The Spectre Bridegroom in Gothic Literature



One of the more venerable motifs in Gothic literature is that of the spectre bridegroom. Adapted from folklore and folk ballad, the motif ususally runs something like this: a young man, on the verge of being married to his true love, dies suddenly, but returns from the grave to claim his bride, who typically has "betrayed" him by marrying another man. There are lots of variations on this basic idea, including the betrayal of the woman by the man, among others. A number of Gothic-tradition writers have turned their hand to this theme. It carries the dramatic power of a romance tale, of course — love beyond the grave, love gone bad, all that sort of thing — but also has the capacity to engage issues of gender dynamics, of the balance of cultural power between men and women.


Here's a list of "spectre bride/groom" works:

William Harrison Ainsworth (attributed), "The Spectre Bride"
Göttfried Bürger, "Lenore"
F. Marion Crawford, Man Overboard!
Nathaniel Hawthorne, "The Wedding Knell"
William Hunt, "The Spectre Bridegroom"
See the note to "The Suffolk Miracle" ballad, below.
Washington Irving, "The Spectre Bridegroom"
Joseph Sheridan LeFanu, "Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter"
Jack London, "Even Unto Death" and "Flush of Gold"
The latter is an expanded version of the former.
Matthew Lewis, "Alonso the Brave and the Fair Imogene"
One of the poems from Lewis' famed Gothic novel The Monk.
Charles Maturin, "Leixlip Castle"
E. Nesbit, "John Charrington's Wedding"
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, "That Never Was on Sea or Land"
Edith Wharton, "Bewitched"
Sarah Wilkinson, "The Midnight Embrace"
A "spectre bride" version of this motif.


Traditional "Spectre Bridegroom" ballads:
"Fair Margaret and Sweet William" and the closely related "Sweet William's Ghost" (Child #77)
"James Harris (The Dæmon Lover)"
"The Suffolk Miracle" (Child #272)
This ballad, or one of its variants, is the source for William Hunt's short story "The Spectre Bridegroom," above.


   Tim Burton's Corpse Bride
A modern variation on the theme...
"The Spectre Bridegroom in Gothic Literature."