Psychogeography and The Macabre

PSYCHOGEOGRAPHY AND THE Edem Makantasis up707998
Architecture Culture and Identity

MACABRE
Reconnecting London to its Gothic literary

identity
Edem Makantasis
Edem Makantasis up707998

ii

PSYCHOGEOGRAPHY AND THE MACABRE:

Reconnecting London to its Gothic literary identity
Edem Makantasis ACI 707998

March 2 Architecture
University of Portsmouth
2015
iii

iv

DECLARATION
UNIT TITLE: Unit 403 Critical Writing
TITLE OF ASSESSMENT: Psychogeography and

the Macabre: Reconnecting London to its Gothic
literary identity
DATE OF SUBMISSION:
I affirm that this Assignment, together with any
supporting artefact, is offered for assessment as
my original and unaided work, except insofar as
any advice and/or assistance from any other
named person in preparing it, and any quotation
used from written sources are duly and
appropriately acknowledged.
Name :
Edem Makantasis
Signature of Course Member:
Date:
22th January 2015

vi

Abstract
Gothic Fiction is one of the most fascinating ways to tell a

story. Most people associate gothic with horror and the
supernatural, but I believe that's only the tip of the iceberg.
It is a wave of expression that gives people the opportunity
to manifest their thoughts and desires through art and
literature and explore these ideas beyond the boundaries of
our normality. Gothic novels had much success, especially
during late Victorian era. They managed to connect to the
people and produce some of the most famous narratives in
Literature like Dracula and Frankenstein. Themes about
fear, passion and forbidden desires were combined in
different and uniquely creative ways to offer a series of
emotions to the readers. Their connection and references to
existing London areas changed the way London was
perceived and eventually became part of city's identity.
However this is not the case anymore, as many features that
defined the Gothic are lost beneath the facade of modern
society. The written thesis will focus on the connection
between London and the Gothic, as well as the methods that
could help to bring back its macabre identity.
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Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my written thesis tutor Tina
Wallbridge for her support, guidance and patience during
tutorials and conversations and to Elizabeth Tuson as my
studio tutor for pointing me at the right direction during
early stages of the thesis.
I would also like to thank my parents for their continuous
support and trust in me all these years. I would not be here
if it wasn't for them.
Special thanks to my house mates for their psychological
support during the writing of the thesis.
ix


Contents
Declaration v.
Abstract vii.
Acknowledgements ix.
List of Illustrations xii.
Introduction 1.
Psychogeography:
Defining psychogeographical fields 4.
The Surrealists and Situationists 5.
Derive, Detournement and the Flaneur 6.
Psychogeography today 11.
Gothic:
Cultural Linkages: Gothic Literature and British identity
16.
The Macabre 26.
Gothic Mapping of Victorian London 30.
The psychogeographical cases of Gothic London 37.
Conclusion 42.
Bibliography 48.
Sources of Illustration 50.
xi

List of Illustrations
Cover Image-The Flaneur of London, Edem Makantasis, 2014

Figure 01- Map of Victorian London, Edem Makantasis, 2014
Figure 02-Strolling in modern London, Edem Makantasis, 2014
Figure 03- Psychogeographic guide of Paris, Guy Debord, 1955
Figure 04- The Naked City, Guy Debord, 1957
Figure 05- Le Flneur, Paul Gavarni, 1842.
Figure 06- The Labyrinth of Rotherhithe, Edem Makantasis, 2014
Figure 07- Over London by Rail, Gustave Dore, 1872
Figure 08- The Ghost of a Flea, William Blake, 18191820
Figure 09- A Suspicious Character, Illustrated London News,
October 13 1888
Figure 10- Spring Heeled Jack, Penny Dreadful, 1890
Figure 11- Penny Dreadful Illustrations,
Figure 12- Rain, Steam and Speed The Great Western Railway,
J.M.W. Turner, 1844
Figure 13- Illustration from The Mysteries of Udolpho, 1806
xii

Figure 14- The Nightmare, Henry Fuseli, 1781

Figure 15- Liverpool Street Station, London,1904
Figure 16- Map of Dracula in London
Figure 17- Map of Dracula in East End, London,
Figure 18- Map of Dracula in Piccadily
Figure 19- The Black Death
Figure 20- Gothic Literature and London map, Edem Makantasis,
2014
Figure 21- Crime Mapping in London, Edem Makantasis, 2014
Figure 22- Unite dmbiance in London, Edem Makantasis, 2014
Figure 23- Potential site for an Architectural intervention, Edem
Makantasis, 2014
xii

xi

Introduction
Today's London is undoubtedly one of the most historical and famous
cities in the world with a metropolitan area of over 13 million people
and having been a major settlement for two millennia with a history
that goes back as far as the Roman empire. Its impact on the average
visitor, traveller or citizen, is huge. There are various aspects of London
that stay in our memories. These could be the architecture, the events,
the landmarks or the politics that come with a modern metropolis. All of
them, form an identity that defines modern London and our experience.
Most people who visit London already know what they want to visit, the
places they want to see and the streets they want to walk. There is this
pre-planned journey of London, or at least what modern media indicate
that London is. The whole experience becomes a series of missions. It is
a phenomenon that not only applies to tourists but also to Londoners.
As a tourist you have specific predefined routes that you will take and
as a Londoner you have your everyday routes that take you from your
home to your job and back again. The city is defined by its go to points,
and the journeys in-between are ignored. A good example would be the
underground system where you experience the start and the end of the
journey, but the rest is just a series of black blurry images or the
interior of the coach. The idea of an impulsive walk, driven by our
instincts and curiosity, is not there anymore. It is a shame considering
how many people were inspired by their experiences of such a journey.
These inspirations led to the birth of gothic literature. Charles Dickens,
Daniel Defoe and Robert Stevenson are just a few examples of this wave
of writers that were inspired by London's darkest secrets and corners.
The city gave and received. What? Another layer of identity of course. It
was an interaction that benefited both sides. On the one hand, it
provided the perfect atmosphere and mood to the authors, poets or
even artists. There were many places within the city that were haunted
by macabre images or stories. Darkness let the imagination run wild
and when that happens, it creates a need. This need to express
emotions and feelings, resulted in some of the best depictions of
London through gothic storytelling. On the other side, all these versions
of a dark and dangerous London, brought a new aspect of London that
would later fascinate people for generations to come. The urban
explorer took and gave back.

