The Appeal of the Taboo

The Gothic literary movement emerged in the 19th century but unlike many other literary movements, our society is still fascinated by it. But where does this fascination stem from? What is it about the Gothic that still captures our attention?

The Gothic's exploration of the taboo is what draws us to it like a moth to a flame. For centuries humanity has been obsessed with the taboo or the forbidden. There is something so appealing about the idea of the forbidden evidenced by the fact that we have created hundreds and thousands of books, shows, and films about it. And it is not only a recent phenomenon. No, we have been obsessed with stories regarding the forbidden since the dawn of time. Take for example stories such as Adam and Eve or Pandora’s Box – they both have survived the test of time and one of the reasons for this is their exploration of the forbidden.

In my opinion, we all have some ‘dark’ section in our mind where we hide all of our ‘taboo’ and ‘forbidden’ thoughts and ideas. We push them in there, try to forget about them and hope that they disappear.

But when the Gothic comes along, it allows us to explore what these taboos could be like in real life without actually having to commit the taboos. The Gothic allows us, the audience, to open Pandora’s Box without having to suffer the repercussions.

And that is one of the reasons why the Gothic prevails to this day.