The inability of many Gothic characters to overcome perversity by rational thought is quintessential American Gothic. It is not uncommon for a protagonist to be sucked into the realm of madness because of … See more

Early American Gothic writers were particularly concerned with frontier wilderness anxiety and the lasting effects of a Puritanical society. "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving is … See more

The Southern Gothic includes stories set in the Southern United States, particularly following the Civil War and set in the economic and cultural decline that engulfed the region. Southern Gothic stories tend to focus on the decaying economic, … See more

Authors who fall under the category of "New American Gothic" include: Flannery O'Connor, John Hawkes, J.D. Salinger, and Shirley Jackson. These writers rely on the use of private worlds to weave their Gothic intrigue, as such the destruction of the family unit is … See more

• Wieland (1798) by Charles Brockden Brown
• Edgar Huntly (1799) by Charles Brockden Brown
• "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" (1820) by Washington Irving
• "Young Goodman Brown" … See more

1. ^ Allan Lloyd Smith, American Gothic Fiction: An Introduction pp. 65–69 (Continuum International Publishing Group, 2003)
2. ^ George Parsons Lathop, A Study of Hawthorne pp 300-309 (Scholarly Press, 1970) See more

• American Gothic Tales: Edited by Joyce Carol Oates (Plume, 1996). See more