Gothic Horror is a term used to depict fictitious work that has incorporated a lot of horror scenes as well as elements of the unreal world, exploring the conflict between good and evil and dealing with the supernatural in some sort of way. The episodic novel Dracula written by Bram Stoker in 1897 and the movie Blade by Stephen Norrington created in 1998 bring to the fore many conventions relating to the Gothic Horror genre despite their vastly different contexts. Gothic elements of imprisonment, death and blood are clearly represented through each of the texts. Stoker and Norrington present these conventions through a variety of literary and film techniques, paying particular attention to character and setting to explore the elements of the genre. Through these interactions, the audience can feel a sense of Gothic Horror in which the composers of the two texts aim to convey.
The setting is a prominent aspect of Stoker’s novel, as it creates the mood and atmosphere and affects the characters of the novel. The castle in Dracula is the main setting that the reader is introduced to and sets the journey on a mysterious, evil and suspenseful road. Jonathan believes that “the castle is a veritable prison” and he is the prisoner. Dracula’s castle is situated in a rural location, said to be the superstitious west were all the mythical creatures from vampires, ghosts, witches and wolves are found. To reinforce the concept of imprisonment, all the doors in the castle are locked and Jonathan is restricted in his freedom to wonder around it. The quote “doors, doors, doors everywhere and all locked and bolted” suggests that Dracula doesn’t want Jonathan to engage in his activities to learn more about him and his condition. This restricts the reader from gaining further knowledge of the detail and mysteries of the castle, leaving us helpless in suspense and fear, not knowing