Neide:
What aspects of Gothic fiction are attracted to? Dark mood? Strong emotions? Scenery?
The supernatural.
OUT OF the 20 main elements that Ghastly Affair considers to be the main elements of a gothic story, I'd say my favorites are: Hauntings, Monsters, and Mysteries.
(The full list: The Castle, Confinement, Crime, Curses, Dark Places, Desecration, The Despot, Fiends, The Fury of Nature, Hauntings, Innocents, Lovers, Madness, Monsters, Mysteries, Omens, Ruins, Strangers, Shocking Secrets, and Talismans.)
From their list of 100 GOTHIC THEMES AND MOTIFS, my favorites:
33. Ghosts
38. Gypsies
42. Immortality
64. Mysterious Manuscripts
69. Pride
75. Rituals and Superstitions
78. Secret Passages
79. Secret Societies
89. Transformation
90. True Love
94. Vampires
98. Weird Medicine
99. Werewolves
From their list of TYPICAL GOTHIC CHARACTERS, my favorites:
The Bandit With a Code of Honor
The Beautiful Gypsy Woman
The Lonely Vampyre
The Mad Scientist
The Mysterious Strangerat the Door
The Obsessive Demon Hunter
The Old Tinkerer With a Strange Artifact
The Repentant Sinner
The Sailor With a Tale to Tell
The Self-Made Man Whose Past is a Lie
The Sophisticated Courtesan
The Swashbuckling Pirate
The Tormented Artist
The Werewolf Horrified by Himself
I could go on...
Also, I could show you the link to my Dark Shadows game that uses Ghastly Affair... (Half the good stuff is in private threads, though... But only half... then again, I could add you as a player just to give you access to glance at all the threads...)
Neide:
Are you interested strictly in the 1760 - 1820 period, or would you be open to a Gothic story set in late 19th century?
I would totally be open to that...
After all, that's where Dracula was... and Richard Marsh's THE BEETLE, which in its day was at least as popular as Dracula, but now is almost forgotten...