'Gothic: Literary Travel and Tourism'

In this paper, I explore the intersection between Gothic literature and ‘Gothic tourism’, by discussing how Gothic attractions either utilise or are inspired by Gothic literary works. Drawing from my recent research visits to Alton Towers’ ‘Scarefest’, The London Dungeons and ‘The Original Lincoln Ghost Walk’, I analyse how these attractions incorporate Gothic ‘storytelling’. The methodological approach of this paper consists of a dual analysis of both the tourist attraction and the literary influence or content. The role of the tourist is scrutinised, paying close attention to the implications of the body and affect, suggesting that a specific new form of Gothic bodily affect is experienced, moving beyond the solitary process of reading a text. For example, ‘walking’ during the ghost walk adds a new layer to the ghost story and how it is experienced. Furthermore, Mikhail Bakhtin’s theory of the ‘Carnivalesque’ will be discussed in relation to ‘Scarefest’ and The London Dungeon, interrogating the Gothic-fun-factor dichotomy inherent in these attractions which explore the horrific alongside the ‘wacky’. The connection between these varying Gothic attractions, I will argue, is the way in which they utilise themes of haunting for example, to probe into the darkest concerns, anxieties and tribulations permeating in contemporary society, offering a space for the darkness to be accessed, experienced and politicised.