The gloom is a product of two components: the fungus that grows underneath High Place and the mind of Agnes (Howard’s first wife, whom he murdered for this purpose). It’s a network of fungus that preserves the memories and thoughts of the people who bind with the fungus. This is how Howard is able to remain immortal: before his death, he essentially uploads his consciousness to the gloom, then downloads it to a new body after he dies. People are able to interact with the gloom while they sleep, even venturing into the thoughts and memories of people who have long since passed away. This is how Noemí is able to meet with Ruth, and how Howard can show Noemí visions from hundreds of years ago.
The Gloom Quotes in Mexican Gothic
The Mexican Gothic quotes below are all either spoken by The Gloom or refer to The Gloom. For each quote, you can also see the other terms and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
).
Chapter 20
Quotes
Et Verbum caro factum est.
She knew what she had not properly seen in her previous dreams, and she did not wish to see now, but there it was. The knife and the child. Noemí closed her eyes, but even behind her eyelids she saw it all, crimson and black and the child torn apart and they were eating him.
Related Characters:
Page Number and Citation:
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 21
Quotes
Noemí clacked her teeth together in fear and thought to cry too, but then she recalled the words, the mantra.
“Open your eyes,” Noemí said.
And Noemí did. She opened her eyes, and the room was dark.
Get the entire Mexican Gothic LitChart as a printable PDF.
The Gloom Term Timeline in Mexican Gothic
The timeline below shows where the term The Gloom appears in Mexican Gothic. The colored dots and icons indicate which themes are associated with that appearance.
Chapter 20
...like flies caught in the web. The Doyles call this repository of ancestral memories “ the gloom .” Noemí chuckles. She was right—this house is haunted, and Catalina is not crazy.
(full context)
...many lives; when he approaches the end of one life, he transfers his consciousness to the gloom . Then, because of the gloom, he can live again in the body of one...
(full context)
...to the fungus was dangerous for the miners, and Howard would use his power over the gloom to keep them from getting sick.
(full context)
The idea was that Richard and Florence would have more children—more girls. But the gloom affected him. He wanted to leave but couldn’t. So he threw himself down a ravine....
(full context)
...would erupt from her body and weave its way into the foundations of the building. The gloom needs a mind, and Howard is no fool who’s willing to offer himself in sacrifice....
(full context)
Chapter 22
...Francis that she doesn’t feel like herself when she’s around Virgil. She doesn’t understand how the gloom works, but the house can induce you to do certain things, right? She trails off,...
(full context)
...his father that he keeps in his jacket pocket. She asks if Richard knew about the gloom . Francis tells her no, not before he came to High Place. By the time...
(full context)
Chapter 23
That night, Noemí tries to enter the gloom on her own for the first time. She lies down to sleep and continuously thinks...
(full context)
Chapter 25
...Francis to approach the bed, and Noemí knows that Howard is exerting the power of the gloom on him and that Francis will not be able to resist. She realizes that Ruth...
(full context)
Chapter 26
...means ingesting the fungus; it makes the family stronger and binds them more closely to the gloom and to Howard.
(full context)
...that could serve as a vessel for memories. Howard could then control that mind, and the gloom . So he offered up his wife. What had once been Agnes became the gloom....
(full context)
...why he needed Noemí to do it. And she did not disappoint. Now Virgil controls the gloom . When Howard dies, he’ll be gone for good—no new body this time.
(full context)
...But he explains that they’re standing in the heart of the house, the place where the gloom is most powerful. He’s in control now, and he’s going to make them all do...
(full context)
...Everything they do here is wrong. Virgil replies that when he has absolute control over the gloom , he’ll need an ally. They can even share the women. Francis picks up the...
(full context)
...her body, and she runs over to the body of Agnes. It strikes her that the gloom surrounding them is actually the manifestation of all the suffering inflicted upon Agnes. The sliver...
(full context)