This interactive relationship has resulted in mapping London in

different ways, based on different interests, people and circumstances.
However, today it has become very hard to reveal that macabre side of
the city. The history of darkness, truth or fiction, is part of the history of
London. Nevertheless, the modern explorer may be influenced by a lot
of factors, but no longer by fear. The problem is not that there is an
absence of horror, but that it has stopped being a source of inspiration.
In a way, it seems reasonable since the appreciation of the macabre
doesn't come from appreciation of fear, but from the combination with
other feelings and emotions.
Since the macabre is not experienced these days, can we rediscover
that gothic vision in today's modern London? These are the main
questions that the thesis is going to focus on. It is very important to
understand the relationship between the voyager and his journey
through the urban environment and I will examine is psychogeography.
Most of the gothic literature about London was an outcome of different
interpretations of the walks and information obtained by the authors
through mapping of the senses and the emotions, which is more or less
the definition of psychogeography. According to Guy Debord "It's the
study of the specific effects of the geographical environment,
consciously organised or not."1. In the section 'Psychogeography' I'm
going to explore this further, because it is essential to know the history
and the basic ideas behind it, before it can be applied to the macabre.
The chapter is going to be divided, based on definitions, historical
groups and movements that were associated with it.
Cddc.vt.edu, 'Situationist International Online', 2015

In order to understand the background and the significance of the

Gothic narrative. 'Gothic' is going to look at how the darkest side
London was projected through history and literature by examining the
role of psychogeography during that period. I'm going to subdivide the
chapter again based on the definitions, it's connection to the British
identity, the literature and it's psychogeographical applications. This
process aims to find a method or strategy that might later be applied in
order to bring back that lost interaction. Once a formula is extracted, it
will be important to look at how the research can bring us closer to an
answer. The conclusion is going to suggest ways in which
psychogeographical ideas and architecture can cooperate by looking for
potential areas in London where the design thesis could contribute in
bringing back the interaction between us and the macabre.

iv

Psychogeography:
Defining psychogeographical fields
Psychogeography is a term that is very hard to define. One could make a
quick assumption by saying that it's the point where psychology and
geography meet and he wouldn't be too far. Similar to the act of
walking, psychogeography can be described as :
.. a constellation whose three stars are the body, the imagination and the
wide-open world'2
Merlin Coverley refers to psychogeography as a term that resists

definition "through a shifting of series of interwoven themes and
constantly being shaped by its practitioners"3. Generally, it is a device to
be used by those who seek to reveal the true nature of our surroundings
within the urban environment that is hidden behind the flux of the
everyday. It has been used to generate a literary movement, a political
strategy, a representation of new age ideas and a set of avant-garde
practices and it is connected to famous movements and groups of
people like the Letterist Group and the Situationists International.
Although psychogeography can be traced back to the avant-garde
movement of the Letterist International and Guy Debord, it is the
variety of different interpretations, by the people who studied it, that
are most intriguing. A good example is the contrast between the
Surrealists playful approach and the Situationists scientific approach.
The first group used psychogeography as a device to transform our
'experience of everyday life and replacing our mundane existence with
an appreciation of the marvellous'4, while the second, under the
guidance of Debord, followed a 'more serious-minded attempt to
challenge the bourgeois orthodoxies of the day'5, which of course led to
the 'derive' and 'detournement', two techniques that have a big role in
the field of psychogeography.. Both terms are going to be explained
later.
Rebecca Solnit, Wanderlust (Viking 2000)p212

Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p10
4 Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p73

The Surrealists and Situationists

Before basic psychogeographical terms are explored, it is important to
have a look at the historical movements and groups that interacted and
used psychogeographical terms and ideals. Two of the most important
were the Surrealists who were mostly associated with the flaneur and
the urban wanderer of the streets of Paris and the second one is the
Situationist group who focused on the explorational ideas of the British
urban environment and more specifically London.
Surrealism was a cultural movement of the early 1920s that was
expressed mainly through art and creative writing. It can be dated from
the publication of Andre Breton's 'Manifesto of Surrealism' in 1924 but
their relationship with psychogeography started earlier in 1918 when
Louis Aragon and Breton produced the psychogeographical novel.
Breton's defines Surrealism in his Manifesto :
'I believe in the future resolution of these two states, dream and reality,
which are seemingly so contradictory, into a kind of absolute reality, a
surreality, if one may so speak'6
These notions would later find psychogeography as the perfect device

to challenge the public's perceptions with the 'flaneur', a term that is
going to explained in the next section.
The Situationists, however, were an organization with a more political
and straightforward way of seeing the world. They consisted of
intellectuals, avant-garde artists and political theorists and as a group
they 'developed an armoury of confusing weapons intended constantly
to provoke critical notice of the totality of lived experience and reverse
the stultifying passivity of the spectacle'7. They rejected the Surrealist's
idea of submission to the subconscious and the irrational force because
this type of imagination is 'poor' and lacks the element of surprise.
6
7

