Caveat Academy course · Grades 9 to 12

Gothic Literature and Horror

Read the stories that taught the world how to be afraid. You take apart the first Gothic castles, give Frankenstein's creature his voice back, catch Poe's narrators lying, follow Jekyll, Dorian Gray and Dracula through Victorian London, learn why the unseen thing at the door is the scariest, and write a scene of your own, at your own pace, with a certificate at the end.

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$19one-time · every device you sign in on
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Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Or get it in the High school electives library, $119 for 66 items.

6 modules · 18 lessonsabout 13 hours$19

Six modules, eighteen lessons

Each module ends with a practice set that tracks mastery, an explain-it-back prompt, a short written response and a module exam. The final opens when every module is proficient; passing it earns a certificate with a verification code.

  1. Module 1: The birth of the Gothic

    Identify Gothic conventions in a passage, explain the real fears they point to, and distinguish terror from horror using Burke and Radcliffe.

    • What makes a story Gothic
    • Walpole, Radcliffe and the first Gothic novels
    • Terror, horror and the sublime
    about 2.1 h

  2. Module 2: Frankenstein

    Analyze Frankenstein's frame narrative, its Promethean subtitle and the division of responsibility between Victor and the creature.

    • A ghost story contest and a new kind of novel
    • Frames and voices
    • Responsibility and the question of the monster
    about 2.1 h

  3. Module 3: Poe and the American Gothic

    Explain Poe's unity of effect, read unreliable narrators against their claims, and interpret the social horror of Hawthorne and Gilman.

    • Poe and the unity of effect
    • The unreliable narrator
    • Hawthorne, Gilman and the haunted mind
    about 2.1 h

  4. Module 4: Victorian Gothic: doubles and vampires

    Compare the doubles of Jekyll and Hyde and Dorian Gray, and explain how Dracula's documents and its fears reflect the 1890s.

    • Jekyll and Hyde
    • The Picture of Dorian Gray
    • Dracula
    about 2.1 h

  5. Module 5: How horror works

    Analyze suspense, surprise, foreshadowing, the uncanny and atmosphere, and revise a passage to create feeling through concrete detail.

    • Suspense, surprise and foreshadowing
    • The uncanny and the monster
    • Setting and atmosphere
    about 2.1 h

  6. Module 6: The Gothic's descendants

    Interpret Southern Gothic, evaluate film adaptations against their sources and plan both an analytical essay and an original Gothic scene.

    • Southern Gothic
    • From page to screen
    • Writing about and writing in the Gothic
    about 2.1 h

Try it before you start

This is how every lesson works: step through a worked example at your own pace, then answer a check and get the reason right away. Nothing here is saved; the course keeps your progress.

Module 5 · Setting and atmosphere

Worked example: revising for atmosphere

  1. Draft, written for this course: "The basement was dark and scary."

A lesson check from each module

The checks need JavaScript turned on. The course itself works the same way.

What you get

Academics · High School$19 · included with the Academy pass and Whole-school licenses

What you finish with
A finished course in Gothic literature and horror: you can name a passage's Gothic conventions and the fears behind them, tell terror from horror, read Frankenstein's frames and argue who is responsible, explain Poe's unity of effect and read an unreliable narrator against himself, compare the Victorian doubles, read Dracula as a novel of its decade, use suspense, the uncanny and atmosphere in your own writing and compare an adaptation with its source. Passing the final earns a Caveat certificate of completion.
Who it is for
Students in grades 9 to 12 who love scary stories and want to understand how they work, students preparing for AP English Literature or a Gothic unit, and young writers who want to learn suspense from the masters. Excerpts are short and public domain; the works deal with death and madness as nineteenth-century fiction does, without graphic modern content.
Format
An online self-paced course: 6 modules and 18 lessons with worked examples you reveal step by step, 144 practice and exam items (multiple choice, numeric, fill-in and ordering), an explain-it-back prompt and a rubric-checked short response in every module, module exams with one retake, a 24-question final and a certificate with a verification code. About 13 hours in all; works on a phone or a computer.
Access
$19 one-time, yours on every device you sign in on; the course opens once you are signed in with it. Included with the Caveat Academy pass and Whole-school licenses. Also in the High school electives library ($119) and the Academics Suite pass ($149), and 1 more bundle. Progress is saved in this browser on this device, and the certificate page lets you download your record.
Where it lives
The High School space in Caveat Academics.
Support
Access, a receipt, a refund or a correction to the course: team@caveatacademic.com.

How it works

  1. Open the course and start Module 1. Each lesson takes about 25 to 35 minutes; two or three a week finishes the course in about a semester.
  2. Answer the checks as you read. Every answer shows the reason, and a miss links you back to the lesson that covers it.
  3. Finish each module with its practice set and exam. Proficient on every module opens the final; 70 percent passes it.
  4. Print or download your certificate and record from the certificate page.

Start the course

Sources and accuracy

The lessons are original writing by Caveat Academic Services. Facts were checked against these free, open references, which are also good places to read further.

  1. Project Gutenberg, free public-domain texts of Otranto, Udolpho, Frankenstein, Poe, Hawthorne, Gilman, Stevenson, Wilde, Stoker and Jacobs: gutenberg.org
  2. The British Library, Discovering Literature: Romantics and Victorians, essays on the Gothic, Frankenstein and Dracula: bl.uk
  3. The Edgar Allan Poe Society of Baltimore, texts and dates of Poe's works: eapoe.org
  4. American Film Institute Catalog, release facts for Dracula and Frankenstein (both 1931): catalog.afi.com

Gothic Literature and Horror is a self-paced course from Caveat Academic Services. Quotations are from public-domain texts; passages marked as written for this course are original. The works discuss death, madness and violence as classic fiction does. It does not replace a school course and awards no credit. Support: team@caveatacademic.com.