately in fact) and I was pleased to find out that my very own terrors have been the subject of a fantastic and famous piece of Gothic art. I was also comforted to know that other people have experienced this traumatic occurrence (even people from way in the past).