Thesis: Is Poe Gothic or Horror? (And The Difference Between)

A knife, poisonous insects, these are things most people fear. The threat of harm or death are things we tend to shy away from. It’s our body's natural instincts that make us afraid and send adrenaline to our brains. It’s a response to a threat, programmed into our systems for centuries to “stay away” from snakes or strangers. However, what about the macabre, the creepy crawlies under the bed, the hundreds of scary stories and movies that have been passed down and retold through the ages. Why is the creepy and gothic so popular? Why is someone like Edgar Allan Poe so beloved for writing such works like “A Tell Tale Heart” and “The Cask of Amontillado” which are innately morbid?

Human’s are a curious species in that even though there is no danger involved in the creepy or macabre we still fear it, however there is also this strange pleasure or joy we derive from reading about a man getting buried alive, or a ghost haunting, and it’s because there’s no obvious threat to us, nothing that can harm or kill us directly in these tales. There is a German word called Schadenfreude which can be directly translated into 'harm-joy' or the pleasure one derives from the misfortune of others. As much as some of us may deny it, everyone has somewhat of a fascination with the macabre. Famous writers like Edgar Allan Poe would not have succeeded without this curiosity.

Edgar Allan Poe has been dubbed the master of macabre for his incredible depictions of death and decay. I’ve been a fan of Poe’s works ever since reading “The Tell Tale Heart” in 8th grade, and I’ve come to recognize him as one of the greatest writers of not just horror but gothic literature as well. Now you may be wondering what the difference is between the gothic and horror genres. Gothic literature, although dark and morbid, has a sense of romance, or a past love that pushes the story into the thought provoking and nightmarish terror it is. Gothic literature makes us think about our nature and if we could ever do such things in the name of “love.” However horror, I feel can best be explained in this quote by Stephen King.

“The 3 types of terror: The Gross-out: the sight of a severed head tumbling down a flight of stairs, it's when the lights go out and something green and slimy splatters against your arm. The Horror: the unnatural, spiders the size of bears, the dead waking up and walking around, it's when the lights go out and something with claws grabs you by the arm. And the last and worse one: Terror, when you come home and notice everything you own had been taken away and replaced by an exact substitute. It's when the lights go out and you feel something behind you, you hear it, you feel its breath against your ear, but when you turn around, there's nothing there...”

These techniques are all ones incorporated into Edgar Allan Poe’s works; however, I feel that Poe can best be labeled as a gothic writer. The theme of love and past that he incorporates into his writings are what make him so innately interesting and popular even to this day. With Poe it’s more about the monsters within his readers and himself rather than the monsters that lurk outside. With many of Poe’s works you will find a sort of deranged twisted love, filled with sorrows and morbidity that I feel directly derives from his own experiences throughout his life and will be the main discussion of this blog.  

“The monsters within ourselves vs. the monsters that lurk.” - Professor Candia eng 102 2017

This quote by really was the deciding factor for me on who I would do my blog project on.