Episode 21: Women in white – Gothic Halloween special
“The Gothic provides a model by which we can have an encounter with the past as it relates to our present.”
This year’s Halloween special sees us joined by Australian horror author Kyla Ward as we talk all about the women in white: gothic fiction – what it is, and is it still relevant after nearly 300 years.
In this episode, Kyla provides us with an overview of the history of gothic fiction, including the infamous ‘women in white’. Then we look at the narrative elements of the gothic genre, and how these have spilled over into other forms of genre fiction. Next we do a deep diver into the character archetypes that appear in gothic fiction, and the roles they play in the stories via Gail Carriger’s text ‘The Heroine’s Journey’.
We also explore the politics (of course!) of gothic tropes, and the connection between gothic and noir. Finally, we explore how gothic fiction is used today and if the archetypes are still relevant.
There is also a minor detour into Australian Gothic. But that is for another time. Mostly…
You can listen to this episode on our website, or you can subscribe on Apple Podcast, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
“We’re sketching out the notion of the Gothic as a form of sort of democratic satirical pantomime.”
Guest Host: Kyla Ward – Author
Timestamps:
0:00 – Introduction
1:59 – The Gothic – an introduction
3:08 – Features of the Gothic genre
40:00 – Rich people behaving badly
1:16:24 – Are modern Gothic stories still horror today?
1:20:10 – Wrap up & Outro
Books we discuss:
Austen, Jane. Northanger Abbey.
Baynton, Barbara, short stories including “A Dreamer” and “The Chosen Vessel”. (Australian Gothic) 1902
Beckford, William. Vathek
Bronte, Charlotte. Wuthering Heights
Carriger, Gail. The Heroine’s Journey
Chandler, Raymond. The Big Sleep
Clarke, Marcus. For the Term of his Natural Life. 1874
Collins, Wilkie. The Moonstone
Collins, Wilkie. The Woman in White
Dickens – Great Expectations
Du Maurrier, Daphne. Rebecca
Du Maurrier, Daphne. Jamaica Inn
Hardy, Thomas. Return of the Native
Hardy, Thomas. Tess of the D’urbervilles
Jackson, Shirley. The Haunting of Hill House
James, Henry. The Turn of the Screw 1898
James, Henry. The Romance of Certain Old Clothes
Kingfisher, T. A House With Good Bones. 2023
Lewis, Matthew. The Monk
Polidori, John. The Vampyre
Radcliffe, Ann. The Mysteries of Udolpho.
Rice, Anne, Mayfair witches, Vampire chronicles
Singh, Nalini. A Madness of Sunshine.
Stoker, Bram. Dracula
Stoker, Bram. The Lair of the White Worm
Tran, Trang Thanh. She is a haunting.
Walpole, Horace. Castle of Otranto.
Ward, Kyla Lee. This attraction now open til late, 2022
Wilde, The Picture of Dorian Grey
Movies & TV shows we discuss:
Archive 81
Birth of a Nation
Bram Stoker’s Dracula
The Chilling Adventures of Sabrina
Crimson Peak (2015 – dir. Guillermo del Toro)
Dracula, (Mark Gattis & Steven Moffat) 2020 BBC.
Ender’s Game
Ex Machina (2014, dir. Alex Garland)
Fight Club
For the Term of his Natural Life (1927, dir. Norman Dawn)
Get Out
The Haunting (1963 – dir. Robert Wise)
The Haunting of Hill House
The Haunting of Bly Mannor
The Invitation (2022 – dir Jessica M. Thompson)
The Kettering Incident
Knives Out
Ready or Not (2019 – dir. Matt Bettinelli-Opin & Tyler Gillett)
Rebecca
The Uninvited
Wallstreet
Games we discuss:
Immortality
