Dermatologic conditions as vehicles of horror in Gothic literature.

Popular culture has long used skin conditions to suggest a character's immorality, deviancy, or to give the reader terror. This is especially obvious in Gothic literature, which utilizes dark themes including supernaturalism. Some examples of famous characters from Gothic literature include Frankenstein's monster creation that has jaundiced skin, Dracula who has albinism, poliosis, and an obvious scar, and finally, Stanton in Melmoth the Wanderer, who has albinism. These skin conditions are reflections of the characters' inner selves and serve to underline that these characters exist outside the realm of normalcy.