# Suburban Gothic

Suburban Gothic is a subgenre of Gothic fiction, art, film and television, focused on anxieties associated with the creation of suburban communities, particularly in the United States and the Western world, from the 1950s and 1960s onwards.

## Criteria

It often, but not exclusively, relies on the supernatural or elements of science fiction that have been in wider Gothic literature, but manifested in a suburban setting.

## Description

Suburban Gothic is defined by Bernice M. Murphy as "a subgenre of the wider American Gothic tradition which dramatises anxieties arising from the mass urbanisation of the United States and usually features suburban settings, preoccupations and protagonists". She argues that a common trope of the suburban Gothic is the danger within a family or neighbourhood, rather than an external threat. Teenagers and children are often major protagonists or sources of threat, and characteristic conflicts often focus on issues of individuality and conformity.

## Literature

Important early works identified with the subgenre include Richard Matheson's I Am Legend (1954) and Shirley Jackson's The Haunting of Hill House (1959). A more recent book identified within the genre is Bret Easton Ellis' mock memoir Lunar Park (2005).

## Film

Important films include Stanley Kubrick's take on Lolita (1962), Wes Craven's original A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and Tobe Hooper's Poltergeist (1982). Works that incorporate environmental concerns include Ira Levin's The Stepford Wives (1975), Anne Rivers Siddons's The House Next Door (1978), Todd Haynes's Safe (1995) and David Lynch's Blue Velvet (1986) have been identified as part of the suburban gothic subgenre. An earlier cinematic example of this is Nicholas Ray's 1955 classic Rebel Without a Cause. Films with threats from a female protagonist, including Fatal Attraction (1987) and Disclosure (1994), have also been identified as part of the genre. In addition, films that feature a more character-driven or dramatic standpoint also inform the genre, notably Peter Jackson's Heavenly Creatures (1994), Todd Solondz's Happiness (1998), Sam Mendes's American Beauty (1999), and Richard Kelly's Donnie Darko (2001). Other films described as within the suburban gothic genre include Brian De Palma's version of Stephen King's Carrie (1976), John Carpenter's Halloween (1978), The Amityville Horror (1979), Fright Night (1985), The Stepfather (1987), Joe Dante's The 'Burbs (1989), Parents (1989), Tim Burton's Edward Scissorhands (1990), The People Under the Stairs (1991; also by Wes Craven), John Waters's Serial Mom (1994), Peter Weir's Truman Show (1998), Little Children (2006), The Girl Next Door (2007), The Sisterhood of Night (2014), I Saw the TV Glow (2024), The Invitation (2015), Snowtown (2011) and The Babadook (2014).

## Television

The works of David Lynch are seen as defining examples of the genre, notably the television series Twin Peaks, alongside the 1992 feature Fire Walk with Me. TV series such as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Supernatural, and Desperate Housewives have also been seen as dealing with concerns about hidden Gothic worlds behind the suburban façade. Another televised example is the Emmy-winning American Horror Story.