Conclusion

Examination of The Turn of the Screw and The Innocents is importance to the field of visual culture, in that it provides insight into how the era of gothic writing and adaptation in the 19th century communicated sensitive social issues. This exhibition seeks to provide a greater understanding of how initial boundaries, limitations, and solutions of the original illustrated gothic work set the groundwork for contemporary narratives, and interplay of visual language between mediums.

By looking at the representation of horror from previous era and what was cultural frightening to audiences of the time, it allows us to understand what visual tropes and archetypes are still utilized today, where contemporary vocabulary developed from, and what thematic issues and cultural fears are imbued in them. Horror serves as a vehicle for exploring cultural anxieties and panic over corrupted social order and change. Understanding how visual tropes meant to examine topics of rape or sexual violence in a nuanced way may be misconstrued, distorted, or used for harm is vital to creating horror that is non-exploitative, especially in an era where audiences are inundated with and desensitized to graphic content.