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Scholar and author Rayne Hall has argued that instead of looking for archetypes, Gothic characters can instead be analyzed in terms of the roles they play in the plot, with the twist that the same character can combine several of these at once. She has identified at least 23 of these, as well as three non-character archetypes they often related to: the Gloomy House (which often serves as the main setting, with one cast member serving as its Master), the Guilty Secret (which drives the mystery subplot, with at least one of the cast serving as its Keeper), and the Family Fortune (which is often the ultimate worldly prize, with one or more of the cast as its Claimants). In alphabetic order, Hall's 23 archetypal roles are:

1. The Abusive Guardian is defined in relation to their Ward, who for one reason or another is unfit to receive the Family Fortune, so the Guardian administers it for them, while secretly planning to take it for themselves, either through murder or by marrying the Ward themselves or to their own child. If the Ward is a Helpless Child or otherwise a minor, the Guardian can be a hired tutor or an actual legal guardian. If the Ward is a Sickly Invalid or an Mentally Deranged Person, the Guardian will use it as a pretext to further isolate them. Examples: Montoni, Heathcliff, Count Fosco.
2. The Ally Outside is defined in relation to a Newly Arrived Outsider and the Gloomy House: specifically, they are a caring person (colleague, sibling, friend, godparent) who nonetheless cannot join the Outsider, instead providing encouragement, advice, or warning from afar.
3. The Bigamist is defined in relation to their existing Spouse and to a Pursued character, whom they seek to wed despite already being married, either out of lust or for the latter's Family Fortune. To this end, they can deny or hide their Spouse (often in an underground chamber or the attic of the Gloomy House), seek to divorce them, if only on paper (often with the help of a Corrupt Priest), or to outright poison them (with the help of a Corrupt Doctor). Alternatively, they can already be widowed, but their Spouse still haunts them or their Pursued as a Ghost. Examples: Manfred, Edward Rochester, Percival Glyde.
4. The Blinkered Professional is defined in relation to some Task which they must fulfill in the plot, before completely withdrawing themselves from the surrounding conflict. Often a doctor or a lawyer.
5. The Captive is defined in relation to their Captor, who keeps them constrained, such as a Greedy Villain or an Obsessed Scientist. The reasons they are locked up (often underground, in an attic, or at a monastery) range from knowing the Guilty Secret to generally having an inconvenient existence (such as being a stronger Claimant to the Family Fortune). Examples: Laura Fairlie, Bertha Mason, Edmond Dantès.
6. The Corrupt Doctor is defined in relation to their Patient, whose illness they seek to exacerbate despite belonging to a healing profession (doctor, nurse, therapist, etc.), because because they are in cahoots with another villain, to silence the victim, or to claim their Family Fortune for themselves. The Patient is often a Sickly Invalid, a Mentally Deranged Person, a Helpless Child, or an Old Eccentric living in the Gloomy House.
7. The Corrupt Priest is defined in relation to their Flock, who put their trust in them as a religious professional (priest, monk/nun, shaman, spiritual leader, etc.), which they then abuse for personal gain. A corrupt Catholic priest will break the seal of the Confessional, a monk will still from charity, and a cult leader will outright incite their followers to commit crimes. Examples: Mother St. Agatha, Father Schedoni, Claude Frollo.
8. The Dog is a non-human (specifically canine) character defined by its loyalty to its human Owner. It can serve as a Loyal Retainer to the Master of the Gloomy House, a treasured pet of the Newly Arrived Outsider, or an Obsessed Scientist's test subject. Alternatively, it can be a monster or even a Ghost. Either way, a Dog is usually good at sniffing things out, up to and including the Guilty Secret itself. Examples: The Hound of the Baskervilles.
9. The Evil Charmer is defined by their demonic charm, likeability, and apparent trustworthiness. They seek to be liked and/or loved by everyone, usually to abuse their trust for personal gain or just to seduce the opposite sex and to ruin them for pleasure. The Evil Charmer is often also the Master of the Gloomy House, a Bigamist, a Semi-Outsider, or a Loyal Retainer. Examples: Montoni, Lord Ruthven, Carmilla.
10. The Ghost is a literal Posthumous Character who haunts the living or the Gloomy House as an apparition. Most commonly, they are the victim or the perpetrator of a murder, a bigamy, or deceit over the Family Fortune and seek revenge, justice, or atonement. Alternatively, they are the Keeper of the Guilty Secret and want to see an old wrong righted. If haunting the Gloomy House, they can be bound to a specific room in it, such as an attic or a picture gallery. Examples: Alfonso, Arthur Lovel, Catherine Earnshaw-Linton.
11. The Greedy Villain is defined by their desire to possess something (usually the Family Fortune, which may or may not include the Gloomy House itself) or someone. They are often cruel and abuse their power, but may have some redeeming qualities, especially if motivated by a past injustice or revenge. An Obsessed Scientist may seek to use their invention to reclaim their riches, while an Evil Charmer will manipulate the heir(ess) into falling in love with them, then steal their fortune, while convince everyone of their innocence. Examples: Montoni, Heathcliff, Dracula.
