Ah, no, I don't think that 'Gothic Horror' as a literary genre had much - if anything - to do with the creation of D & D. It was too 'highbrow'. What you want to look at is the influence of Gothic Horror as depicted in Hammer Horror films of the 1970s, which were a much stronger influence on both Dave and Gary then the literature was.

The usual plot of a Hammer Studios film was "Group of adventurers go down into the dungeon of horrors to defeat the evil monster and save the fair maiden / the world / get the treasure."

The usual plot of a Dave Arneson / Gary Gygax D & D game was "Group of adventurers go down into the dungeon of horrors to defeat the evil monster and save the fair maiden / the world / get the treasure."

(By the way, Prof. Barker very bluntly said that the engravings of Piranesi were what he envisioned his Underworlds to look like - we were talking about the Tolek Kana Prison, near Bey Sy, and Phil pulled out his set of the 16 engravings from "Carceri d'invenzione" for us peasants to goggle at.)

If you wanted an example of a direct literary influence on the creation of D & D, try Fritz Leiber, Jr. and his Quarmall short story (with Harry Fischer), which both Dave and Gary told me that they had read. I think it's even mentioned in the literature, too.

- chirine