Gothic Criminology

This chapter principally focuses on the controversial figure of Cesare Lombroso (1835–1909), the founder of the Italian school of criminal anthropology and one of the most influential late nineteenth-century thinkers. Starting from the premise that the fin de siècle was distinguished by the interplay of scientific and Gothic discourses, the chapter explores why and how Lombroso’s criminology is deeply Gothic in its methods, applications and implications. Discussing the literary, visual and occult components of Lombroso’s multifarious and far-reaching work, the chapter seeks to show how Gothic narratives on the construction of deviance affected Lombroso’s criminological thinking and had a major, disturbing influence on the way in which Italians conceptualise the origins of evil.