In The Ashgate Encyclopedia of Literary and Cinematic Monsters (Routledge, New York, 2016), edited by Jeffrey Andrew Weinstock, the novel Fantoma din moară (The Ghost in the Mill) is analyzed as a form of neo-Gothic, characteristic of late Eastern European postmodernism. Cited in two entries—see page 550 of this major international reference work—the novel is placed within a comparative framework alongside The Carpenter’s Pencil by Manuel Rivas, underscoring its relevance within a transnational genealogy of narratives centered on symbolic monstrous figures.
In Weinstock’s reading, Fantoma din moară occupies the intersection between post-communist memory and the Gothic imaginary, revealing a complex narrative architecture with baroque accents and an intensified aesthetic effect—defining traits of the neo-Gothic mode. Here, monstrosity does not appear as a supernatural anomaly, but as a structural response to the violence and psychological pressures of communist totalitarianism.
The ghost is not a singular presence but a multi-faceted one, reflecting the varied forms of oppression embedded in everyday normality. A single character, generically named Max, undergoes gradual metamorphoses within ordinary reality. His multiple transformations illustrate how the Gothic is reactivated within a clearly defined historical context, where trauma generates monstrous doubles rather than external terrors.
This critical classification confirms that Fantoma din moară belongs to a broader genealogy of modern Gothic fiction, in which Eastern European literature contributes distinctive forms rooted in history, memory, and narrative complexity.
