# Terror and Wonder- The Gothic Imagination

Discover the UK’s biggest ever Gothic exhibition at the British Library from 3 Oct 2014 to 20 Jan 2015.

Two hundred rare objects trace 250 years of the Gothic tradition, exploring our enduring fascination with the mysterious, the terrifying and the macabre.

From Mary Shelley and Bram Stoker to Stanley Kubrick and Alexander McQueen, via posters, books, film and even a vampire-slaying kit, experience the dark shadow the Gothic imagination has cast across film, art, music, fashion, architecture and our daily lives.

Beginning with Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, Gothic literature challenged the moral certainties of the 18th century. By exploring the dark romance of the medieval past with its castles and abbeys, its wild landscapes and fascination with the supernatural, Gothic writers placed imagination firmly at the heart of their work - and our culture.

Iconic works, such as handwritten drafts of Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Bram Stoker’s Dracula, the modern horrors of Clive Barker’s Hellraiser and the popular Twilight series, highlight how contemporary fears have been addressed by generation after generation.

Terror and Wonder presents an intriguing glimpse of a fascinating and mysterious world. Experience 250 years of Gothic’s dark shadow.

No real candles were used in the production of this film!

www.bl.uk/gothic

- Kind: Short
- Year: 2014
- Runtime: 1 min
- By: The British Library
- Archive: [Wikimedia Commons](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Terror_and_Wonder-_The_Gothic_Imagination.webm)
- Licence or status: [CC BY-SA 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) (as the archive states it)
- Credit: The British Library
- Who can watch: Teens profiles and older (the archive gives no rating; placed by Invisible Network from its collection and subjects)

[Watch now](https://invisiblenetwork.ai/watch/archive/commons/36661280?play=1)