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| This guy writes creepy fiction? I am not shocked in the least. |
In my first article on science-fiction, I used the term "Gothic" to describe some literature, which I contrasted with science-fiction. What I meant by it was stories that involve unresolved mystery and the inexplicably other-worldly as central elements. Interestingly, many of this kind of story have a lot of science (or science-fiction) in them (the classic examples being Dracula by Bram Stoker and Frankenstein by Mary Shelley). It's a kind of story worth discussing, and it certainly is a popular genre (whether some of the works are explicitly acknowledged as Gothic or not).
So, in preparation for exploring this other branch of literature, your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to read "Dagon" by H.P. Lovecraft! It's one of his shorter stories, and it is certainly creepy and unexplained.
His stuff is definitely Gothic in the above sense. Plus, he's popular (with me as well as others), and whatever else you do with his work you should discuss it with someone, rather than letting it haunt your dreams and silently evoke the nameless horrors that lurk in your soul.
See you next week!
© 2014 John Hiner III
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