Vampire love and pain

In Anne Rice's Interview with a Vampire, she created vampires that could blend in with normal people. She gave them a conscience, at least Louis had one. She created values in them that reflect the same values of people today - without the blood sucking.

In Louis' grief over the death of his wife, he was feeling empty and alone. LeStat reacts to Louis with mixed feelings. He shows conflicting values that we all experience. Compassion and selfishness. LeStat wanted to ease Louis' pain but selfishly wanted a companion to live the vampire life. Louis represents different human values that are also conflicting. To escape his pain, he agrees to become a vampire, but Louis never really embraces the vampire life. This is just like regular humans. For example, to escape a boring life, people think they want to be rich and famous, but when they get there, they wish they have there old life back with all of its problems.

Another interesting value Anne Rice includes is the idea of family. Possibly Louis turned Claudia so she could be the daughter Louis never got to have with his wife. His desire for a family is normal but he was selfish because robbed her chance to grow up. His plan backfired because he rejected him after she learned the truth that she would never grow up. After she dies, Louis is facing his biggest fear - being alone. Isn't that the greatest fear of all humans?

Frankenstein

In Mary Shelley's novel Frankenstein, There are many gothic elements. One of the most challenge parts from me reading this was how the story was laid out. It was three stories in one, and this unusual way of telling a story is often used in gothic novels. For example, part of the story is told by the letters of Robert Walton, then much of the story is told by Victor's point of view, but parts are told by the monster. 

Most people would think of a creepy setting when reading something gothic, and this story is a great example of that. For example. Victor sets up his lab in a empty gothic church. Hollywood usually puts the setting in a creepy castle on the top of a hill. 

Another gothic element is the main character is Victor. Gothic heroes typically are loners, very serious, very smart, gloomy and eventually unstable. Sometime they even have a god complex like Victor who wants to create life. He get so obsessed with his work that he isolates himself from everything (school, family, friends, love, etc). He is so focus that he doesn't realize that his creation is "unholy", but when the creature comes to life, Victor realizes what he has done but it's too late. 

Gothic stories always have an element of the supernatural and Frankenstein's monster is the first example of this in literature. However, the monster is very different in the book than the movies. In the movies, the monster is just the scary killer and has no feelings, but in the book, his learns from watching others and sees the love he doesn't get from Victor. 

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Horror Tropers:

Lighting/Dim lights
Dark/Gloomy weather
Monster is not always a person
Special effects
Taboos
Jump scares
Mirrors