From the Death of Franco to the Present: The Establishment of Horror and the Gothic Auteur

Abstract

This chapter addresses the cultural opening up to the Gothic and the horror genre that followed the death of Franco and the transition years. Specific case studies focus on writers that have consistently developed the Gothic in interesting ways. First, Pilar Pedraza’s brand of the Female Gothic, one that often updates the historical novel and is feminist at heart, is celebrated for its innovation within the context of the Spanish Gothic and of the Gothic more broadly. The second author considered here is Carlos Ruiz Zafón, whose name has become synonymous with the Spanish Gothic more generally. I explore the notion of ‘nuanced Gothicism’ in his work and the intricacies of his internationalisation of a trans/national type of the Gothic.