and seats himself in the darkened hallway just off the entryway as the woman , her back to him , finishes up an art project . She turns to greet her husband and finds herself facing a strange man wearing black-framed glasses . When she gasps , “ Who are you ?” the intruder brings out a large knife and slowly stands . The rest is left to the imagination of the viewer , who later learns that this monster has cannibalized his victim .
Gothic Horror and the Demonic
Setting is a vital element in Gothic horror , but the ingredient that most effectively evokes a sense of dread is the presence of the demonic . According to E . J . Clery , the author who includes the supernatural in his or her narrative intends “ to leave the reader in the most horrible reality ” ( 157 ) and to awaken , in turn , “ an indiscriminate paranoia ” ( 164 ) that has been inspired by actual events beyond the script and that has kept the Western world on edge .
In Luther , Cross uses allusion to imply the presence of the demonic . For instance , in the novel , the killer Henry Madsen identifies himself during a London talk-radio show as “ Pete Black ,” a common-enough sounding name , but one that represents a violent , even demonic identity that has replaced the real one that was erased early in Madsen ’ s life , likely by severe parental abuse . In a station scene midway through the novel , Luther ’ s partner Howe provides an explanation for Madsen ’ s pseudonym , adding that the name is simply a reversal of “ Black Pete ”:
“ In the Netherlands , ‘ Zwarte Piet ,’ meaning Black Pete , is a servant of Sinterklaas . He delivers presents on the fifth of December and …. He takes naughty kids away in the empty bags …. in some stories , the Zwarte Piets themselves were kidnapped as kids , and the kidnapped kids make up the next generation of Zwarte Piets .” ( 133 )
Howe ’ s further explanation makes it clear that “ Black Pete ” is a demonic archetype : “ There ’ s El Hombre de la Bosa , meaning the Sack Man . In Armenia and Georgia it ’ s the Bag Man . In Bulgaria , it ’ s Torbalan . In Hungary , it ’ s zakos ember [ sic ], ‘ the person with the sac ’” ( 133 ). Again , in the third episode of season one , artist and writer Lucien Burgess identifies with the infamous Aleistair Crowley . Crowley ’ s history reveals that he vowed early in life to commit every transgression mentioned in the Bible , later made a study of the “ dark arts ” to satisfy his enormous sexual appetite , and finally took upon himself the name of the Beast of Revelation as well as the number 666 . A self-appointed disciple of Crowley , Lucien — possibly a variation upon Lucifer — gains entrance into the house of a young woman by claiming to be a policeman . Once
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