In Horace Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto, certain elements are used in order to establish the motifs of a gothic romance while providing scenes that evoke terror within the individual characters. According to Barbauld, terror is described to be a part of tragedy – a concept that is administered in the first chapter of Walpole’s novel.
Essentially, chapter one of The Castle of Otranto begins with the tragic death of Manfred’s son, Conrad. In addition, Walpole uses this scene to introduce the supernatural side of the Gothic novel through the presence of a gigantic falling helmet which happens to land on Conrad, killing him instantly.
Apart from this bizarre death, Walpole presents his readers with an ancient prophecy that foreshadows the tragic and terrifying events of the novel which says “That the castle and lordship of Otranto should pass from the present family, whenever the real owner should be grown too large to inhabit it” (Walpole 14).
By introducing this prophecy, Walpole establishes the impending doom that is about to strike the people that dwell in the castle of Otranto. With the combination of prophecy and tragedy, Horace Walpole fills his novel with terror through the representation of danger and fear.
With the idea of claustrophobia in mind, Walpole is able to induce panic within Manfred’s mind since his sense of freedom is confined within his own walls. On the other hand, Isabella experiences her own share of dread since she is being chased by the prince of Otranto and she too loses freedom since she is forced to flee from the castle. Between the two characters, Manfred and Isabella experience what Barbauld would describe as “the pain of terror” which promotes widespread fear throughout Horace Walpole’s novel (213).
Apart from Conrad’s death scene, The Castle of Otranto quickly moves on to another situation that evokes a feeling of terror through the use of gothic props. For example, when Manfred is pursuing Isabella, he comes across an apparition that leads him into a chamber and traps him inside it. This entrapment allows Walpole to generate fear in Manfred since the concept of claustrophobia, as well as a feeling of powerlessness to the extraordinary events around him, are overwhelming.
An Exploration of the Uncanny 