The genre of Gothic literature greatly increased in popularity during the Victorian era. Gothic literature usually has the atmosphere of mystery, suspense, and fear. It also frequently features the supernatural, which is defined as any event or manifestation that does not follow the laws of nature (Burgess). Two famous Victorian works that used supernatural elements are Frankenstein by Mary Shelley and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson. During the Victorian era, supernatural elements appeared often in literature and were used symbolically. There are many reasons why the Gothic genre became popular during the Victorian era. To begin with, the supernatural is a very interesting topic to many because we don't understand it, and science can't explain it.…show more content… According to Charlotte Barrett, anthropology, or the study of humans, along with the study of human behavior and thoughts had an influence on Victorian literature and the creation of the Gothic genre. Charles Darwin's Origin of Species was published in 1859 and suggested the controversial idea that we had evolved from other beings and that we were not above nature . Many authors took advantage of the popularity of the subject and incorporated it into their writing. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, for example, wrote The Yellow Wallpaper, which is a story about a woman who goes insane because she is isolated in a room. Also, supernatural elements work very well with the genre of thrill and horror. Supernatural elements are almost always scary or spooky, which often provokes the feeling of thrill or horror. Spiritualism, which is the belief that we can communicate with the spirits of the dead, became a lot more widespread during the time of the Victorian era (Barrett). According to Roger Luckhurst, people believed in occult forces and they told stories of ghosts, demons, and other superhuman beings. This augmented the
