what makes the castle of otranto a gothic novel
The Castle of Otranto The Castle of Otranto is the first supernatural English novel and one of the most influential works of Gothic fiction. It blends elements of realist fiction with the supernatural and fantastical, establishing many of the plot devices and character-types that would become typical of the Gothic: secret passages, clanging trapdoors, pictures begin to move, and doors close by themselves.[3] The poet Thomas Gray told Walpole that the novel made "some of us cry a little, and all in general afraid to go to bed oâ€™nights."[6]