The article is devoted to the insufficiently studied problem of using intermedial analysis for studying the Gothic tradition in the literature of Russian symbolism (on the example of V. Brusov’s and F. Sologub’s works). We focus our attention on transition a visual image or a medieval art motive from one sign system to another. We analyze how medieval cultural categories correspond to the chronotope and figurative system in the Gothic novels of the 18th – early 19th century. It is concluded that the Symbolists refer to the visual images of the Gothic novel not only as elements of tradition, but also as categories of the culture of the Middle Ages. Key words: gothic tradition, gothic novel, visual images of space, intermedial analysis.