Yates, David, director. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2004.
I’m taking a Gothic literature course this semester, and the things I’m learning about really got me thinking about the Harry Potter series, and the role Gothic elements play in the books. “Gothic” is mostly a genre descriptor, so all it really means to call something Gothic is to say that that thing has elements that we find in Gothic literature. While people would normally consider Harry Potter to be fantasy literature, I think looking at it from a Gothic perspective is really interesting because it forces you to look at some of the more interesting thematic and technical elements of the story that we might not have considered when first reading the books. From an analytical perspective, those elements become more important and pronounced. Without further ado, here are some of the main tenets of Gothic literature, and how the Harry Potter series fits into them.
Castles
This one is pretty obvious, as Hogwarts castle is the main setting for every book but the 7th. Often in Gothic literature castles represent a genealogy or family. For example, in Edgar Allen Poe’s Fall of the House of Usher the word “house” is a double entendre- it both refers to the actual physical house that the Usher family lives in, and the Usher family themselves. The fall of the house is both the last two members of the Usher family dying and the house itself falling apart. Hogwarts doesn’t have direct genealogical connections like that, but there are similar elements. For example, the houses that students are sorted into are named after real historical figures. There are also a lot of family connections in the castle- both Harry and Tom Riddle, the series’ villain, find their family’s pasts there. Tom Riddle is related to Salazar Slytherin, one of the founders of Hogwarts.
Columbus, Chris, director. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2001.
Harry finds elements of his family history, such as this plaque dedicated to his father, at Hogwarts
Another element of castles that pops up in Gothic literature a lot is the castle being labyrinthine and containing hidden mysteries. There’s often a tension that revolves around mysterious closed doors and the secrets they have within. We see this pretty clearly with Hogwarts- nobody, not even Dumbledore, knows the full secrets of the castle. I think JKR might have been inspired by Gothic literature in this sense, especially with the locked door on the third floor corridor on the right-hand side being out of bounds and the fact that there’s literally an element of the castle called “The Chamber of Secrets” which holds a secret monster within. There are lots of secrets behind closed doors.
Mystery
Another key element of Gothic literature is mystery. Almost all of the books revolve around a central mystery or two - who is Nicholas Flamel and what is behind the forbidden door? What is the Chamber of Secrets and what is the monster inside it? Who is Sirius Black and what does he want? The list goes on and on. A lot of times Gothic mysteries revolve around murder or death, but there can be other types of mysteries too. In Wieland for example, a lot of the mystery revolves around the strange voices the characters hear- the mystery of the murder of Catherine and the others is secondary to the mystery of the source of the voices. Many non-mysteries in Harry Potter could be stand-ins for murder mysteries- for example, in Chamber of Secrets one of the main mysteries is who is petrifying the muggle-borns? It could have easily been “who is murdering the muggle-borns” but it’s a bit more tame, probably because it’s still a children's book. Regardless, every book in the series has some central unknowns, which must be discovered to conclude the story.
An Atmosphere of Mystery, Suspense and/or Despair
We’ve covered this slightly in the above section about mysteries, but there is a difference between the plot of the book being mysterious and the tone of the book having these specific qualities. There is a lot of despair in Harry Potter- there’s literally a creature that is a physical manifestation of despair!
Cuarón, Alfonso, director. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2004.
Dementors, which are introduced in Prisoner of Azkaban, are physical manifestations of depression and despair
While the books start off pretty light tonally, they get more intense as they go on. Sorcerer’s Stone is a pretty fun romp about magic and school, meanwhile Deathly Hallows feels so hopeless and despairing at times it can be difficult to read. There’s an oppressive feeling to these later books as the prospects of the main characters get more and more dire, and their chances of success slimmer and slimmer. There are suspenseful moments too, sort of like the part in a horror movie where the characters are walking right into the murderers trap and you’re just screaming “NO!” at the TV. In Chamber of Secrets there’s long stretches of suspense and mystery when you’re just waiting for the next victim of the chamber to appear. In Deathly Hallows the entire visit to Godric’s Hollow is incredibly suspenseful, since our main characters are exposed more than usual, and in the end are attacked by a giant snake. While many Gothic novels like to live in this tonal mystery and suspense, Harry Potter tends to create suspenseful moments or scenes.
Prophecies and Fortune Telling
Often in Gothic stories there are ancient prophecies that are often fractured or unclear. As we learn in Order of the Phoenix, Harry’s destiny was decided by a prophecy; one that predicted he would eventually defeat the dark lord or the dark lord would kill him. The only reason Voldemort tried to kill him as a baby in the first place is because he only heard a fraction of the prophecy. Professor Trelawney also plays a really huge role in the books (she’s the one that issued the original prophecy!) especially in book 3, where she’s introduced. She actually issues another prophecy at the end of the book, which while complete was unclear. It appeared as though she was talking about Sirius Black, but she was actually talking about Peter Pettigrew. This prophecy has less of an impact than the Big Prophecy, but also prepares the reader for the larger prophecy that comes later on, by showing that they exist and can be genuine.
