Cornwall is the hidden heart of the Gothic. Gothic Kernow: Cornwall as Strange Fiction focuses on written and visual culture that is made in, or made about, Cornwall. We argue that Cornwall (known as ‘Kernow’ in the Cornish language) has a special relationship with Gothic, that has been largely overlooked in the literature on regional Gothic. We argue that Cornwall has been present as a force since the inception of the Gothic as a mode and that it is also central to the more recently identified Folk Horror genre. This kinship with both the Gothic and Folk Horror has been produced and reinforced through a rich culture of myth and magic that has been quickened by the region's geographical location and landscape.

Cornwall is saturated in mythology and folklore. From the deep-sea monster Morgawr, who is said to be sighted sometimes off Falmouth Bay, to the Cornish little people, the Knockers who dwell in the deep mines. From the Cornish cunning folk to witches to the Cornish pellars, and the ghosts, faeries, and piskies who inhabit the rugged and isolated landscapes, Cornwall is steeped in magic, mystery, and lore and has always provided a space for the Gothic. Cornwall is no stranger to darkness and loss. The last native language speaker of Cornish, Dolly Pentreath was lost as early as 1777 and the ‘Great Migration’ of the 1850s saw nearly a third of Cornwall's population move away from Cornwall as the mining and fishing industries declined. And it is from these times of loss and decay that both the Romantic and the Gothic find their creative expressions. This period of decline for Cornwall coincided with the mid to late Victorian folklore revival and there was a resurrection of the Cornish association with myths, legends, and lore. Alfred Tennyson's very popular cycle of poems, Idylls of the King, began in 1859 (concluding in 1885) and cemented the Arthurian legends to the (now) ruined castle of Tintagel. As a part of the folklore revival, two prominent Cornish nineteenth folklorists began collecting tales (sometimes known as drolls when associated with Cornwall), William Bottrell (1816–1881) and Robert Hunt (1807–1887).