Tales of the Supernatural

Introduction

Monsters have haunted the literary imagination from earliest times (e.g., the Cyclops, Grendel, etc.), but a particular interest in horror and the Gothic form dates back to the 18th and early 19th century. Taking their name from the Gothic architecture that often served as a backdrop to the action, these novels present supernatural events in naturalistic terms, thrilling readers with strange tales filled with mystery and terror.

Learning Objectives

1    Begin by asking how many students have read a horror story or seen a horror movie. Explain the relationship of modern horror stories to the Gothic novel, and tell students that at least one writer in the Gothic tradition continues to terrify readers even today -- Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley, who at age 18 published the classic horror story, Frankenstein, in 1818.

2   Use the Romantic Circles website to introduce students to Mary Shelley and the legacy of her greatest literary creation. Within the "Scholarly Resources" section of the site, click on "The Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley Chronology & Resource Site" and follow the link to "Other Web Resources." Here your students will find information about her life, background on the Romantic circumstances that gave rise to her novel, and (what may be of most immediate interest to them) images from some of the many films that have featured her monster. Working with these images (and any other incarnations of the Frankenstein monster with which they may be familiar), have students comment on what the monster has come to mean in our century. Are we terrified by him as a violation of nature? Do we feel pity for him as an orphan of science? Do we admire him as an embodiment of the indomitable will? Why has he continued to lumber through the popular imagination?

3    Have students read Frankenstein. (The entire text of Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is available on UVA's Electronic Text Center) Focus discussion initially on differences students perceive between the original story and its translations into the terms of popular culture. In what respects is the original a horror story? In what respects is it a serious imaginative exploration of the human condition? Why have some readers called it the first work of science fiction? What view of science does the novel present to us? How is this concern with science signalled by the novel's subtitle, "The Modern Prometheus"? (Remind students that Prometheus, credited in mythology with bringing fire from the heavens to the earth, is usually understood as an emblem of human creativity, particularly as expressed through science and technology. Have students search for information about Prometheus on the Perseus Project website.) Who is the Prometheus of the story -- Frankenstein or his monster? And what does this Prometheus symbolize? Conclude this discussion by having students write a short critical essay comparing the original Frankenstein to what it has become in popular culture, arguing either that much has been lost in the story's transformation or that it has been refined to its imaginative essence in the retelling.

4   Next have students work in research teams to investigate some American tales of the supernatural, using the resources of the Nathaniel Hawthorne website. Among Hawthorne's own works they might read "Young Goodman Brown" and "Rappaccini's Daughter" in Mosses from an Old Manse. Links within the Hawthorne website will lead them to many examples of the Gothic in the work of Edgar Allan Poe, stories like "Berenice," "The Fall of the House of Usher," and "The Tell-Tale Heart," and his well-known poem, "The Raven." Have each team focus on one story, noting similarities to the themes and story-telling techniques of Frankenstein, particularly the part science may play in setting the stage for the supernatural. After each group has reported on its story, discuss as a class the distinguishing features of Hawthorne's and Poe's work in this genre. Ask students to explore the effect on them as readers of a story by Hawthorne in the third person and by Poe in the first person. Hawthorne tells his stories in the third person and shapes them as allegories and fables, thereby diffusing their emotional impact; Poe, by contrast, generally tells his stories in the first person and shapes them to highlight the psychology of the narrator, thereby tightening their grip on the reader's emotions. Students can explore the consequences of these alternative techniques by writing a short film scenario for one episode from each author.

Extending the Lesson