Introduction

The Castle of Otranto is a novel by Horace Walpole. First published in 1764, it is generally regarded as the first gothic novel.

Publication and Style

In the second edition, Walpole applied the word Gothic to the novel in the subtitle – A Gothic Story. Set in a haunted castle, the novel merged medievalism and terror in a style that has endured ever since.

Legacy

The aesthetic of the book has shaped modern-day gothic books, films, art, music and the goth subculture.