Gothic Realities

<p> Eighteenth-century critics believed Gothic fiction would inspire deviant sexuality instill heretical beliefs and encourage antisocial violence--this book puts these beliefs to the test. After examining the assumptions behind critics' fears it considers nineteenth-century concerns about sexual deviance showing how <I>Frankenstein Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde Dorian Gray</I> and other works helped construct homosexuality as a pathological dangerous phenomenon. It then turns to television and film particularly <I>Buffy the Vampire Slayer</I> and David DeCoteau's direct-to-video movies to trace Gothicized sexuality's lasting impact. Moving to heretical beliefs <I>Gothic Realities</I> surveys ghost stories from Dickens's <I>A Christmas Carol</I> to <I>Poltergeist</I> articulating the relationships between fiction and the real supernatural. Finally it considers connections between Gothic horror and real-world violence especially the tragedies at Columbine and Virginia Tech.</p>