>>5982450>>5966833https://www.theparisreview.org/blog/2018/10/29/the-draw-of-the-gothic/here is the essay on the Gothic, this is a good one for understanding storywriting and worldbuilding. It mentions several thematic aspects which I had never connected together before in my mind
-Gothic began with architecture, Visigoths barbarians sacking the Fall Of Rome etc. It is more than just ruined cathedrals - think about how the Gothic arose in England, around the time of the French Revolution / Reign Of Terror etc (political turmoil, downfall) it was an aesthetic rebellion / uprising
-gothic is based on an attraction/repulsion dynamic, seduction/lust-cruelty/disgust, (see this image
>>5979810 ) pain-danger conflation of terror-excitement. The Freud work on the Uncanny as a form or defamiliarisation cited in the essay is also worth reading; I read it a long time ago, but it explains many gothic elements like the horror-twins or Jekyll Hyde thing (idea of Gothic double, repetition of the self as a psychological defence / reassurance / protection against death, mirrored emotions the idea of vulnerability / mortality). It explains why there are so many Buffy episodes with doppelganger type motifs or where her sense of identity is manipulated eg Buffy vs Buffybot, Buffy Faith body swap episode, Willow and vampire Willow etc It is an interesting Gothic theme