Gothic Horror and Haunting Processes in Jonathan Coe’s Number 11
Résumé
The aim of this paper is to examine the impact of a number of comic-Gothic-horror movies and other named films on both the narrative structure, aesthetics and generic configuration of Jonathan Coe’s Number 11 and its representation of the social and political context. This state-of-the-nation novel, made up of a series of five interlinked novellas is structurally inspired by the archetypal British portmanteau horror film, Dead of Night. It not only adopts a form of postmodernist fragmentation but also evokes several horror B-movies, thus confirming Coe’s attachment to popular culture and obliquely reflecting upon the terrifying and haunted times we live in. In one of the stories, a character is haunted by the memory of a lost film, generating insatiable nostalgia and a longing for a comforting past untainted by the greed and horror of 21st-century British society. This paper will draw on the filmic references interspersed in Number 11 to demonstrate how they weave together the threads of the various narratives and illuminate some of the main themes.