Many people in England spend Christmas Eve eating a good roast pheasant and maybe some figgy pudding, but in 1764, Horace Walpole, son of the Prime Minister, Robert Walpole, published The Castle of Otranto.

And it was a hit.

On that day, he pretty much created Gothic literature. He wanted to create a tongue-in-cheek literary counterpart to the Gothic castles he loved so much. He wanted something gruesome and beautiful, shadowy and vibrant, unexpected and well-worn. And so, Gothicism, the literary movement, was born.

Thanks, Wally.

The Castle of Otranto

The Castle of Otranto was a huge hit when first published, but it took a hit during its second edition reprinting. See, Walpole originally published it as if it was a translation of a newly discovered Medieval manuscript—and people ate it up. They loved the idea that they were reading something so authentically Gothic. When Walpole decided to claim his rightful place as author, all of his giddy readers got the whole big-eye stare and wondered "what do you mean it's made up by some Englishman in my own time and not some depraved Italian?" (their sentiments, not ours).

Otranto's plot itself is very complicated. In it, a peasant, Theodore, becomes the unlikely hero and true prince of the cursed castle and marries Isabella, a young girl chased all over town by her would-be father-in-law, Manfred, and a band of knights. Manfred's own son is killed by the castle (it drops a giant helmet on his head—seriously). This freaks out Manfred (for obvious reasons) and he determines to divorce his own wife and marry Isabella to produce a new heir he thinks will please the castle.

Ew.

Chew on This

For a little American Gothic, check out Nathaniel Hawthorne's House of the Seven Gables. Talk about cursed houses and complicated family drama spanning the decades.

Okay, so Charles Dickens will probably never be called a Gothic novelist, but he read every Gothic novel he could get his hands on, and Great Expectations is dripping with Gothic charm. Pay special attention to the houses in this one because you've got two that really matter: Miss Havisham's palatial estate and Wemmick's castle. The latter is actually just a small home built to look like a castle. Remind you of the decorating habits of anyone else you've read about?