Sadie Plant, (1992) The most radical gesture p60

Derive, Detournement and the Flaneur

One of the many terms that the Situationists created was the theory of
the 'derive'. According to their terminology :
'Derive is a mode of experimental behaviour linked to the conditions of
urban society: a technique of transient passage through varied
ambiances. Also used to designate a specific period of continuous
deriving'8
'In a derive one or more persons during a certain period drop their
relations, their work and leisure activities, and all their other usual
motives for movement and action, and let themselves be drawn by the
attractions of the terrain and the encounters they find there. Chance is a
less important factor in this activity than one might think: from a derive
point of view cities have psychogeographical contours, with constant
currents, fixed points and vortexes that strongly discourage entry into or
exit from certain zones.'9
The main source of confusion with this theory was the contradiction
between the idea of the unplanned journey and the 'domination of
psychogeographical variations by the knowledge and calculation of
their possibilities'.10
Detournement was the second technique that was by the Situationists.
It was the act of using elements in a new and different way to promote
an agenda and in this case, that agenda was to transform urban life. The
official definition states:
'Detournement is integration of present or past artistic production into
a superior construction of a milieu. In this sense there can be no
situationist painting or music, but only a situationist use of these means.
In a more primitive sense, detournement within the old cultural spheres
is a method of propaganda...'11
Could the derive and detournement be used today as a strategy to

promote specific ideas and visions of the city? The Situationists
movement did it, but it did not focus enough on the subject. It is the

Debord G. (1958). Internationale Situationniste #2
Online at: http://www.cddc.vt.edu/sionline/si/theory.html. Accessed on 2/1/2015.
10 Debord G. (1958). Internationale Situationniste #2
Online at: http://www.cddc.vt.edu/sionline/si/theory.html. Accessed on 2/1/2015.
9

urban wanderer who has to explore, feel and respond to his

experiences. In psychogeographical terms, this person is called the
'flaneur', 'mental traveller' or 'stalker' as he is both the subject and the
object of analysis.
'Flanerie is the activity of strolling and looking which is carried out by
the flaneur'12 who becomes a recurring theme in literature, art and the
metropolitan representation in fiction and real life. However the flaneur
is connected to his journey more romantic and artistic aspect of the city.
He sees art and he delivers art.
'..is the individual sovereign of the order of things who, as a poet or as
the artist, is able to transform faces and things so that for him they have
only that meaning which he attributes to them.'13
12
13
Keith Tester, The Flneur (Routledge 1994)p1

Keith Tester, The Flneur (Routledge 1994)p6

Figure 03- Psychogeographic guide of Paris, Guy Debord, 1955


Figure 05- Le Flneur
10

Psychogeography today
What about today? What is the significance of psychogeography today?
It is important to have a glimpse of the way it's been treated and used
these days in order to have an understanding of where did all those
theories and strategies lead today and how they can be reused. One way
to achieve that, is by taking a look at the work of modern
psychogeographers, especially those who played a big role in the revival
of psychogeography the last two decades. Ballard, Sinclair, Ackroyd and
Keiller contributed in the revival of the psychogeography in an effort to
deal with the banalisation of the urban environment. Literature was the
primary tool to accomplish that, and, once again, London was the
perfect setting. Along with its revival , they also brought back some of
the ideas and ambitions that were expressed earlier by the groups
associated with psychogeography, which were either adapted and
changed to fit the new reality, or were used as a reminder of the
historical past of the city. The way we studied the effect that the urban
environment had on the human behaviour was enriched, and at the
same time there were cases where a new elements of the modern
environment were included in the equation.
One excellent example of adaptation of the psychogeographical
principles to modernity is J.G. Ballard, who, in his book 'Crash', talks
about technology and the side effects of automobile transportation to
the act of wandering. In this case, his work has been called ambiguous,
mostly because he seems to have an positive attitude to the car, despite
his objection towards technology. This new freedom, that the car
provides, is celebrated by Ballard, as it provides a new mean of
transcending our surroundings. He also tried to capture the relationship
between human behaviour and new surroundings, and explained the
possible reasons behind the loss of connection between them.
Contrasting the Situationists, Ballard does not see any 'banalisation' in
the urban environment. On the contrary, he sees an extreme
atmosphere accompanied by violent and sexualised images and
describes these possible effects on the human behaviour as ' full-scale
descent into savagery, sexual perversity and the complete breakdown
of the idea of community'14. As a result of that, he ends up rejecting the
city of London as its heritage and history don't allow people to ' what's
really going on in life today'.
14
11

If Ballard succeeded in providing complexity and controversy to the

field of psychogeography, Ian Sinclair was the person responsible for
making it popular. Although he adopted some situationist ideas, he
decided to follow a more surrealist and traditional approach to
psychogeography. In his work he attempted to blend the occult with the
political, the hidden with the neglected and local with literary history,
resulting in the creation a new personal vision of London.
'I like their notion of finding a strange parks at the edge of the city, of
creating a walk that would allow you to enter into fiction'15
It is also essential to mention his rejection of the flaneur, as he

introduces us to the 'stalker'.
" Stalker is a stroller who sweats, a stroller who knows where he is
going, but not why or how"16
There are no more random walks without a known destination. He is no

stranger to this environment, and is aware of the transformation it has
undergone. One could say that the stalker fits the modern wanderer
better since we live in the age of media and we get bombarded by
information all the time. This makes the concept of being completely
lost within the city quite impossible. We are always aware of where we
are thanks to technology.
Peter Ackroyd, even though he didn't consider himself as a
psychogeographer, contributed a new way of experiencing and
understanding the urban environment. Like J.G. Ballard, Ackroyd
explores the extreme behavioural impact of the city on people. In order
to do that, he goes back to use a more gothic and dark side of London.
He sees the city not as a whole, but as a series of zones and areas that
are connected to events and activities. They will later create ' patterns
of interests and patterns of habitation so that the same kind of activities
emerge ..'17. These territories become something more than just a
machine that produces experiences. Like the detournement, if used
properly, they can transform people's experience of the city and change
their perception of these particular places.
15

