Two Sides of Fear – Gothic Terror in Neil Gaiman’s Coralin

Abstract

This article is an analysis of Neil Gaiman’s children’s novel entitled Coraline, which rests on the premise that it enacts two different types of Gothic terror. This book has gained two types of audiences, who have experienced it in very distinct ways. The first group (children) perceive the story as an adventurous tale of bravery and courage, whereas the second one (adults) read it as a terrifying tale, riddled with disturbing details. The source of fear for the first group is the cautionary Gothic terror, the aim of which was to teach children important life lessons, as well as to keep them safe from the dangers of the outside world; the second is classic Gothic terror, aimed at adult audiences and realised in the form of the Freudian concept of the uncanny. The purpose of this article is to analyse the structural elements responsible for both perceptions and to demonstrate how each of them realises different types of Gothic terror. The analysis also covers the literary context of the fairy tale genre which Coraline belongs to, as well as the ways in which Gaiman’s novel transcends its generic boundaries, being partially a horror story for adults.

Keywords

• gaiman
• gothic
• terror
• children’s fiction