Gothic novels of the 1790s and beyond are characterized by certain medieval and fantastic circumstances "furnishings", which makes them easy to recognize. The modern world, however, has blurred that line and contemporary gothic is often conflated with fantasy. Why are fairies and dragons now seen as being gothic? why is there a preoccupation with fantastic creatures instead of monsters? Analyze historical periods or pieces of fiction that best represents this turning point. Art work/websites like Alchemygothic.com may be a good starting point.
It'd be helpful to note which type of fantasy you're going for. The genre is so vast and ambiguous nowadays that a distinction would be necessary. From what you describe, I'm guessing that it's high fantasy (HF) you're going for. Also, I think what makes Gothic different is its handling of high fantasy tropes. That is where dark fantasy (DF) would come into play, which is pretty much a mixture between HF and gothic. While DF uses HF settings and character tropes, it borrows heavily from Gothic structure and storytelling. – Tecohen09 years ago
For the gothic novels side of things, some classics to look at would be... The Castle of Otranto
Dracula
The Monk (by Matthew Lewis) (my personal favourite gothic novel!!)
books by Ann Radcliffe such as A Sicilian Romance It could also be interesting to consider the role of religion in modern fantasy/gothic versus older gothic novelisations. There was a lot of anti-Catholic rhetoric in English gothic novels, for example (see The Monk as a classic example. There are even demons in that novel, bringing in the more fantastical element). – Camille Brouard9 years ago
The title should say, "Where do gothic and fantasy meet?" -- subject/verb agreement – VBarclay9 years ago