16
12

In an interview with film maker Patrick Keiller, he mentions that

psychogeography ' has divorced itself from political concerns and
obligations of the Situationists'18. Psychogeography in a way has come
full circle . Its practitioners concentrate more on the artistic aspect of it,
abandoning its true potential. The following statement that sums up
the unused capabilities of psychogeography today.
'Instead of seeking to change their environment, psychogeographers in
their contemporary incarnation seem satisfied merely to experience and
record it.'19
18
19
13

14

xv

Gothic
Cultural Linkages: Gothic Literature and British
identity
'The term Gothic has three main connotations: barbarous, like the
Gothic tribes of the Middle Ages- which is what the Renaissance meant
by the word; medieval, with all the associations of castles, knights in
armour and chivalry; and the supernatural, with the associations of the
fearful and the unknown and the mysterious.'20
This definition sums up the word 'Gothic' in a very generic way and it
connects it mainly with fear and tales of terror. The term Gothic horror
may be connected to German Literature but the term Gothic Novel
originated in England. Although most of the novels explored the human
psyche in relation to the supernatural, later they also showed a
tendency to include imagination and feelings which run parallel to the
Romantic movement. The narratives and novels that carry the title
'gothic' represent and stimulate 'fear, horror, the macabre and the
sinister, within the context of a general focus on the emotional rather
than the rational'21. This preference towards emotions rather than logic
is quite important in order to comprehend the relationship between
British identity and Gothic literature.
20
Brendan Hennessy, The gothic novel (Longman for the British Council 1978)p324
Goodreads.com, 'Gothic Literature - Chat: Introduction to GOTHIC Literature (showing131of31)', 2015
21
16

17

During the industrial revolution technology and science dominated

England and changed it. The map of Britain was reformed as the cities
grew bigger and bigger and the landscape transformed from rural to
industrial. Within a few decades the majority of people moved to the
cities in a pursuit of a better life. However the pace of change was so
fast that people suffered an 'industrial trauma'. The continuous
development of science and the terrifying expansion of the industrial
areas led to a division between the crowd. While most of them were
fascinated by this scenario and could only see a bright future where
man is owner of his own destiny, some chose to reject it. The two
oppositional groups that are worth mentioning are: the ones who were
sceptical about technology and scientific discoveries and people who
became part of these new megalopolises but had difficulties adapting in
this new scary environment. As a result of this, Gothic was adopted by
the British in an attempt to either warn people about the repercussions
of the situation or provide an series of devices that will help them
adjust old traditions to the new place. Medieval principles, then, became
part of a nostalgia.
'Gothic presents itself as both a modern project that melts and
transforms traditional attachments in favour of new identities and as a
reaffirmation of authentic cultural values culled from the depths of a
presumed communal past'22
' Gothic novels reaffirm authentic cultural values culled from the depths
of a presumed communal past. They do this first by copying the ways of
the past, rather than breaking sharply with it. Further, Gothic novels do
more than rehearse the past; they figure that past as a lost Golden Age
that can be recovered.'23
22 Toni Wein, British identities, heroic nationalisms, and the gothic novel, 1764-1824 (Palgrave
Macmillan 2002)p4
23 Toni Wein, British identities, heroic nationalisms, and the gothic novel, 1764-1824 (Palgrave
Macmillan 2002)p4
18

One of the idealists who did not embrace the success of technological
advances was Mary Shelley who with 'Frankenstein' tried to show the
dangerous aspects of this progress. There is a symbolism behind the
portrayal of Viktor Frankenstein as the obsessed scientist who didn't
consider the consequences of his work. It represents the fear of an
uncontrollable science. William Blake shared the same fear in 'The
Ghost of a Flea', a painting that was inspired by a drawing of a flea
microscopically observed. In this example Blake actually uses a
scientific theme and makes it mysterious and strange. His quote is
representative of his views against the Enlightenment.
'Art is the Tree of Life. Science is the Tree of Death'24
24
Laocon: Jehovah & His Two Sons, Satan & Adam. An engraving of Laocon, the well-known
classical sculpture, is surrounded with many short, graffiti-like comments. These two sayings
are in the blank space to the right of the picture. This was Blake's last illuminated work.
Transcribed in William Blake and Edwin John Ellis (ed.), The Poetical Works of William Blake
(1906), Vol. 1,p435.
19

20

The second explanation for the popularity of the Gothic Novels new
situation that was brought by the industrialization of Britain. Cities
were now attracting thousands of people coming from rural England
and the new industrial metropolis felt uneasy. There was a lot of
confusion and fear in this new environment as most people become
strangers to each other. This led to crimes, violence, tension and
poverty, in other words, the perfect setting for a new form of Literature
to feed from. Gothic narratives actually flourished within this macabre
scenery as they managed to sensationalize urban horror by adding
supernatural elements and using the language and imagery of the
Gothic tradition. These stories included : true crime stories, urban
myths, and Penny dreadfuls. The Jack the ripper murders were the most
famous of these crimes and were linked to the pre existing myth of
Spring-heeled Jack. Both cases managed to fuel a series of urban
legends that haunted the streets of London and later were used as
inspiration for a series of cheap fictional, horror stories that were
published in parts every week. They were named Penny Dreadfuls and
became quite popular with the middle class as they were easy to relate
to. In a lot of cases they eased up adult anxieties and even boosted adult
literacy.
21

