The South’s Gothic Tradition

Foreword: This post is meant to coincide with the cryptic atmosphere of October and Halloween.

The Gothic fiction genre of literature and filmography really began to spread through the realm of mainstream entertainment during the mid 18th century. Within the context of Dixie, Southern literature did not experience its full cultural development and identity until following the War Between the States. Much of the writing during the time focused on biographies of Confederate officers and stories from the War; additionally, women began extensively writing, largely utilizing pseudonyms, poems and various other works of fiction and nonfiction. Eventually, the growing culture of writing in the South culminated in the development of Southern Romanticism as a means of glorifying antebellum society and Southern culture. Contrasting the Southern Romanticism within literature during the late 19th and early 20th century, Southern Gothic explores the darker and more surreal elements of Southern society, often delving into horror.

Southern Gothic finds its roots in the late 19th century, sharing a similar origin to its Romantic counterpart. While its roots do extend back into antebellum society, many of the most prolific early Southern Gothic writers rose to prominence during the initial post-bellum years, correlating with the uptick in writing at the time. These authors focused largely on the dark and macabre elements of Southern culture; authors were often liberal in nature and critical of Southern society. Others simply used their environmental setting as a means of writing their stories. The most well known of these authors over the years were Samuel Clemens, William Faulkner, Flannery O’Connor, and many more not included. However, what stood out among them was that they were actual Southerners. They may not have always agreed with the culture and structure of Dixie at the time, but they were genuine Southerners.

Southern Gothic began moving away from its Southern roots during the 20th century. Though many many authors still utilized the genre for their own works of fiction, the rise and prominence of film began appropriating the genre for its own gain. The film creators of the time used Southern Gothic to demonize Southerners out of sheer hatred, as opposed to the critique that authors often used. The irony of this was it resulted in the creation of some of the best films of all time, especially of the horror genre. The film which began the Hollywood trend of anti-Southern filmmaking was Deliverance, released in 1972 to widespread acclaim. Following the release of the legendary film, much of the post-Civil Rights Carpetbaggery of the time began to slow down in addition to the unrelenting trend of films attacking Southerners, especially of the rural variety. While Hollywood had previously made films attacking Dixie, keeping in line with the long American pastime of propaganda which demonizes Southerners, Deliverance effected cinema and audiences in a much deeper way. They took it much more seriously than previous films, resulting in many being scared aware from moving below the Mason-Dixon line.

While Deliverance solidified many antagonistic trends within contemporary cinema, it did not do the work alone. Deliverance may have featured Atlanta urbanites being killed and sexually abused by rural Deep South savages, but it was not necessarily a horror film, the most prominent genre to feature Southern Gothic themes. Much of the Southern Gothic prior to the 1970’s featured usually within thriller films such as Night of the Hunter or dramas like To Kill a Mockingbird. However, a film released only two years following Deliverance in 1974 solidified the stereotypes Deliverance started, moving Southern Gothic almost exclusively into the horror genre and making horror villains largely a rural white male caricature. Going down in history as a masterpiece of horror cinema, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre shocked audiences, being banned in several countries and theaters in the United States. The gratuitous, violent nature of rural Texans featured in the film set in stone the means through which Southerners would be featured on screen. Following this, the South provided Hollywood with a slew of scenarios to generate horror and violence in both film and television including: The Beyond, Southern Comfort, Pumpkinhead, Justified, and True Detective to name a few of the more well known examples.

Despite many of the negative stereotypes films exploit, much of Hollywood’s appropriation what was originally a self-reflective Southern genre has generated many great works of cinema. Additionally, Southern Nationalists could use the negativity to their advantage, pushing the negative stereotypes into the mainstream and scaring the current tsunami of carpetbaggers away.

Southern Gothic is part of the Southern tradition. It is a genre created by Southerners and for Southerners, despite its liberal attitudes. Beginning with the mid-19th century and growing in popularity following the War and Reconstruction, the genre reached its nadir during the mid-20th century, though some less successful authors still use it. Unfortunately, one of Dixie’s principal literary genres is utilized by leftist Yankees and Hollywood to attack Southerners, and they have been doing so for several generations. They are foreigners who know nothing of the culture and people they write books and produce films about. Southern Nationalists would be wise to reclaim the works and literary traditions of the South and use it to their own advantage, possibly dissuading outsiders from moving below the Mason Dixon Line.