12. The Helpless Child is defined by their young age (they are legally a minor), innocence, and powerlessness. They are often the Ward of an Abusive Guardian, and while they typically exemplify angelic innocence, a common subversion is to make them a Creepy Child or outright possessed by evil. Either way, the Helpless Child is often also a Sickly Invalid or a True Heir. Examples: Antonia, Adèle Varens, Catherine Heathcliff.
13. The Inside Confidant is defined in relation to a Newly Arrived Outsider and the Gloomy House: specifically, they are a servant or the Outsider's colleague at the Gloomy House, whom the Outsider comes to trust and to confide in. Nevertheless, they are usually too afraid or brainwashed to reveal anything of significance to the Outsider, and may eventually betray them to the Master.
14. The Love Interest is defined in relation to the main viewpoint character and facilitates the Romance Arc.
15. The Loyal Retainer is defined in relation to their Lord, who is also often the Master of the Gloomy House — but not necessarily, as a common Twist Ending is them having been loyal to a different Lord all along. The Retainer can be a housekeeper, a butler, a secretary, a lady's maid, perhaps even from a multi-generational Legacy of Service, and they are the most likely candidate to be a Keeper of the Guilty Secret.
16. The Mentally Deranged Person is defined by their madness or, at least, mental instability, be it paranoia, hysteria, PTSD, extreme grief, the sad result of many generations of inbreeding, etc. They may be living in the Gloomy House in voluntary isolation to heal, or kept their against their will by embarrassed relatives, or even as the Obsessed Scientist's test subject. A common twist is to have them been sane all along, but either manipulated by a Greedy Villain or a Corrupt Doctor, or haunted by the Ghost.
17. The Naive Bride is defined by their love for the Master of the Gloomy House, where they move in early on. They are usually shy, inexperienced, poor, socially inept, and lacking in a social security net, and unfortunately for them, the Master often turns out to be a Greedy Villain, an Evil Charmer, an Obsessed Scientist, or a Mentally Deranged Person, so they often end up as a Captive or even Mentally Deranged themselves before long. Examples: Bluebeard's nameless wife, Immalee, Esmeralda,
18. The Newly Arrived Outsider is defined by their relationship to the Gloomy House and to the rest of the cast, namely, by their lack of preexisting connections to them. Thanks to this outside perspective, they often serve as the main viewpoint character and are commonly also a Naive Bride and/or a True Heir. Examples: Emily St. Aubert, Jane Eyre, Jonathan Harker.
19. The Obsessed Scientist is defined by their relation to a weird technology or science and to the Test Subject they experiment upon. They can be a scientist, an alchemist, or an inventor, whether amateur or professional, and their research can range from benign to diabolical. Their Test Subject can be a Captive, a Helpless Child, or a Mentally Deranged Person, although sometimes their research is in service of curing a Sickly Invalid. If it takes a toll of the Scientist's own health, they can be a Sickly Invalid or Mentally Deranged themselves. Examples: Dr. Victor Frankenstein, Dr. Henry Jekyll.
20. The Old Eccentric is defined by their advanced age and relation to the Family Fortune. If present in the story (even posthumously, including as a Ghost), a lot of drama often surrounds their Lost Will and Testament, while in life, their eccentricity can often reach the Mentally Deranged Person level.
21. The Semi-Outsider is defined by their relation to the Gloomy House to the family occupying it: specifically, they have a connection to the latter but aren't part of it and don't live in the former (e.g. a distant cousin who visits often). Their loyalties are commonly murky, and they often turn out to be a Love Interest and/or the True Heir.
22. The Sickly Invalid is defined by their severe illness and their reliance on the Caretaker, who is commonly a Corrupt Doctor or an Abusive Guardian. Whether they treat their Caretaker with patience or cranky demands, they need constant care and hence rarely leave the Gloomy House. The Sickly Invalid is often also a Helpless Child, an Old Eccentric, a Naive Bride, a True Heir, a Captive, or a Mentally Deranged Person.
23. The True Heir is defined by their relation to the Family Fortune or to the Gloomy House: specifically, their claim on these trumps every other Claimant's, once the circumstances and criminal conspiracies to defraud them of it are cleared up. The identity of the True Heir is rarely known from the start (unless they are a Helpless Child), so the fact that they have been the Semi-Outsider, the Loyal Retainer, the Love Interest, or even the Newly Arrived Outsider all along is usually save for the Twist Ending. Examples: Theodore, Edmund Twyford, Catherine Heathcliff.

Hall admits that the above list is non-exhaustive. For example, we could add The Grotesque: a character defined by their deformity that leads to social ostracism and alienation (example: Frankenstein's Creature, Quasimodo, Erik the Phantom). Nevertheless, it is easy to see how Hall's roles combine to produce the most recognizable Gothic archetypes: the Tyrant is the Master of the Gloomy House who is also a Greedy Villain, an Evil Charmer, and often a Bigamist; the Maiden is commonly a Newly Arrived Outsider, a Naive Bride, and a Captive; while the Hero is often a Semi-Outsider, a Love Interest, and the True Heir.