- Setting:
- Dark, gloomy, and mysterious, often set in medieval or Victorian times
- Castles, ruined mansions, monasteries, or isolated landscapes
- Characters:
- Brooding, melancholy, or tragic heroes and heroines
- Villains who are often evil, tyrannical, or monsters
- Plot:
- Supernatural or unexplained events
- Elements of horror, suspense, and violence
- Themes:
- Death and decay
- Madness and insanity
- The supernatural and the unknown
- Good versus evil
- Isolation
- Atmosphere:
- Eerie and unsettling
- Use of symbolism, foreshadowing, and allegory
- Dramatic and intense language