The dark romanticism that characterized nineteenth-century New England writers is an integral part of classic horror literature. Typical representatives of this genre include such writers as Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Alan Poe. The demonization of man and the predominance of psychological horror over the supernatural must be considered as the two main characteristics of this trend in literature, which can be seen in works such as “Young Goodman Brown” and “The Black Cat.”
In fact, in both works, there is nothing frankly supernatural. The incident with the young Brown may well be regarded as a dream or delirium. The events of “The Black Cat” can be explained by an excessive craving for mystification and self-justification. Both works are characterized by revealing the darkest sides of human nature. The protagonist of the Hawthorne novel, young Brown, is terrified of the darkness that lurks inside him: “But, were I to go on with thee, how should I meet the eye of that good old man, our minister, at Salem village?”. His entire journey to the Sabbath is a symbolic struggle with internal contradictions. As a result, he loses faith in the goodness of people who turn out to be hidden sinners: “they carved no hopeful verse upon his tombstone, for his dying hour was gloom.” Hawthorne instead ironically chose the names for his characters: Goodman for the main character and Faith for his wife. In Poe’s story, a profoundly vicious person immediately appears in the reader’s eyes, sliding deeper and deeper into his sin. The protagonist of “The Black Cat” cannot evoke feelings other than contempt and disgust. If, in the beginning, he can still feel regret for his deeds and repent, then, in the end, this is not left in him either – in the finale, the protagonist is overtaken by just retribution.
Both works have features characteristic of dark romanticism – demonized characters and psychological horror. The horror of these stories is not the fear of being attacked by a monster but the fear of becoming one. Even if they have a mystical flair, this can happen to everyone in reality, and it is the scariest thing.