Fear in H. G. Wells' "The Red Room" and the "Red-room Episode" in Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre

Both H. G. Wells and Charlotte Bronte draw upon the Gothic tradition to create an atmosphere of fear in their books, but this is handled in different ways although with some similarities. The Gothic tradition was believed to have started in 1764, however these novels were written outside the Gothic period, with Charlotte Bronte publishing her book in 1847, and H. G. Wells publishing his in 1896, over one hundred years later than the first Gothic novel.

H. G. Wells starts off his book with a conversation between the narrator who will then go on to ender the read room, and a group of pensioners who give him several warnings that he should not enter the red room due to its haunted nature. This conversation creates a sense of fear and tension as the reader is informed that the room the narrator is about to enter is indeed haunted and, due to the Gothic status of this book, the events which are soon to happen inside the red room are going to be daunting. Wells creates an atmosphere of fear by the description of the physical aspects of the room but also the shear darkness of the large ar...