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'Prey': The Elements Of Gothic Literature

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Gothic literature can make you feel like you are in the story. It provides a dubious feeling and is some of the most descriptive writing out there. Pretty much all gothic literature can be connected through the gothic elements within the story. In the short stories, “Prey”, by Richard Matheson, “A Rose for Emily”, by William Faulkner, and “The Raven”, by Edgar Allen Poe, gothic elements such as grotesqueness and supernatural events connect together.
In “Prey”, by Richard Matheson, The author writes that the main character “felt warm blood running down her skin”(Matheson 4). In this case, The element of grotesqueness is used to formulate the situation and make you feel what the girl in the story feels. In “A Rose For Emily”, it is said that …show more content…

If it were not for this elements, gothic literature would not be where it is today. In one of Edgar Allan Poe's most famous writings, “The Raven”, the notorious raven looks at the main character and says the words, “nevermore”(Poe). The reader doesn't know how or why the raven spoke, but that is exactly what the writer wants. In “Prey”, a lamp across the room that was previously on, “went out”(Matheson 4) when the spirit was roaming around. This element connects these two stories because they are both trying to accomplish the exact same thing. They both want the reader to be afraid and feel that they are in jeopardy. The main character in “Prey”, said that “she thought she heard a noise behind her-fragile, skittering”(Matheson 5). BY the character saying this, is makes the reader afraid. The way they are doing this is by creating a feeling of mystery. The reader wants to know where the spirit doll is in “Prey”, but it won't show itself and remains anonymous. All they know is that it is close. It keeps readers thrilled because they know that the spirit is chaotic and just waiting to cause havok. Supernatural events such as these examples and crucial to gothic

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