Figure 09- A Suspicious Character, Illustrated London News, October 13 1888
22

23

24

Figure 12- Rain, Steam and Speed The Great Western Railway, J.M.W. Turner, 1844
25

The Macabre
The macabre has been celebrated in London through gothic literature
and art, leading to a successful fusion between fiction and history as
part of the formation of the city's identity. Throughout history, people
were inspired by these visions of a dark and dangerous London to such
an extent, that they tried to reproduce their emotions and feelings
through strong narratives and the outcome of this inspiration was the
transformation of the urban setting.
To begin with, it is essential to comprehend the essence of the macabre
and what separates it from fear or horror. So instead of starting with
these visual re-enactments of the city it's better to concentrate on the
gothic in general and think about what is it that intrigues us about it. It
could be thrill of the unknown or a series of experiences that makes us
uncomfortable. It's a actually combination of all the aforementioned. In
his introduction to the history of gothic, Marcman Ellis gives three very
strong examples of the effects of gothic to the human psyche and how
they activate a series of reactions and emotions. Each of these examples
indicates different manifestations of the gothic. He starts with a
recorded experience by Barthelemy Faujas and his visit to John Sheldon,
a famous surgeon in London. His encounter with a beautiful and
carefully preserved body of a dead woman that the doctor had in one of
his cabinets triggered a feeling of confusion. A combination of a
beautiful but macabre image along with the logical explanation behind
the whole setting, can only be described as a 'disagreeable feeling' by
Ellis. On the one side there is this 'cool scientific gaze' and on the other
the 'tender emotions of love', all brought together in an picture of love
and pain. The same 'disagreeable feeling' is identified in his second
example, which is taken from the book 'The Mysteries of Udolpho'.
There is a part from the book, representative of gothic literature , where
the main character witnesses again an image of horror and dread
together with an innocent and instinctive curiosity. This combination of
wonder and terror is a feature of the gothic novel. The last example is a
painting by John Henry Fuseli, 'The Nightmare'. Once again, there is a
moment of terror and a moment of peace incorporated in the same
picture, haunted by the dark and heavy atmosphere.
26

'Gothic is not simply a narrative of terror or a set of properties, but is

also a tone or mood simply that is, in its own way, quite experimental... It
is interested in exploiting emotions, through feelings and thoughts'25
25
Markman Ellis, The history of gothic fiction (Edinburgh University Press 2000)p8-9
27

28

29

Gothic Mapping of Victorian London

This section is going to explore how ideas and principles of the gothic
were applied within the city of London, with powerful and creative
storytelling. While in the previous section, the use of images and the
description of horrible and disturbing situations provoked these
conflict of contrasting emotions, here, it is the distortion and alteration
of the urban space that's intriguing. The reader experiences these
horrible places that the protagonists goes through but at the same time,
there is a subconscious thirst for more, as his curiosity increases. This
resulted in the birth of the urban gothic. According to Robert Mighall in
' A geography of Victorian gothic fiction' :
'The Urban gothic depicts scenes and places whose very existence may
appear to belong to the regions of romance but instead are found in
Midst of civilisation'26
The dark corners and areas of decay are perfectly shown in some of the
most representative pieces of literature in that era. G.W.M.Reynolds, in
one of the most famous penny dreadful novels, transforms parts of
London in such degree that he makes them unrecognizable. In
Mysteries of London, we get a taste of an uninviting version of
Smithfield Market, where the main character ends up. The descriptions
of his encounter with this area is quite graphic and the use of words like
'horrible neighbourhood', ' all dark and pitch' and 'foul and filthy' help
to intensify the atmosphere. Terror is a direct result of experiencing
this threatening and poor environment, 'a place of hideous poverty and
fearful crimes', 'a labyrinth' and these type of places became a model to
organise the city, its dark mysteries and secrets. It was an interesting
way of representing both architectural and civic fact and a poetized
image of London, mostly because it was a product of history, experience
and interpretation. Richard Maxwell tried to explain the representation
of the 'labyrinth' :
' The widespread tendency to see cities as mazes is a related but more
recent phenomenon, a product, I would guess, of historical memory.
Once Paris and London begin to be modernized - once streets are
widened and straightened to facilitate the circulation of traffic- the
older, usually poorer neighbourhoods exert a new fascination. Here
26
Robert Mighall, A geography of Victorian Gothic fiction (Oxford University Press 1999)p30
30

there are many narrow, winding alley; here traffic easily gets itself into
knots; here, the visitor who is not native may well be mystified.'27
Charles Dickens used the concept of the labyrinth to describe another

