History Main / SouthernGothic

* ''Series/InterviewWithTheVampire2022'': Season 1 is a gothic romance about two vampires, and the past events take place in New Orleans during the early 20th century. It's a city rife with racism (there's racial segregation) and murder (because vampires eat on average two humans a night, Lestat de Lioncourt alone has killed more than ''21,000'' people from the early fall 1910 [[note]]the autumnal equinox was Sep. 23 in that year, so presumably he arrived in New Orleans around then[[/note]] to Feb. 6, 1940). The decay is represented by the de Pointe du Lac sugar plantation, which was once prosperous, but is no longer profitable by the time Louis inherits it. The voodoo practicioners who live near the vampire family try to curse them by placing {{Voodoo Doll}}s inside a circle of brick dust on the doorstep of their home.

* The [adult swim] series ''Series/TheHeartSheHoller'' wallows in the clichés of the genre, gleefully cranking the trashiness and degeneracy up.

[[quoteright:250:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/southerngothic-small_7940.jpg]]
[[caption-width-right:250:[[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.]]]]

* ''Film/TheTexasChainSawMassacre1974'' is a Southern Gothic SlasherMovie, complete with a big decaying house inhabited by a family of HillbillyHorrors. The subsequent films in the series qualify to varying degrees as well.

* The 1955 movie ''Film/TheNightOfTheHunter'', set in rural West Virginia with a Bible-thumping SerialKiller as an antagonist, is an early and iconic film example.

* Just about any film adaptation of a Creator/TennesseeWilliams play, especially the 1951 version of ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire'' (starring Creator/VivienLeigh and Creator/MarlonBrando) and the 1958 version of ''Theatre/CatOnAHotTinRoof'' (starring Creator/ElizabethTaylor and Creator/PaulNewman) will make the most of the sweltering Louisiana setting, twisted relationships, and simmering sexual tension.

* ''ComicBook/{{Hellboy}}: Emerald Hell'' takes place in the swamps around Enigma, Georgia where Hellboy has to find a missing woman Sarah Nail and keep her safe from the [[SinisterMinister former backwoods preacher]] Brother Jester, who seeks revenge against Sarah's father. In the swamps Hellboy finds allies in swamp witches, Brother Jester's former apprentice, and a lost town of mutants against the horrors of the Emerald Hell such as a pair of beautiful but murderous brothers, a giant tree-woman and her "daughters" that kill men to feed it's roots, and man-eating swamp gators. A lot of man-eating swamp gators.

* The collected works of Creator/TennesseeWilliams, particularly ''Theatre/AStreetcarNamedDesire''.

* The Tony Award-sweeping musical Theatre/{{Hadestown}}, which is a Southern Gothic gloss on Myth/ClassicalMythology.

* ''Literature/TheLastAdventureOfConstanceVerity'': Of all the places Connie hates going to, it's the state of Kansas, mainly because she's had the most weird things happen to her there. Every town is a TownWithADarkSecret, she uncovered the philosopher's stone while trying to bury the family pet, she uncovered a civilization of sentient cockroaches hiding in an apartment complex and the Sunken City of Chaos Gods is buried beneath Wichita, she stopped a conspiracy to start WorldWarIII devised by the brain of Adolph Hitler there, she was almost eaten by cyborg cannibals, and one of every ten [[ApocalypseCult cultists out to destroy the universe (for reasons)]] came from Kansas. It's also one of the few places where her adventures came close to actually killing her, adding another reason why she hates the state so much.

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The themes of moral decay are informed by the American institution of slavery, which was intrinsic to the culture and economy of the antebellum South. Nobody could remain unaffected by this systemic evil, even if they did not directly participate. SlaveryIsASpecialKindOfEvil, and writers are hard-pressed to imagine any supernatural horror that does not pale in comparison to the the Real Life abuses inflicted under it. In a historical setting where it is still in force, the worst of it may be hidden, but [[ParanoiaFuel paranoia reigns]] as the place is implicitly filled with angry ghosts and living monsters. Over a century after its abolition, a Southern Gothic setting may invoke the history of slavery to kindle fear that the ghosts are still angry, that EvilTaintedThePlace and the land itself is stained by the sins committed there. May invoke ReligiousHorror when these sins clash with the religious and spiritual heritage of the South. And if the sins are hideous enough, {{Satan}} himself may show up in the form of SouthernGothicSatan.

See also DeepSouth, Southern Gothic's mother trope, TheBigEasy, and HillbillyHorrors. Compare LovecraftCountry, CampbellCountry, NordicNoir, and {{Uberwald}}. Compare and Contrast WeirdWest and SinisterSouthwest, which could be thought of as the [[ThirstyDesert sun-scorched]] counterpart to the [[SwampsAreEvil dark and humid rot]] of Southern Gothic. Though distinct in tone and setting, the two can blend in border areas between the Deep South and TheWildWest (which is to say, mostly Texas, though Oklahoma can do in a pinch). GothicCountryMusic is often inspired by this aesthetic.

