Recognizing Goth, the Gothic, and the Neo-Gothic in 2026
For World Goth Day, Matthew Pungitore shares his appreciation of Gothic literature.
Read MoreConcerning and Unsnarling Sword and Sorcery, Romanticism, Dark Romanticism, and Fantasy (Part Two)
The connection between Fantasy and Sword and Sorcery is easy enough to see, but what kind of sub-class of Fantasy should Sword and Sorcery call home? Should it fit closer to the Low or to the High Fantasy fields? And what is Fantasy on its own? Is there such a thing as a purely “Fantasy” work? Is Fantasy only a label for works that came after the 1600s?
Read MoreConcerning and Unsnarling Sword and Sorcery, Romanticism, Dark Romanticism, and Fantasy (Part One)
How could understanding the differences between Romanticism and Dark Romanticism be of any benefit to the readers of Sword and Sorcery? Fantasy birthed Sword and Sorcery, but not alone, for it was Romanticism that spawned Dark Romanticism, and it also had a hand in the conception of Sword and Sorcery. These four genres might not appear to be related, but they absolutely do branch together, and understanding the similarities and differences between them can help pulp-readers better appreciate the legitimate literary value of works in these genres.
Read MoreLovecraftian Horror: Gothic, Weird, and the Inevitable
Howard Phillips Lovecraft (1890–1937) was, like that looming spectre of his written works, a master of the Weird, and his driving focus without a doubt was to whet his tools of Cosmicism, which had given rise to his hallmark style, one to which Genre savants of this modern-day might refer as “Lovecraftian Horror.”
Read MoreThe Gothic Sherlock Holmes
Gothic isn't the first thing people usually think of when they think of Sherlock Holmes. And yet, there is a very tangible thread of the Gothic running through Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's tales of the consulting detective.
Read MoreKarl Edward Wagner: Horror at Heart
Karl Edward Wagner will probably be best remembered as the creator of the hero-villain Kane, but he always considered himself a horror writer. Even when he was writing heroic fantasy, Karl’s Kane tales were horror at heart.
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