Name: ______________________ Grade: 6 Sec: _____ Date: 02/12/25 Updated notes for
Narrative writing (Part 2)
Gothic narrative should:
∙ Create fear, mystery, suspense
∙ Use dark or eerie settings
∙ Include strange or supernatural elements
∙ Focus on emotion, mood, and atmosphere
Structure:
Opening – Setting the Mood
∙ Introduce a dark/creepy atmosphere.
∙ Show where the story is happening (castle, forest, old house, stormy night…). ∙
Add a hint of danger or mystery.
Sentence starters:
∙ “The wind howled through the broken windows…”
∙ “Fog curled around the abandoned mansion…”
Build-up – Rising Suspense
∙ Introduce the main character.
∙ Show something strange or unsettling happening.
∙ Increase tension slowly.
Ideas:
∙A strange sound
∙A shadow that moves
∙A mysterious object
Climax – The Scary Moment (3–4 sentences)
∙ The most intense part of the story.
∙ A frightening discovery or event.
∙ Keep it fast, vivid, and dramatic.
Examples:
∙ Character comes face-to-face with something supernatural
∙ Something unexpected jumps out
∙ The truth behind the house/forest is revealed
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Ending – Twist or Escape
Choose one ending style:
∙ Escape ending: character runs away or survives
∙ Twist ending: something shocking is revealed
∙ Cliff-hanger: leave readers wondering
Key Gothic Language Features
A. Adjectives
∙ gloomy, shadowy, ancient, cracked, icy, eerie, sinister, haunting, foreboding B.
Sensory Details
∙ Sounds: creaking, whispering, echoing, hissing, murmuring, rattling chains ∙ Sight:
flickering light, drifting fog, dark corridor, shadows twisting, lantern glowing faintly ∙ Touch:
cold air, damp walls, rough, bone-chilling breeze
C. Figurative Language
∙ Simile: “as silent as a graveyard”, “as cold as a forgotten tomb”
∙ Metaphor: “fear crawled up my spine”, “the mansion was a silentbeast waiting to wake” ∙
Personification: “the house groaned in the darkness”, “the wind howled in anger”
Checklist:
✔ Did I create a dark, suspenseful atmosphere?
✔ Did I follow the structure (opening → build-up → climax → ending)?
✔ Did I include vivid Gothic vocabulary?
✔ Did I describe using the five senses?
✔ Did I write in the past tense?
✔ Did my story make sense and stay focused?
Optional:
1. Setting:
Where is the creepy place?
2. Who is there?
Who is entering the setting?
3. Rising Suspense:
What strange thing happens?
4. Climax:
What is the scariest moment?
5. Ending:
How does it finish? Escape? Twist? Cliff-hanger?
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Sample Gothic Story (Model Answer)
The moon hung low above the abandoned mansion, its pale light flickering through shattered windows. A
cold wind pushed against the rusted gate as if warning anyone who dared to enter.
Aria stepped carefully onto the creaking porch, her torch trembling in her hand. She had heard rumours
about strange noises coming from the house, but curiosity dragged her forward. The air inside was thick with
dust, and a faint whisper echoed from somewhere deep within the corridor.
As she reached the staircase, the whisper grew louder—now shaping itself into her name. Aria… Aria… Her
heartbeat pounded in her ears. Suddenly, the torch flickered out, swallowing her in darkness. A shadow
darted across the hallway, and icy fingers brushed her shoulder.
The stairs groaned behind her. Slowly, Aria turned. Standing on the top step was a tall, cloaked figure with
glowing, hollow eyes. It raised a hand toward her, and the house shuddered as if alive.
Aria screamed and sprinted toward the door. She burst outside just as the mansion door slammed shut
behind her on its own. When she looked back, the windows were no longer shattered—they were glowing
softly, as if the figure was still watching her.
Why this Is Effective:
✔ Atmosphere: Dark setting, moonlight, abandoned mansion, eerie wind
✔ Suspense: Whispering voice, creeping through the house, lights going out
✔ Climax: Confrontation with the cloaked figure
✔ Ending: Escape with a twist—the house changes after she leaves
✔ Language Features: Sensory details, personification, strong adjectives, figurative
language ✔ Clear Structure: Opening → Build-Up → Climax → Ending
Extended Gothic Story
A heavy blanket of fog curled around the abandoned mansion as the last streaks of daylight slipped behind
the hills. The building loomed over the crooked path, its broken roof tiles jutting out like jagged teeth. The
wind moaned through the cracked shutters, carrying a chill that crept across Aria’s skin. Everyone in town
warned her to stay away from Blackthorn House—but tonight, something stronger than fear pulled her
forward.
Aria stepped through the rusted gate, which groaned as though waking from a long sleep. She tightened her
grip on her torch and walked toward the porch. Each wooden plank bowed under her weight with a deep,
aching creak. Inside, the air felt stale, as if the house hadn’t breathed in a hundred years. Cobwebs hung
like ghostly curtains, swaying gently even though the air was still.
She moved down the shadowy corridor, her footsteps muffled by dust. Faded portraits stared down at her—
faces scratched out, eyes smeared into dark, empty holes. A sudden whisper drifted through the hallway. At
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first, Aria thought it was the wind. But then it came again, clearer this time—soft, slow, and shaping itself into
her name.
“Ari… a…”
Her pulse quickened. The torchlight flickered wildly as she approached the staircase. The steps spiralled
upward into darkness, disappearing beyond the reach of her light. She hesitated—but the whisper came
again, closer now, as if it were breathing down her neck.
Taking a deep breath, she climbed. On the third step, the temperature dropped sharply. Her fingers tingled
with cold. The house groaned around her, the walls seeming to pulse with a life of their own. Halfway up the
stairs, the torch sputtered once and died completely, plunging her into thick, suffocating darkness.
A sudden thud shook the floorboards behind her.
Aria froze.
Something was moving—slow, dragging footsteps that scraped along the hallway. A shadow slithered
across the wall, stretching long fingers toward her. She backed up the stairs, her heart hammering. The
whisper rose into a low, echoing chant, circling her like a storm.
And then she saw it.
At the top of the staircase stood a tall, cloaked figure. Its body seemed to absorb the light around it, leaving
only two glowing, hollow eyes suspended in the darkness. With each step it took toward her, the air grew
colder, and the walls trembled as though the house itself feared the creature.
Aria stumbled backward, nearly slipping. The chanting grew louder, rising and twisting until it filled her mind.
The figure reached out a pale, bony hand.
“Welcome back…” it hissed.
Panic exploded inside her. She spun around and flew down the stairs, not caring when she tripped, not
caring when splinters tore at her hands. She sprinted toward the doorway, the heavy creature thundering
behind her. Just as it lunged, she burst through the entrance. The night air hit her like a shock.
With a deafening slam, the mansion door shut on its own.
Aria fell onto the grass, gasping. When she looked up, her breath caught in her throat. The once-broken
windows were now glowing with a faint, golden light—as if dozens of unseen eyes were watching her from
inside. Slowly, the front door creaked open just a crack, and the whisper drifted out again. “Come back…”
Aria didn’t wait to hear more. She ran until the mansion disappeared behind the fog—yet she couldn’t shake
the feeling that something had followed her out, trailing just a few steps behind in the darkness.
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