What do we mean by the term 'Gothic'? How does it differ from such classifications as 'terror' and 'horror' and where do its parameters lie? In an attempt to define such an elusive term, this A-Z unearths the terminologies associated with Gothic through a variety of short essays written by leading scholars. Not only does it plot the national characteristics of Gothic as in the French school of terror, Frenetique to American Gothic, but it also spans the period from Ann Radcliffe to Anne Rice.