Contemporary Spanish Gothic

Book excerpt: Examines Spain's contribution to international interest in Gothic culture, film and literatureWith the success of novels such as The Shadow of the Wind and films like The Others, contemporary Spanish culture has contributed a great deal to the imagery and experience of the Gothic, although such contributions are not always recognised as being specifically Spanish in origin. Contemporary Spanish Gothic is the first book to study how the Gothic mode intersects with cultural production in Spain today, considering some of the ways in which such production feeds off and simultaneously feeds into Gothic production more widely. Examining the works of writers and filmmakers like Carlos Ruiz ZafAn, Arturo PA(c)rez-Reverte, Pedro AlmodAvar and Alejandro AmenA!bar, as well as the further reaches of Spanish Gothic influence in the Twilight film series, the book considers images and themes like the mad surgeon and the vulnerable body, the role of the haunted house, and the heritage biopics of Francisco de Goya.