Sardonicus Essay

The gothic genre involves a combination of horrific, grotesque fictional stories. In this Gothic Literature class, we have read and discussed many stories of the gothic genre that include death, terror, frightening situations, and many more gothic elements. However, out of all the stories that we had read, some portray a more gothic theme than others. “Sardonicus”, a story written by Ray Russel in 1961, is an example of this. This story contains many of the Gothic elements we have discussed in class and is a great example of how stories can contain original gothic elements without being unconvincing.
Including Gothic elements are what make gothic stories so interesting and gripping. Without the gothic elements many of the stories are depicted as cheesy and unrealistic. A few major Gothic elements include ghouls, old buildings, torture,
These elements create the creepy and eerie atmosphere that gives the gothic effect. A few elements that are included in gothic but not as recognized consist of physical or mental deformities, taboos, odd romances, and isolation. By using these key elements, stories become more entertaining gothic stories rather than boring and predictable scary stories. “Sardonicus” is a good example of an authentic gothic story because it contains so many of the gothic elements and uses them in a way that is truly horrifying.
In the story “Sardonicus”, a wealthy male named Baron Sardonicus is married to a woman named Maude. The story describes Sardonicus as wearing a mask due to a curse that caused the muscles in his face to tighten up into a repulsive death grimace. This curse was brought on by the selfish actions of Sardonicus. Years ago, Sardonicus had dug up his father’s grave in hopes