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Southern Gothic

British  

noun

  1. a literary genre depicting life in the southern US and featuring grotesque themes and imagery

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Example Sentences

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Along the way, she visits strange and mystical worlds packed with nods to Southern Gothic motifs and the complicated, real-life history of the region.

From BBC • Apr. 6, 2025

Negron’s stylistic and storytelling influences are varied: from the retro technology and stylish imagery of “The Rocketeer” to a Southern Gothic aesthetic born of a Baptist upbringing.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 28, 2025

“Punish,” the latest offering from the Southern Gothic alt-pop star Ethel Cain, is a smoldering slow burn, a sparse piano ballad that stretches for nearly seven minutes and gradually corrodes.

From New York Times • Nov. 15, 2024

The song is a synthesized version of a Southern Gothic anthem built to make space for Florence Welch's sweeping vocals.

From Salon • Apr. 19, 2024

The same thing is done in the Northern and Southern Gothic: in the porches of Abbeville and the tombs of Verona.

From The Stones of Venice, Volume I (of 3) by Ruskin, John

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