RESEARCH GUIDE: GOTHIC LITERATURE

The purpose of this guide is to provide a variety of materials representing the range of sources available for the study of Gothic Literature. For assistance in using these resources, or to find additional information, contact a Reference Librarian

Reference Sources | Books | Journal Articles | E-Journals/Book Reviews | Internet Sites

1. Reference Sources

• Guide to the Gothic: an annotated bibliography. - Reference PN3435. F7.
• Fantasy and horror: a critical and historical guide to literature, illustration, film, TV, radio and the Internet. - Reference PN56.F34 1999.
• Dictionary of Symbolism
• A Bronte companion: literary assessment, background,and reference. - Reference PR4168 P5 1975a.
• The Poe Encyclopedia. - eBook
• The Oxford Companion to American Literature. - Reference PS21.H3 1995.(Also Online).

2. Books

Tips for Searching for Resources in the Online Catalogue

Combined Author/Title option

quickest way to find an item if you know the author and title
use the Author or Title options only if you know the exact forms

Subject option

yields only items catalogued under prescribed subject headings (ie Library of Congress headings)if you are not familiar with these, use:

Keyword option (words from the title.....)

usually yields more hits as it searches the author, subject headings ,titles and series

Possible Subject Headings:

Subject Keyword is also useful.

Some Specific Book Titles

• The Mysteries of Udolpho (Oxford World’s Classics). - PR5202.M9.
• Wuthering Heights. - PR4174.W82.
• The Gothic text. - PN3435. B78 2005.
• Gothic passages: racial ambiguity and the American gothic. - eBook.
• Shirley Jackson’s American gothic. - eBook.
• Approaches to Teaching Gothic fiction: the British and American Traditions. - PR830. T3 A67 2003.
• Collected Works of Edgar Allan Poe. - PS2600.F69, Volumes 1-3.
• Dracula. - PR6037.T617 D7 1897.
• Dracula. - PR6037.T617 D7 1988.
• Dracula. - eBook.
• Dracula. from the British Film Guide; 7. - eBook.
• Frankenstein, Or, The Modern Prometheus. - PR5397.F7 1933.
• Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein. New York: Chelsea House Publishers. - eBook.
• The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde. - PR5485. A1 1962.
• Jekyll & Hyde. Vocal Score. Selections. - M1508. J44 04 1997.
• Gothic writers: a critical and bibliographical guide. - eBook.
• The Picture of Dorian Gray. - PR5819. D4.
• The Picture of Dorian Gray. - eBook.

3. Journal Articles

• Academic Search Premier
  Academic Search Premier provides full text material from more than 3,600 publications in social sciences, humanities, general science, engineering, medical, education, multi-cultural, and other journals. In addition to the full text, this database offers indexing and abstracts for 4,500 journals.
• MLA International Bibliography
  MLA International Bibliography is an index of journal articles, books and dissertations. Produced by the Modern Language Association, the Bibliography dates back to 1926 and contains over 1.5 million citations from more than 4,400 journals and series and 1,000 book publishers. Coverage is international and subjects include literature, language and linguistics, folklore, literary theory and criticism and dramatic arts. Some articles are linked to full text.
• Project Muse
  Project Muse is a comprehensive selection of prestigious humanities, arts, and social sciences journals to support a core liberal arts curriculum at any academic institution.

4. E-Journals/Book Reviews

• Gothic Studies
• Irish Journal of Gothic and Horror Studies

5. Selected Internet Sites

• A Glossary of Literary Gothic Terms
  This Glossary has been put together by students from the “Introduction to Literary Studies” course of Georgia Southern University.  The entries have been edited by Douglass H. Thomson of the Department of Literature and Philosophy of Georgia Southern University; co-editor: Lauren Gibson.
• The Literary Gothic
  This site is listed as the premiere web guide for pre-1950 Gothic literature and is a good source of information on authors and titles of Gothic literature from this time period.
• The Sickly Taper
  This site is a bibliography of Gothic Scholarship. The Sickly Taper was begun by the late Dr. Frederick S. Frank, former Professor Emeritus at Allegheny College and Gothicist extraordinaire.  The Sickly Taper is now being managed by the Department of English Language, Literature and Creative Writing at the University of Windsor under the direction of Dr. Carol Margaret Davison with the assistance of Betsy Keating, Neil Wood and Emily Wunder.  
• Touched by the Hand of Goth: Classics of Gothic Horror Cinema
  This site contains some good information on horror films.
• My Hideous Progeny: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein
  This site has a good deal of information on Mary Shelley. There are pages dealing with her life, her family, her friends and her novels.  A good portion of this web site is specifically devoted to her most famous novel Frankenstein and offers a summary, a title explanation, character descriptions and information about the genre of Gothic literature. The text of Frankenstein is available in a fully annotated HTML format as well

Last updated December 17, 2008