dangerous environment in Oliver Twist. The area in Rotherhithe, where
Russia and Surrey docks used to be, is depicted as the place where 'the
filthiest, the strangest, the most extraordinary of the many localities,
that are hidden in London wholly unknown, even by name, to the great
mass of its inhabitants'. Within this area, a maze is formed out of the '
narrow and muddy streets, thronged by the roughest and the poorest of
waterside people.'28 Washington Irving uses the same method to show
his protagonists journey to the centre of his labyrinth. In The
sketchbook of Geoffrey Canyon the main character, however, it is an
'oasis' type of place that he encounters at the end of it. A spot of peace
and safety that he had to find after experiencing 'weary flesh', ' bustling
busy throngs' and the ' obscure nookes and angles'.
The transformation, from poor and dangerous to dark and horrifying, is
necessary in order to create a degree of distance between reality and
fiction. What scares and at the same fascinates people, is the
observation of a place or a situation that should be familiar to them
because they have been there before, but it's not. The rule of a
disagreeable feeling resurfaces once again. Everything is presented to
them distorted and they find it difficult to accept the reality of the new
location and it confuses them. This is a method that is applied to both
literature and art manifestations of the gothic.
It is essential to achieve a contrast of feelings and emotions, for a gothic
novel to be considered successful. Reynolds's strategy to do this was to
follow a certain system of historical distortions. It is by presenting the
two extremes of the socioeconomical situations within the boundaries
of the city that he manages to relate the poor to the scary and the rich to
the safe. Middle class is either absent or under presented, and middle
class heroes don't figure prominently in his representations. There is no
place for grey areas, within the story. The light and the pitch black that
wealth and poverty represent contribute to a great effect to the
transformation of the Urban Gothic fiction. He explains :
27
28 Robert Mighall, A geography of Victorian Gothic fiction (Oxford University Press 1999)p43
31

'There are but two words known in the moral alphabet of this great city;
for all virtues are summed up in the one, and all vices in the other: and
these words are: Wealth and poverty.'29
Gothic Fiction is full of cases of symbolism and representation of

socioeconomical values. Poverty and wealth were associated with
specific areas in London, like west end and east end. Gill Davies expands
on this by finding references within Bram Stokers Dracula where this
opposition is most notable and adds that while 'the West End was the
centre of the government, wealthy residences and leisure', the East End
'was the unknown England. the nether world, outcast London, the
abyss'30. London's most familiar and representative parts were being
invaded by this eastern unknown which in a way represented death and
disease both literary and metaphorically. An excellent example of this,
is the geographical placement of Dracula's castle in Purfleet in contrast
to the rest of the main characters who are staying west. Placing
Dracula's lair east of London actually enhanced his association with the
east end. It became easier to link him to all the immigrants and
foreigners, who in a way stood for countries and lands that were
connected with crimes mysteries and violence.
'West End with its government offices served as a site for imperial
spectacle: during her Golden Jubilee in 1887, Queen Victoria ... was
carted around the major thoroughfares, escorted by an Indian cavalry
troop. Meanwhile, another kind of imperial spectacle was staged in the
East End. The Docks and railway termini of the East End were
international entrerpots for succeeding waves of immigrants, most
recently poor Jews fleeing the pogroms of Eastern Europe'31
29
Davies G. (2004). London in Dracula; Dracula in London. Literary London: Interdisciplinary
Studies in the Representation of London, Volume 2 Number 1 (March 2004).
Online at: http://www.literarylondon.org/london-journal/march2004/davies.html. Accessed
on 2/1/2015.
31 Davies G. (2004). London in Dracula; Dracula in London. Literary London: Interdisciplinary
Studies in the Representation of London, Volume 2 Number 1 (March 2004).
Online at: http://www.literarylondon.org/london-journal/march2004/davies.html. Accessed
on 2/1/2015.
30
32

This is even more evident within Dracula, at the point when a west
ender, Jonathan Harker explores Carfax Abbey, Dracula's Lair in the
east:
'The place was small and close, and the long disuse had made the air
stagnant and foul. There was an earthy smell, as of some dry miasma,
which came through the fouler air. But as to the odour itself, how shall I
describe it? It was not alone that it was composed of all the ills of
morality and with the pungent, acrid smell of blood, but it seemed as
through corruption had become itself corrupt.'32
32
33

34

35

36

The psychogeographical cases of Gothic London

All these notions and ideas of distortion of reality and context, came
from the authors' own experience. One has to experience, imagine and
interpret first and only then is he able to write and create. Such
experiences inspired a number of authors to create some iconic gothic
novels where psychogeography was used as the main tool to achieve a
re-imaging of the city. This section is going to have a deep look into how
psychogeographical surveys of London produced gothic fiction. The
need to explore this relationship becomes vital in order to make the
connection between psychogeography and macabre narratives.
Previous sections have examined how gothic novels were a
manifestation of political and social issues in London. Crime, violence,
fear and social degradation became the tool to the alteration of the city.
However, there was another highly important part of London's identity
that hasn't been mentioned in this analysis yet and its history. In 'a
Journal of the Plague Year', Daniel Defoe manages to transform the
familiar layout of the city by blending fact and fiction. A fictional
protagonist records his experiences in London during the Black Death.
As a theme, the plague belongs to London's darkest parts of history as it
wiped out about 15% of its population and provided a great setting and
lots of information that was eventually used in the novel. The portrait of
the city was a result of stories and other historical facts.
'... Defoe's account of the plague year of 1665 gathers the bare statistical
facts. the precise topographical details and the peculiar local
testimonies that were to become the hallmarks of psychogeographical
investigation and presents them in the non-linear and digressive fashion
that was later to characterise the drift of the Derive.'33
33
37

London became a place that was slowly being swallowed by decay and
death. Navigation within such an obscure and chaotic place was very
difficult. Unlike the Derive where the explorer takes these random drifts
through the city out of curiosity, here it's not his choice. He finds his
way by instinct and fear.
' Navigating this urban space in the 1660's could be tricky, both
physically and conceptually. There were no maps for ordinary people to
guide them through the city. You made your way by sight, by memory, by
advice, by direction and by luck'34
Coverley also adds:

