The Gothic - Interplay between Realism and Fantasy The purpose of the imagination, I believe, is to offer us solace and shelter from situations and life passages which would otherwise prove unendurable. The imagination which so often kept me awake and in terror as a child has seen me through some terrible bouts of stark raving reality as an adult. ( Stephen King Nightmares and Dreamscapes : 8 ) This quote from one of America's leading writers' highlights one of the most important reasons for the use of fantasy in gothic fiction. Fantasy cannot only create terror but c