Personal response to the story of Getting Rid of George Robert Arthur, Getting Rid of George is a good Gothic story due to its various examples of required Gothic elements. These requirements include atmosphere, psychological mood, mystery, romance, and melodrama. All these elements combined make this story a good example of Gothic. To start, the setting, at one point, takes place in a dark and secluded cabin in the mountains. Evidence of this is found when Harry describes, “It's absolutely deserted up there at this time of year.” Additionally, George's disappearance to everyone except Laura and Harry adds to the dark atmosphere. Adding to the darkness and terror of the story is once again the physical exploitation of cruelty shown by Laura when she repeatedly beats George with a figurine until he lies dead on the floor. The mental exploitation of cruelty is also evident when George returns from the dead and blackmails and once again attempts to ruin Laura's newfound life. We found clear examples of an atmosphere of sadness and terror throughout this story, proving that Getting Rid of George is a well-written gothic story. Along with a dark and terrifying atmosphere, Arthur uses the element of aberrant psychological moods to add to his gothic story. An example of irrational behavior is shown when Laura becomes angry and spontaneously kills George. We also thought that when Laura suffers a faint it is also an example of this psychological state of mind. Evidence of this is found when Arthur writes, “Harry held Laura until the nausea within her subsided.” Finally, hallucinations were also prevalent in the story. We thought a good example was when Harry and Laura were taking George into the cabin to dispose of his body, Laura states that George's dead eye slowly opened and he winked at her knowingly. Elements of mystery were also used in this story. Many things were hidden or unknown. Some examples are when George entered Laura's dressing room disguised as a journalist. His true identity, to Laura, was unknown. The fact that Laura killed George and that Harry is planning to help her has also been kept from anyone. We also found obvious secrecy and darkness in the story. Laura's past was kept secret as it would most likely harm her new acting career.