The Creation of Gothic Atmosphere in Nosferatu

I think that being alone is a key part to the creation of Gothic atmosphere in Nosferatu, because through being alone the characters are vulnerable which therefore makes them more likely prey for Nosferatu. Also, the reason for it being a key part in Nosferatu is because there seems to be a lot of it; Nina is without Jonathon, and therefore alone because there is no-one to protect her (waawaa); Jonathon is alone when he has to go and stay with the Count; the ship is the only ship you see on the sea, therefore alone; the Captain of the ship is left alone with Nosferatu when the first mate jumps off the side of the boat, etc etc. This loneliness puts the audience on edge, because of the vulnerability of the character, and also because, especially when the captain of the ship is left 'alone', they are not alone. There is always some sort of threat, in the case of this film Nosferatu is the threat, and being alone makes you an easy target because it is harder to defend yourself. 

There are elements of the supernatural, just like the Gothic pictures we looked at; Nosferatu can turn himself invisible. This adds to the Gothic atmosphere because if he can turn himself invisible, you never know where he is going to be, or when he is going to pop up, which builds up tension.
  Something that would also be seen as supernatural is the psychic connections between people in the film. Nina and Jonathon appear to have a psychic connection, 'He is coming, I must go to meet him', and Renfield and the Count also appear to have a psychic connection, 'Master is dead.'

Rats help to add to the Gothic atmosphere because they are considered vermin and make people uncomfortable, and from the Gothic pictures we looked at I get the impression that they like to pick out what people fear, e.g. dark, ghosts, and so rats would have most likely caused fear because they carry disease and people just generally fear them as they aren't usually seen to be a good thing.