Setting -

dark, mysterious (think spooky, abandoned, etc.)

Atmosphere -

Constant threatening feelings (murder, kidnapping)

Supernatural Elements -

ghosts, inanimate objects coming to life, etc.

Emotions/physiological state -

characters are often overcome by anger, sorrow, surprise, terror (impending doom)

Women in Trouble -

weak, fainting, terrified, screaming (damsel in distress)

Metonymy of gloom/horror -

subtype metaphor in which something (like rain) is used to stand for something else (like sorrow)

Vocabulary -

uses words that have to do with fear, anger, etc.

Hyperbolic Phrase -

adjectives used to amplify nouns in order to create a sense of dread (“deep” in “deep grief”)

Unreliable Narrator -

storyteller whose credibility has been compromised, withholds information or lies, first person, psychological state, or flawed character traits