Although Gothic literature has not typically been regarded as part of the literary mainstream, it has endured continuously from its formal emergence in 1764 to the present day. Indeed, this tradition can be traced in various cultural and artistic forms—encompassing architecture, music, poetry, and literature—dating back to antiquity. Because the genre aims to evoke fear and horror, Gothic works incorporate many motifs, including ominous castles, hidden mysteries, ghosts, demons, phobias, and psychological disorders such as schizophrenia. Besides, death is a universal source of grief that transcends individual character traits. While it can sometimes be met with stoicism, it often leaves deep agony in the mourners. Over time, the agony can become traumatic for the bereaved or can precipitate the resurfacing of long-repressed traumas that began in childhood or adolescence. For this reason, death is a recurring theme in Gothic literature.

Michael Wehunt’s short story, A Discreet Music (2015), foregrounds a widower grappling with profound mourning in the aftermath of his wife’s death. As he becomes increasingly aware of personal changes invisible to others, he experiences a renewed appetite for his former desires, coupled with a destabilizing confusion over his sense of self. The hallucinations that follow his wife’s passing serve as manifestations of the suppressed “demons” he harbours within.

In this study, the narrative of Hiram, the protagonist of A Discreet Music, is examined from a Gothic perspective through Edmund Burke’s conceptual frameworks of the sublime and terror. Additionally, the analysis of Hiram’s character is drawn upon Sigmund Freud’s notions of the Uncanny and the Id. At the same time, Descartes’ evil demon hypothesis and Nietzsche’s theory of weak morality serve as supplementary methodological frameworks.