Why Gothic Landscapes?

    I spent the last two years of high school at a small boarding school in the Southern Appalachians. It was at that school, in a library much older than myself, that I found a book that would alter the arch of my life. That book was H.P. Lovecraft's Supernatural Horror in Literature. 

    Appropriately enough a thunderstorm was raging outside when I found it, beating rain against the windows and rattling the walls with wind as I pulled the thin hardback from the shelf. I'd read entirety of it before bed that night, and kept it close at hand for weeks after. Eventually I procured my own copy. 

    The book was revelatory to me. Already a Lovecraft fan I'd pulled it off the shelves with certain expectations, but what I got was beyond any expectation I might have had. There had certainly been other academic discourses on horror up to that point, but this was my first time ever being exposed to one. Here were the same monsters and madness of Lovecraft's other works, presented as worthy of academic scrutiny, rather than just visceral entertainment. Never in my life had I had an instructor or teacher approach the supernatural and horror as being worthy of study, yet that was exactly what was reading. I was enthralled. 

    The book also served as a wonderful introduction to Gothic Literature. By this time I had already read some of the classic works of the genre such as Bram Stoker's Dracula, but I would have struggled to speak on exactly "why" this work was Gothic, or what defined it as such. Lovecraft's book helped to single out those features, highlighting those elements that transformed a simple ghost story into a work of Gothic Literature. 

    Fast forward to today and this blog. What I hope to achieve here is not unlike what Lovecraft achieves in Supernatural Horror in Literature, an academic examination of the Gothic in Literature, in a way that is both educating and entertaining. The discourse on this subject has increased since Lovecraft's passing in ways that I doubt he could have ever conceived. While it fills me with joy to see this change, it also makes it more difficult to contribute to the conversation with so many voices speaking at once.

    For this reason I chose to narrow the focus of this blog as much as possible, highlighting a thin slice of authors' narratives and how those elements are used in weaving the Gothic into their works. I chose landscapes and plants for their unique and specific focus, but also because they serve as frequent and recurring themes within the Gothic genre. It is difficult to imagine Gothic Literature without a spooky forest or a haunted garden.

    I hope you enjoy your time here, and that your time rewards you. Please feel free to leave a comment, and be sure to subscribe to keep up on all the latest Gothic Landscapes & Gardens has to offer.