Gothic Novel, as a literary genre, combines elements of both horror and romance. These novels, in rebelling against the increasing commercialism and rationalism, show the dark, irrational side of human nature. They are mysteries, often involving the supernatural and heavily tinged with horror, and they are usually against dark backgrounds of medieval ruins and haunted castles. The originator of English Gothic novel is Horace Walpole, and his Castle of Otranto: A Gothic Story is the first work of the kind.