Abstract (eng)
A majority of works published about suspense focuses on modern media such as films or TV productions - only a few have ventured to analyse earlier forms. This thesis wants to explore the creation of suspense in Gothic fiction of the 18th and 19th century (The Castle of Otranto, The Monk and Dracula) to see how suspense was realised then, in how far it was influenced by the genre of Gothic and in what ways this affected its further development. It focuses on textual features on the story and discourse level (plot development, themes, characterisation, settings, retardation, cataphora), thereby emphasising features typically considered as Gothic, their evolution throughout the novels and their reciprocal relation to suspense.