This paper explores motives for visiting a 'lightest' dark (heritage) tourism attraction. Semistructured interviews were undertaken with 24 visitors to the London Dungeon. Few visitors reported an interest in death, suffering or the macabre as important in their decision to visit, a finding which accords with research at a range of other types of 'darker' places. Instead, most people visited from general or incidental reasons that were unrelated to the attraction's theme. However, while few visitors stated that an interest in learning was important in their reason for visiting, many reported that an element of informal education and discovery was an important part of the visit experience. As such, 'lighter' dark tourism is about more than entertainment and the London Dungeon offers opportunities for visitors to engage with the themes and stories in a deeper way. Overall, these findings suggest that lightest dark tourism has more in common with heritage tourism than at first appears.

Purpose This paper aims to investigate the visitor experience at a “lightest” dark tourism attraction, focusing on issues of thanatopsis and mortality mediation. Design/methodology/approach Data were collected through semi-structured interviews with 24 visitors to a “Dungeon”-style attraction in the UK (a site of “lightest” dark tourism). The interviews were analysed using thematic analysis; four themes were identified. Findings Reflection on, and contemplation of, issues of life and death was a common (but not universal) component of the visitor experience. Four forms of such reflection were apparent: considering absent/present death; thanatopsis (reflection on the self’s inevitable mortality); reflecting on the nature of death and dying in the past; and enjoyment of the opportunity to engage with death without fear in the safe setting of a visitor attraction. Some visitors also reflected on issues of individual and collective morality, in both past and present. Research limitations/implications “Lightest” dark tourism is not necessarily about shallow experiences. Instead, many visitors are active agents, engaged in acts of making meaning about issues of death and life. This calls for a more sophisticated conceptualisation of such visitors. Originality/value The mortality mediation model is widely accepted as a way of explaining the experience of visiting places of death but has rarely been subject to empirical scrutiny. This is one of few studies to explore in detail issues of mortality mediation and thanatopsis in the context of “lightest” dark tourism.

Purpose The concept of “Gothic tourism” has recently been proposed within the discipline of English Literature. Such tourism is claimed to be a distinct form of special interest tourism grounded in familiarity with the Gothic, distinctive aesthetics, and experiences of frights and scares. It is increasingly common in towns and cities around the world. This paper aims to examine and critique the concept of Gothic tourism, and consider its similarities with existing forms of urban tourism. Design/methodology/approach This is a conceptual paper and no empirical data are presented. Findings Gothic tourism is not as clearly differentiated from other forms of tourism as has been claimed. In particular, Gothic tourism can be conceptualised as a particular form of “lighter” dark tourism, but it can also be considered as a form of literary tourism. A conceptual model is presented which places Gothic tourism at the nexus of dark and literary tourism. Research limitations/implications This study is a conceptual exploration of Gothic tourism. Further empirical research is required to test the ideas presented in this paper at established Gothic tourism attractions. Originality/value This study examines the recently proposed (but little-researched) concept of Gothic tourism and considers its relationships with other forms of special interest tourism. It also illustrates the broader issue of how typologies of special interest tourism do not necessarily correspond with the motives and experiences of tourists themselves, or of the providers of tourist experiences.