I do not feel qualified to answer in full because I write a variant of
Gothic Romance that does not have vampires, monsters or other imaginary entities. These were present in early
Gothic Romance such as
Frankenstein, Dracula, The Castle of Otranto, The Mysteries of Udolpho etc.
But the genre I enjoy writing includes romance set against a dark background with power struggles, murders, suspense, mysteries and locations. (Rainy nights with castles in forests etc.)
For brief example (a short story) read here:
http://gothic.net/boards/showthread.php?t=4508
The above example contains my only attempt at including ghosts in my writing. Enjoy!