Presents the first study of the recurrent role of Catholicism in a Gothic tradition that is essential to the literature of the United States. In this tradition, Catholicism is depicted as threatening to break down borders separating American citizens - or some representative American - from a larger world beyond.

O'Gorman presents a study of the role of Catholicism in American Gothic literature, exploring its influence as a religion without a country and its ability to permeate borders and American traditions.