Contents:Introduction The Gothic in western culture / Jerrold E. Hogle -- The genesis of "Gothic" fiction / E.J. Clery -- The 1790s : the effulgence of Gothic / Robert Miles -- French and German Gothic : the beginnings / Terry Hale -- Gothic fictions and Romantic writing in Britain / Michael Gamer -- Scottish and Irish Gothic / David Punter -- English Gothic theatre / Jeffrey N. Cox -- The Victorian Gothic in English novels and stories, 1830-1880 / Alison Milbank -- The rise of American Gothic / Eric Savoy -- British Gothic fiction, 1885-1930 / Kelly Hurley -- The Gothic on screen / Misha Kavka -- Colonial and postcolonial Gothic : the Caribbean / Lizabeth Paravisini-Gebert -- The contemporary Gothic : why we need it / Steven Bruhm -- Aftergothic : consumption, machines, and black holes / Fred Botting