Introduction: Living Gothic

Abstract

The Gothic has never been more alive than it is today. Like a contagion, of late, it has travelled across cultural and media landscapes to permeate even the most banal aspects of everyday living. While the Gothic has undoubtedly regained its popularity, it is also granted acknowledgement in ‘higher’ culture. From haute couture to haute cuisine, the Gothic aesthetic is widely recognised, and it would appear that it might be more appropriate these days to talk less about the popularity of the Gothic than the cultural milieu of the Gothic. The contemporary cultural environment that surrounds the Gothic reveals much about the nature of the Gothic itself and the legacies of a long history of representing the darker side of the human condition. As such, in seeking to learn more about the nature of contemporary Gothic, both in its living and literary formulations, we must examine the histories, practices, and legacies that have extended outward from a long literary tradition to permeate almost all facets of contemporary culture.