' Only by re-learning the signs as they were rapidly deformed and
distorted by the passage of death and disease could Defoe's narrator
hope to survive the onslaught. Defoe reveals a 'sense of a haunted
geography' through which the progress of the plague is meticulously
documented'35
Although Defoe's novel was considered the first piece of literature that
contained a psychogeographical survey of London, it was Robert Louis
Stevenson who was hailed as the 'first psychogeographer' thanks to his
novel 'The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'. Here, Stevenson
managed to create a nightmarish place that would later provide the
most lasting image of the city and set the tradition of London Gothic
along with its most recognizable characteristics, the unreal and eternal
landscape.
34
35
Merlin Coverley, Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials 2010)p37-38
38

39

While in the cases mentioned before, there is a opposition between

areas of London and classes of people, Stevenson's novel uses the
division between reality and appearance which based on the occult so
that he can 'expose the double life of privilege and despair lie in the city
of the late nineteenth century'36. Just like the protagonist's two-sided
personality, London seems to have a contradictory personality as well.
On the one side there is the dreadful image of the East end, and on the
other there is a dreamscape of Victorian facades of the west. The book
was also linked to the Ripper murders that happened the following year
and gave it an extra-literary existence. Although there is a difference in
the depiction of these areas, what's quite interesting are the similarities
between the city's and Dr Jekyll's deformation. In the book, there is a
strong example of a place's visual alteration just in front of the reader's
eyes.
'... for here it would be dark like the back-end of evening; and there
would be a glow of rich, lurid brown like the light of some strange
conflagrations; and here, for a moment, the fog would be quite broken
up, and a haggard shaft of daylight would glance between the swirling
wreaths. The dismal quarter of Soho seen under these changing
glimpses, with its muddy ways, and slatternly passengers, and its lamps,
which had never been extinguished or had been kindled afresh to
combat this mournful reinvasion of darkness, seemed, in the lawyer's
eyes, like a district of some city in a nightmare'37
So after the transformation, the reader witnesses an new, more savage

and primitive person, and the same thing happens to London. Mr Hyde
is the embodiment of Jekyll's hidden and forbidden desires. Desires and
thoughts that were there before but were suppressed under Dr. Jekyll's
consciousness. Only once the criminal is unleashed and the person 'goes
native'38 can we observe London's dark side. The symbolism behind the
darkness that is existent and waiting to be unleashed is quite obvious
and very relatable to both the Victorian and the modern metropolis. In a
theory that may be applicable to cities, as well, Robert Mighall examines
the protagonist's deformation by saying:
36

38 Robert Mighall, A geography of Victorian Gothic fiction (Oxford University Press 1999)p139
37
40

' The anthropological lowness of Mr Hyde is the inevitable product of

Jekyll's externalization of hierarchical structures according to the
specification of psychiatry and criminology'39
This explains to a great degree the need to explore the macabre aspect
of our urban surroundings. Just like Mr Hyde, it's part of London's
suppressed legacy and identity that no matter how disgusted or
ashamed we are by it, we can't get rid of it. So, the resurface of the city's
darkest history becomes inevitable and the fact that Britain at some
point was able to embrace it and appreciate it, shows that it is a strategy
that can be used even today.
39
41

Conclusion
The strategy behind the dissertation was to understand the terms, the
philosophical ideas and ambitions behind Gothic Literature and
Psychogeography in order to extract a method that could be applied on
London today to bring back the appreciation for the macabre which has
been lost. Gothic and psychogeography had to be examined so that there
would be an understanding of the history and the reasons behind its
acceptance, compared to modern literature and perhaps help us look into
the right direction to its revival. There is still potential for Gothic narratives
to resurface and become once again part of London's history and identity.
The fact that they fed from fear and social anxiety of the middle class,
indicates that there are still the right circumstances for it to flourish.
One of the reasons behind our failure to embrace the hidden and the
undesired, comes from our inability to experience space the way we used
to. The city and its architecture do not interact with our senses the same
way they used to. We may blame technology but it is vital to understand
that architecture is capable of reactivating those senses which, along with
memory, can bring back that long lost desire for the unexplained, the
bizarre and the forbidden, only if it starts interacting with all our five
senses, our body and our subconscious. According to Juhani Pallasmaa,
Every touching experience of architecture is multisensory; qualities of
space, matter and scale are measured equally by the eye, ear, nose, skin,
tongue, skeleton and muscle... architecture involves several realms of
sensory experience which interact and fuse with each other. 40
Once that level of interaction between the person and his surroundings is
achieved, he will be able to experience more than what his vision allows
him to. He will be intrigued by the darker aspect of the city, the unknown
and the macabre. People have to be aware of the darkness to be able to
appreciate it.
40
Juhani Pallasmaa, The eyes of the skin (Wiley-Academy 2005)p41
42

Deep shadows are essential, because they dim the sharpness of the vision,
make depth and invite unconscious peripheral vision and tactile fantasy .
41
These type of experiences leave an imprint on our memories and become

forever associated with the city and its identity. The same way that
memory can ' re-evoke the delightful city with all its sounds and smells and
variations of light and shade' 42 it can also bring back the city of the
macabre, the horror and awe.
It may not be realistic to change the city to accommodate such
transformation at once, but it is possible to use architecture as a tool to
trigger senses, emotions and feelings. An urban architecture that will
operate based on Peter Ackroyd's theory of a city of zones and areas that
create patterns of activity and ambiance. When the situationists demanded
a quality of architecture that went beyond the habitation and based on Le
Corbusier's unit d'Habitation , they sought for the unit dmbiance, which
was an area of particular intense urban atmosphere. Such areas are the
best candidates for an architectural intervention, that will attempt to bring
back London's Gothic identity, especially when they have a historical
connection with the macabre. It is possible to identify such regions within
London by applying Debord's method of mapping units of habitation in
Paris with the Naked City in three steps:
41
42