Unlike TheSavageSouth where the southern areas are teeming with life (most of which wants you dead), Southern Gothic settings have a constant feel of decay, death, and malaise. Anything living there will feel unnatural on top of possibly being very dangerous. Supernatural elements are popular, especially with themes of the undead or "things that should not be" instead of the typical wild animals and hostile natives usually seen in The Savage South. DaylightHorror in stifling heat backed by the endless drone of cicadas is as common as horror dwelling in the dark far from city lights.

This trope is deeply rooted in American history. For most of civilization fabric tended to be either uncomfortable (wool, linen) or very expensive (silk), and for early adopters, cotton farming was like being able to grow gold. However, soil degradation and the development of overseas competition (particularly from UsefulNotes/{{India}} and UsefulNotes/{{Egypt}}, and to a lesser extent UsefulNotes/{{Mexico}}, UsefulNotes/{{Brazil}}, and UsefulNotes/{{Argentina}}) caused profits to plummet, and many Southern families built mansions only to find them impossible to maintain. As a result, the South became littered with decrepit properties occupied by bitter, [[RichesToRags downwardly-mobile]] planters. These symbols of ruined aristocracy, combined with the insular and rigid structure of the suffering families, inspired the genre's themes of physical and social decay.

[[caption-width-right:250:[[UsefulNotes/TheAmericanCivilWar Pride comes before a fall...]]]]

* ''Manga/MeAndTheDevilBlues'' is loosely based on the life of legendary blues player Robert Johnson. Set in the Deep South during the Great Depression, it follows a man named RJ who barters away his soul at a crossroads for the ability to play perfectly.

* ''[[Film/ChildrenOfTheCorn1984 Children of the Corn]]'' is a rare non-Southern example (it's set in Nebraska) with an Amish feel; however, the decay, staring unnatural inhabitants and eerie isolation are still present.

* The first part of the film version of ''Film/InterviewWithTheVampire'' takes place in and around 18th and 19th-century New Orleans. Given that it's a vampire story based on an Creator/AnneRice book, plenty of gothicism ensures.
* The 1955 movie ''Film/TheNightOfTheHunter'', set in rural West Virginia with a Bible-thumping {{serial killer}} as an antagonist, is an early and iconic film example.
* Film/TheReflectingSkin features a lot of southern gothic elements. Vast rural areas, golden wheat fields, bright summer days, hidden danger, unsettling atmosphere, gloomy people, dark storyline.

* ''[[Film/TheTexasChainsawMassacre1974 The Texas Chainsaw Massacre]]'' is a Southern Gothic SlasherMovie, complete with a big decaying house inhabited by a family of HillbillyHorrors. The subsequent films in the series qualify to varying degrees as well.

* In ''ComicBook/ScareTactics'', a clan of [[OurGhoulsAreDifferent ghouls]] dwell in the Appalachians, and have been involved in a decades-long [[FeudingFamilies feud]] with a clan of hillbilly [[OurWerewolvesAreDifferent werewolves]].

* ''Film/TheHauntedMansion'' invokes this aesthetic, with its empty and decaying plantation-style house surrounded by swamps. The racist history of the South is also lightly touched on, with [[spoiler: a [[ForbiddenLove doomed romance]] between [[BlackGalOnWhiteGuyDrama the house's white owner and a black woman]], sabotaged by the [[TheButlerDidIt scheming butler]].]]

The creepy, gothic version of the rural Southeastern United States. Scenes show dying vegetation, decaying plantations, rusty farm implements, foreboding swamps with ''something'' lurking within, and frighteningly expressionless folk standing around doing... nothing, except staring at the protagonists.

The creepy, gothic version of the rural Southern United States. Scenes show dying vegetation, decaying plantations, rusty farm implements, foreboding swamps with ''something'' lurking within, and frighteningly expressionless folk standing around doing... nothing, except staring at the protagonists.

* The Wiki/SCPFoundation's [[http://www.scp-wiki.net/dixieland-nightmare-magic-hub Dixieland Nightmare Magic]] canon is set in a heavily gothic North Florida, full of witchcraft and religiously significant anomalous objects.

* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' dove headfirst into this territory the moment the survivors left the Atlanta Metro Area.

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* ''Series/TrueDetective'': The first season features two detectives investigating an occult-themed serial killing in the suburban and rural areas surrounding UsefulNotes/NewOrleans. [[MaybeMagicMaybeMundane Although nothing is definitively supernatural]], it's very much portrayed as a southern version of LovecraftCountry, with Creator/ThomasLigotti being a major influence.
* ''Series/TheWalkingDead'' dove headfirst into this territory the moment the survivors left the Atlanta Metro Area.

* As with the novels, ''Series/TrueBlood'' is set in the small Louisiana town of Bon Temps. The show focuses on the town's inhabitants (including the main protagonist) encountering vampires and other supernatural creatures. One of the characters is an undead Confederate veteran.

* ''Series/AmericanGothic1995'' set in the fictional town of Trinity, South Carolina.