Gothic Tastes discussion

This topic might be a bit stronger than those that are usually posted in this group, but it's certainly relevant for fans of Gothic stories.

How do you guys feel about Satanic/demonic/occult themes in your Gothic horror books? I'm not talking about conflicted stufmuffin demons that fall in love with angels or mortals or sharp-tongued Devils that prance around in Victorian-era suits... I'm talking about straight from the pits of Hell, blacker-than-black classic Biblical Satanism. Like The Exorcist or Dracula, for example. Books where the horrific Satanic themes are clearly evil, and the real suspense comes in finding out whether the light is strong enough to overcome the darkness.

Is this kind of evil too obvious and heavy-handed, or does it make for ultra-dramatic plots and bone-chilling baddies?

Is Dracula satanic? xD I guess back in those days everything that wasn't normal (in addition to masturbation and being gay) was the work of the devil, but..
I'm no satanist and don't really care if people are cause that's their belief and everyone has a right to believe in what they like (obviously, lol), so I don't really mind. Besides, if it's like that in Dracula, that's totally okay, cause Dracula is one of my favorite books!

I don't really mind reading books that have demon/occult themes.