43

Figure 20- Gothic Literature and London map
1. Locate areas in Victorian London, so that we get an understanding of

what is a unit of macabre ambiance. Figure 20 shows where these areas
are, based on references from Gothic Literature like Dracula, Mysteries of
London, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Oliver Twist.
44

Figure 21- Crime Mapping in London
2.Locate areas of Modern London where similar type of dangerous

situations and encounters may happen. The map on Figure 16 indicates
regions of the city with the most criminal activity and is based on
Information from London metropolitan Police.
45

Figure 22- Unite dmbiance in London
3. Merge information acquired from previous maps to inform of

contemporary units of ambiance, that contain both historical background
associated with the macabre, but at the same time, has the potential to
provide London a new Gothic identity.
46

Figure 23- Potential site for an Architectural intervention
It is within these such Districts that architecture can contribute to the reappreciation of the macabre. People, who walk these streets, experience,
see and hear stories every day but they do not get the chance to record or
express any of those feelings and emotions that reveal the dreadful aspect
of their neighbourhood. That's where psychogeography and architecture
will intervene and create an interactive chain that will contribute to
London's Gothic identity. It is important to provide a centre where, with
the help of psychogeographical methods, urban wanderers will manifest
their experiences and memories into art and literature, just like Stevenson
or Dickens. A place where people will learn, produce and exhibit their work
that will operate at the same time as a monument of the Macabre and a
reminder that it is still part of London.
47

Bibliography
Books
Coverley, Merlin,
2010).
Psychogeography (Pocket Essentials
Mighall, Robert,
A geography of Victorian Gothic fiction
(Oxford University Press 1999).
Hennessy, Brendan,
British Council 1978).
The gothic novel (Longman for the
Ellis, Markman,
The history of gothic fiction
(Edinburgh University Press 2000).
Tester, Keith,
The Fla neur (Routledge 1994).
Wein, Toni,
British identities, heroic nationalisms,
and the gothic novel, 1764-1824
(Palgrave Macmillan 2002).
Emsley, Clive,
2005).
Hard men (Hambledon and London
Pallasmaa, Juhani,
2005).
The eyes of the skin (Wiley-Academy
Sadler, Simon,
The situationist city (MIT Press 1998).
48

Websites
http://www.literarylondon.org/londonjournal/march2004/davies.html
http://www.3ammagazine.com/3am/psychogeography-merlincoverley/
http://www.cddc.vt.edu/
http://resources.mhs.vic.edu.au/creating/pages/origins.htm
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L-5P4G1L36Y
http://www.geog.leeds.ac.uk/people/a.evans/psychogeog.html
http://www.casebook.org/dissertations/ripperoo-spring.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spring-heeled_Jack
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Penny_dreadful
http://maps.met.police.uk/
49

Sources of Illustration
Cover Image-The Flaneur of London, Edem Makantasis,
2014
Figure 01- Map of Victorian London, Edem Makantasis,
2014
Figure 02-Strolling in modern London, Edem Makantasis,
2014
Figure 03- Psychogeographic guide of Paris, Guy Debord,
1955
Retrieved from:
https://mappingweirdstuff.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/
debord-guide1.jpg
Retrieved from: http://www.laciudadviva.org/blogs/wpcontent/uploads/2010/05/the-naked-city-1957-guydebord.jpg
Figure 05- Le Flneur, Paul Gavarni, 1842.
Retrieved from:
http://f1.bcbits.com/img/a1685681063_10.jpg
Figure 06- The Labyrinth of Rotherhithe, Edem Makantasis,
2014
Retrieved from: http://www.magazindomov.ru/wpcontent/uploads/2012/09/Archway-Studios-11.jpg
Retrieved from:
http://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/blake-the-ghost-ofa-flea-n05889
50

Figure 09- A Suspicious Character, Illustrated London News,

October 13 1888
Retrieved from:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a1/Ja
cktheRipper1888.jpg
Retrieved from: http://hidden-highgate.org/wpcontent/uploads/2013/09/springheeled-jack.jpg

Retrieved from:
https://horrorpediadotcom.files.wordpress.com/2013/02/
jacktodd.jpg
Figure 12- Rain, Steam and Speed The Great Western
Railway, J.M.W. Turner, 1844
Retrieved from:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/96/T
urner_-_Rain,_Steam_and_Speed_-_National_Gallery_file.jpg
Retrieved from: http://1.bp.blogspot.com/3YUEhf7hQ6s/Up86ijlCnnI/AAAAAAAAEGQ/BNjdLKuRt7I/
s1600/Udolpho+-+the+ideal+beginning++from+1806+version+vol+3.jpg
Retrieved from:
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/56/J
ohn_Henry_Fuseli_-_The_Nightmare.JPG
Retrieved from: http://www.history-inpictures.co.uk/store/index.php?_a=viewProd&productId=8
471
51


Retrieved from: http://www.literarylondon.org/londonjournal/march2004/location.htm
Retrieved from: http://www.literarylondon.org/londonjournal/march2004/eastend.htm
Retrieved from: http://www.literarylondon.org/londonjournal/march2004/piccadilly.htm
Retrieved from:
http://www.independent.co.uk/incoming/article9089048.ece/bi
nary/original/black-death-ala.jpg
Figure 20- Gothic Literature and London map, Edem Makantasis,
2014
Figure 21- Crime Mapping in London, Edem Makantasis, 2014
Figure 22- Unite dmbiance in London, Edem Makantasis, 2014
Figure 23- Potential site for an Architectural intervention, Edem
Makantasis, 2014
52

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Architecture Culture and Identity

Reconnecting London to its Gothic literary

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