Yates, David, director. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2007.
The prophecy that determines Harry and Voldemort's future plays a huge role in the series
Omens and Visions
Omens appear quite often in Gothic stories, frequently in the form of animals (Poe was very fond of using animal omens in his stories). But omens can also be something as small as a character falling over and then dying later. For example, in The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, Poe’s only novel, a character is “chosen” for death when a seagull drops a bit of dead flesh at his feet. He doesn’t actually die as a result of this action, but when the group turns to cannibalism, he’s the one they eat! In Prisoner of Azkaban the omen of “the grim” appears pretty regularly, seemingly targeting Harry, though in almost every case it turns out to just be Sirius when he’s transformed as a dog. However, the omen still creates suspense and sets the tone for the novel up until the reveal that it was Sirius all along.
Cuarón, Alfonso, director. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2004.
Harry finds a grim in his tea leaves during his first Divination class
Oftentimes in Gothic novels, characters will have visions or dreams that implicate their future or their internal thoughts or desires. In Wieland, one of the first American Gothic novels written by Charles Brockden Brown, the narrator Clara has a vision of her brother calling out to her and then pulling her into a pool. Based on other information in the novel, this dream could be indicating a latent sexual desire for her brother (gross!) or foreshadowing her brother’s eventual desire to murder her. Looking at Harry’s dreams are really interesting. Sometimes they’re kind of nothing, but still say something about what’s going on in his life, which is pretty interesting. But the more interesting dreams are the ones that start in Goblet of Fire. Harry begins to have dreams about Voldemort, sometimes from Voldemort's own perspective. As Voldemort’s power grows Harry starts seeing more and more visions, more and more frequently. He can see through Voldemort’s mind, foreshadowing their connection and Harry’s position as a horcrux. These visions can also show Voldemort’s desires, as we see in Order of the Phoenix when Harry has recurring dreams about the Department of Mysteries because Voldemort wants the prophecy there, and in Deathly Hallows, when Harry discerns Voldemort’s desire for the elder wand through his visions.
Yates, David, director. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2007.
Harry has constant visions about this hallway in the Ministry of Magic- it holds the thing that Voldemort desires
Supernatural or Inexplicable Events
Supernatural and unexplainable events are common in Gothic literature. Supernatural beings like vampires, werewolves and zombies also make an appearance. To go back to Wieland once again, the characters hear a mysterious voice for much of the novel. It is later revealed that this voice belongs to a human ventriloquist, not a ghost or demon like they had thought. However, Wieland, the titular character of the novel, hears voices that are not explained by Carwin's abilities. It’s never explained why he hears these voices or where they’re coming from.
Almost all the events that take place in Harry Potter are “supernatural,” though most of them are explained by the fact that magic exists in this universe. However there are some central mysteries that can have multiple explanations or are only theorized on, never fully solved. For example, Harry’s wand acts of its own accord in Deathly Hallows, something that is not supposed to be possible. Dumbledore has a theory for why this occurred, but nobody, not even the wand expert, has a conclusive answer. This element of uncertainty and guesswork is a common Gothic trope. The series also has ghosts, werewolves, vampires, and zombies in the form of Inferi.
Cuarón, Alfonso, director. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2004.
Harry's 3rd year professor, Remus Lupin, is secretly a werewolf
The Taboo
Gothic literature often plays with taboo elements and latent desires. Many of Poe’s works, for example, include murder, incest and cannibalism. While the Gothic likes to linger on these elements in order to disturb or disgust readers, Harry Potter includes them in a sort of passing manner. It’s discussed in a pretty matter of fact way that “Pureblood” wizards are pretty inbred and are all very closely related due to incest. Fenrir Greyback, a werewolf, likes to consume human flesh in and out of wolf form. And many characters, most notably Voldemort, murder a lot of people. The murders tend to not be really grisly, because the Avada Kedavra curse kills without actually physically harming the victim, but sometimes Nagini the snake gets involved and then it’s pretty gory.
Yates, David, director. Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Warner Bros. Pictures, 2007.
The Blacks are one of the oldest pureblood families in the wizarding world- their family tree shows how intertwined family lines are
So there you have it! I do think it’s possible to read Harry Potter as a Gothic series, though some elements may be a bit of a stretch. However, I don’t think it’s a stretch to think that JK Rowling could have been inspired by Gothic literature, since a lot of these elements fit pretty neatly! I really like looking at the series from a Gothic perspective because it highlights a lot of my favorite elements about the stories, like the darker tone in the later books, the role of the prophecy, and the inexplicability of some events. If I accomplished nothing else, I hope this article gave you something to think about the next time you pick up a Harry Potter novel. Happy reading!
While most of the information in this article comes from what I learned in class, I wrote this article with assistance from https://www.virtualsalt.com/Gothic.htm You can visit this site to learn more about Gothic literature!
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