Gothic Settings: Castles

I’m starting a new blog post series! Much like my Gothic Tropes series, these posts will highlight recurring elements that appear time and again throughout different works of Gothic literature. But rather than focusing on plot elements, motifs, or themes, the Gothic Settings series will examine the physical locations in which these stories are set. Of course, I had to start off this week with the most obvious classic setting for a Gothic novel: the castle. 

Castles are so central to Gothic literature, they essentially gave the genre its name. Medieval castles in Europe were built in a style of architecture that later became known as “gothic,” originally a pejorative term that suggested the style was barbaric compared to the subsequent Renaissance style of architecture. In the mid-eighteenth century, however, there was some renewed interest in Gothic architecture. (For more details, check out my post on the Gothic Revival in architecture). In fact, Horace Walpole—the founding father of Gothic literature—was obsessed with all things medieval and even went so far as to build himself his own Gothic-style castle. His estate, Strawberry Hill, featured turrets, arched windows, and vaulted ceilings, and housed his vast collection of antiquarian artefacts. But Walpole’s personal obsession isn’t the only reason we see so many castles in the Gothic; these structures are particularly well-suited to Gothic stories. Castles are linked with the idea of antiquity and are usually already several centuries old by the time the story begins—plenty of time to fall into picturesque decay or hold generations’ worth of family history and dark secrets. Their massive size and labyrinthine structure, plus their usually remote location, make them perfect for plots involving isolation and confinement. Lastly, their appearance in earlier genres of literature link them to a sense of romance and adventure, like in Arthurian legend, as well as to ghosts and murder as in Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Macbeth.

The Castle of Otranto

With Horace Walpole’s medieval fixation, it should come as no surprise that the earliest castle in Gothic literature appears in the very first Gothic novel, Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto (1764), which he wrote while living in Strawberry Hill. Indeed, the castle is so central to this story—the main conflict being a question of the castle’s rightful ruler—that it serves as the novel’s title. The story is set in the medieval era, during the crusades, with the castle already several centuries old by that point. The medieval aesthetic infuses the book, with characters frequently running around in full suits of armor—including the story’s ghost, who appears in pieces of armor of gargantuan size. The castle’s history is told in the portraits of ancestors that line the walls, speaking to a dark legacy of secrets and usurpation. And the novel establishes a core Gothic trope by equipping the castle with a convenient secret passageway, through which the young heroine escapes from the villainous lord.  

Udolpho

Castles appear throughout many of the other early Gothic novels of the eighteenth century, another notable example being Ann Radcliffe’s The Mysteries of Udolpho (1794). Once again, the name of the castle appears in the novel’s title, though it’s not the only setting in the book as Otranto is. The Mysteries of Udolpho is set just past the medieval era in early Renaissance Italy and France. The young heroine, Emily, spends much of the first half of the novel travelling with her father before going to live with her aunt after his death. Her aunt’s villainous new husband, Montoni, then whisks them off to Udolpho, his remote castle that lies in the mountains of Italy surrounded by dense forest. Upon their first approach, the castle is described as “gloomy and sublime”—the perfect setting for a Gothic plot full of death, danger, and dark secrets. The castle itself is partially in ruins, with roofs caving in and walls crumbling down that make sections of the estate perilous to traverse. Its labyrinthine hallways and levels are disorienting for the newcomers, and back passages into nearly all the chambers allow characters to sneak around the castle unnoticed. The decor of the castle includes faded tapestries and an ancient suit of armor—a throwback to the medieval aesthetics that typified Otranto. The building has an aura of the supernatural; when they arrive, Emily and her maid immediately indulge in fantasies that the castle is inhabited by fairies or ghosts. The reality, however, is much worse: the castle is inhabited (or infiltrated) by men who want power over women and their fortunes. Emily will have to learn the castle’s secrets for herself if she wants to escape and reclaim agency over her life.

Castle Dracula

But castles aren’t just for the early Gothics! Perhaps the most memorable castle in Gothic literature shows up a century later in Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1897). Castle Dracula is situated in the Carpathian Mountains in a sparsely populated region of Transylvania—which makes the setting not only desolate and remote, but also inescapably foreign to the English protagonist John Harker. As with Udolpho, Castle Dracula’s half-ruined state speaks to the castle’s age and hints of neglect or dwindling fortunes. Harker finds the darkened windows ominous and is unnerved by the baying of wolves that seem to surround the castle. Dracula keeps many of the doors in his abode locked—and with good reason! The castle contains many dangers, including Dracula’s three brides who accost Harker one night and attempt to drink his blood. And of course, there is the corpse of Dracula himself, which lays in a box of dirt during the daylight hours. Partway through the novel, however, the action moves from this classically Gothic castle to the more modern and familiar setting of London.  

Indeed, as the Gothic genre moved past its association with the medieval, we see novels that take place in a variety of settings, most of which are not quite so ancient or far from home. But castles will always be at the heart of the Gothic genre. What other Gothic novels can you think of that feature a castle as their setting? And what other Gothic settings would you like to see me explore here? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!