Suburban Gothic is a subgenre of Gothic fiction, art, film and television, focused on anxieties associated with the creation of suburb, particularly in the United States and the Western world, from the 1950s and 1960s onwards.
Criteria
It often, but not exclusively, relies on the supernatural or elements of
science fiction that have been in wider Gothic literature, but manifested in a suburban setting. It also more often than not reflects a societal issue or anxiety with suburban life through the depiction of the supernatural force.
It also tends to have a human threat, though in some cases more traditional monsters are used.
Description
Suburban Gothic is defined by Bernice M. Murphy as "a subgenre of the wider American Gothic tradition which dramatises anxieties arising from the mass urbanisation of the United States and usually features suburban settings, preoccupations and protagonists".
[B. M. Murphy, The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), , p. 2.] She argues that a common trope of the suburban Gothic is the danger within a family or neighbourhood, rather than an external threat.
[B. M. Murphy, The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), , p. 3.] Teenagers and children are often major protagonists or sources of threat, and characteristic conflicts often focus on issues of individuality and conformity.
[B. M. Murphy, The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), , pp. 2–3.]
Literature
Important early works identified with the subgenre include
Henry Bellamann’s Kings Row
Richard Matheson's
I Am Legend (1954),
Grace Metalious’s Peyton Place,
Shirley Jackson's
The Haunting of Hill House (1959)
[B. M. Murphy, The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), , p. 15.] and
The Road Through the Wall (1948).
More recent books identified within the genre are Bret Easton Ellis' mock memoir
Lunar Park (2005),
R.L. Stine's
Fear Street (1989) and
Goosebumps (1992) Jeffrey Eugenides'
The Virgin Suicides (1993),
Suzanne Berne's
A Crime in the Neighborhood (1997),
and
Tom Perrotta Little Children (2004).
Film
Important films include
Stanley Kubrick's take on
Lolita (1962),
Wes Craven's original
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
and
Tobe Hooper's
Poltergeist (1982).
[J. E. Hogle, The Cambridge Companion to Gothic Fiction (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2002), , p. xxv.] Works that incorporate environmental concerns include
Ira Levin's
The Stepford Wives (1975), Anne Rivers Siddons's
The House Next Door (1978),
Todd Haynes's
Safe (1995)
[B. M. Murphy, The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), , p. 4.] and
David Lynch's
Blue Velvet (1986) have been identified as part of the suburban gothic subgenre.
[The Anadromist (2012) American Gothic Films: An Incomplete List. The Anadromous Life, blog November 7, 2012, Available at: [2] Accessed: December 9, 2012.] An earlier cinematic example of this is
Nicholas Ray's 1955 classic
Rebel Without a Cause.
Films with threats from a female protagonist, including
Fatal Attraction (1987) and
Disclosure (1994), have also been identified as part of the genre.
[K. I. Michasiw, "Some stations of sub-urban Gothic", in R. K. Martin and E. Savoy, eds, American Gothic: New Interventions in a National Narrative (University of Iowa Press, 2009), , p. 240.] In addition, films that feature a more character-driven or dramatic standpoint also inform the genre, notably
Peter Jackson's
Heavenly Creatures (1994),
Todd Solondz's
Happiness (1998),
's
American Beauty (1999), and Richard Kelly's
Donnie Darko (2001).
Other films described as within the suburban gothic genre include Brian De Palma's version of
Stephen King's
Carrie (1976),
John Carpenter's
Halloween (1978),
The Amityville Horror (1979),
(1985),
The Stepfather (1987),
's
The 'Burbs (1989),
(1989),
's
Edward Scissorhands (1990),
(1991; also by Wes Craven),
's
Serial Mom (1994),
's
Truman Show (1998),
Little Children (2006),
(2007),
The Sisterhood of Night (2014),
I Saw the TV Glow (2024),
The Invitation (2015),
(2011)
(1956),
(2000),
(2014),
and
The Lovely Bones (2009).
Television
Peyton Place (TV series) was one of the earliest examples of the genre and inspired both Secrets of Midland Heights and King’s Crossing. The works of
David Lynch are also seen as defining examples of the genre, notably the television series
Twin Peaks, alongside the 1992 feature
.
The direct to TV film
Are You in the House Alone also belongs to this genre, diving into sexual dangers of the suburbs. TV series such as
Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural,
The Addams Family,
The Munsters, Desperate Housewives, Weeds, Riverdale
, WandaVision, and
Agatha All Along have also been seen as dealing with concerns about hidden Gothic worlds behind the suburban façade.
[B. M. Murphy, The Suburban Gothic in American Popular Culture (Palgrave Macmillan, 2009), , p. 166.] The cult program
Dark Shadows also gives an interesting spin on the genre. Another televised example is the Emmy-winning
American Horror Story.
Radio
The genre also is present in radio, with some examples being
The Witch's Tale, Quiet Please, I Love a Mystery, Inner Sanctum, and Escape.
Other examples include programs such as
Lights Out and
Suspense. These programs all dealt with the ways in which elements of the Gothic find their way into the home and family, which is showcased in the personal nature of radio as a medium.
See also
Notes
