Gothic Fiction Terminology

adjective A word that describes or modifies a noun or pronoun, in this case 'doomful' describes something that is full of doom or likely to bring about doom.

• The prophet's prediction of a doomful future caused widespread panic among the people.
• The weather forecast looks pretty doomful for our outdoor plans.
• I have a bad feeling about this, it seems pretty doomful.
• The dark clouds looming overhead painted a doomful picture of what was to come.

noun A person who is the offspring of a vampire and a human, often possessing some of the powers of a vampire

• The dhampyre is a mythical creature in folklore, said to be the offspring of a vampire and a human.
• I heard that the new girl in town is a dhampyre, with a mysterious aura about her.
• Watch out for that dhampyre, they say she can read minds and control your thoughts.
• The dhampyre in the novel symbolizes the struggle between good and evil within us all.

noun a sudden feeling of alarm or fear

verb to frighten or terrify

• The sudden loud noise affrighted the children in the classroom.
• The horror movie affrighted me so much that I couldn't sleep.
• That haunted house totally affrighted me, dude!
• The thought of failing the exam affrighted her more than anything else.