The classic tales "The Cask of Amontillado", by Edgar Allan Poe, and " The Yellow Wallpaper", by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, have strong gothic horror elements. .
Gothic horror became a popular writing style in the late 19th century with Edgar Allan Poe being known as the "Father of Gothic Horror". Gothic horror is a style of fiction that emphasizes mysterious, grotesque and desolate settings. The point of view is almost always in the first Person and the narrator is the protagonist. The setting, in gothic horror, usually is the most important element of the writing. The writer focuses mainly on describing the scene than the characters.
In Poe's story "The Cask of Amontillado" the setting starts in the early evening at dusk, during " the supreme madness of the carnival season". This is significant because it explains why the two men are wearing costumes and possibly why Fortunato is drunk. Also, starting at dusk has relevance because he ends the story at midnight, showing the elapsed time of the story and includes the gothic element of darkness. .
Furtunato is lured into the catacombs, which are tunnels that house the dead, by Montresors. The catacombs are dark, damp and full of nitre. The catacombs offer the mystique and desolate area needed to support the gothic horror element. They go to the "most remote end of the crypt"(247) in the "inmost recesses"(246) of the "extensive"(246) catacombs. .
Throughout the story Poe references the human remains found within the catacombs and describes the "foulness of the air"(247) as they arrived at a "deep crypt". (247) .
The main theme in The Cask of Amontillado is Montresor seeking revenge on Fortunato. Montresors feels he has borne a "thousand injuries"(244) of Fortunato and the final blow was when Furtunato "ventured upon insult"(244).
Poe weaves this theme throughout the story as he lures Furtunato to his ultimate demise. .
The lure is wine known as amontillado.
