You could argue that the fatal flaw of many characters in literature that meet a less than pleasant ending is that they are unable to check their curiosity. They cannot help but go down into the basement when they hear the creaking below. Gothic fiction embodies curiosity and its consequences. Originating in a time referred to as “The Age of Enlightenment”, when people began to realise science could offer an alternative explanation to religion, gothic fiction explores the boundary between moral obligations and the need to experience understanding.