Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
Recommended: Basic ghost stories
Ghost Stories
Ghost stories revolve around lots of Spooky tales that work on
displacing the reader's fear. Some of the main techniques which make
them successful involve: Fear, Drama, Danger and Suspense. However,
the main idea is that they create tension too. Such stories which use
tension to dramatic affect are "The Red Room" by H.G. Wells and
"Farthing House" by Susan Hill; both are written in first person
narrative to allow the reader to get scared along with the main
character. Both stories also build tension through their Style,
Setting, Structure and Language.
"The Red Room" is about a ghost hunter who is a legendary ghost,
"Farthing House" is about a woman who stays with her aunt at a
residential house and feels and sees a woman's supernatural presence
in her room - both tales have a dramatic twist at the end!
Tension is created through "The Red Room's" setting in many ways -
Firstly: "I can assure you, said that it will take a very tangible
ghost to frighten me". This dramatic opening to the story sets the
ghost hunter as a Brave, Strong character. The word 'tangible'
suggests it will take more than a scary image to frighten him, yet
tension is caused because the reader now expects that something will
be frightening him - soon.
H.G. Wells builds on this subtle tension and the supposed 'invincible
man' by setting his story to contradict and unease the man's
assurances, not only is he in a strange house with a legendary red
room (building immediate suspicion by the fact that the room is
renowned, "You will show me to this haunted room of yours,") but Wells
surrounds him with grotesque characters too.
The three custodians set the story by introducing the reader to the
Red Room and through their crusty appearance. "If is your own
choosing, said the man with the withered arm and glanced at me
askance" only four lines into the story and the main character, along
with the reader already senses that all is not well, mainly because
the man is deformed - "withered" and because he is acting oddly i.e.;
"looking askance". This action suggests the custodian knows something
we don't, he appears too shifty.
Wells continues to build tension through introducing the second man
who also adds to the scene: "shambling step", "more bent, more
wrinkled, more aged", "his lower lip half averted, hung pale and pink
from his decaying yellow teeth", "began to cough". The verb
'shambling' suggests the man may have a limp and the repetition of the
word 'more' portrays a disgusting image of the ageing wreck, barely
human. The man's manky description backs this up and encourages the
In comparison The Red Room was written only thirty years later in 1894 by HG Wells although it feels more timeless. At that time technology had improved intensely, nevertheless Wells still imitated the old fashion gothic literature style writing, which is ironic, due to the time. Both stories have managed to engage its audience by creating suspense and tension. Besides that both stories have been written in first person, this in sequence makes it sinister, in a way because we get to know the narrator’s impressions and feelings. The authors of both stories have selected discomforting places in which to set their story, they are made more eerie because that in the 19th century time many people believed in ghosts and the supernatural.
Every story, every book, every legend, every belief and every poem have a reason and a background that creates them. Some might be based on historical events, some might be based on every culture´s beliefs, and some others might be based on personal experiences of the authors. When a person writes a literary piece, that person is looking for a way to express her opinion or her feelings about a certain situation. A good example is the poem “Southern Mansion” by Arna Bonptems. The main intention of “Southern Mansion” could have been to complain, or to stand against the discrimination and exploitation of black people throughout history. However, as one starts to read, to avoid thinking about unnatural beings wandering around the scene that is depicted is impossible. The poem “Southern Mansion” represents a vivid image of a typical ghost story which includes the traditional element of the haunted house. This image is recreated by the two prominent and contradictory elements constantly presented through the poem: sound and silence. The elements are used in two leading ways, each one separate to represent sound or silence, and together to represent sound and silence at the same time. The poem mixes the two elements in order to create the spooky environment.
Comparing The Signalman and The Red Room These stories written pre-1900 at a time when one would have feared the unknown and hadn’t benefited from travel, TV, and an education that we have today. These stories have typical features of the 19th century ghost stories such as a castle, candles at night, an uninviting setting, a lonely man and so on. The supernatural means something that is beyond our control and therefore, as humans, we fear what we don’t understand, in both stories the writers show how this fear affects people lives. The Signalman is set outside near a railway line whereas The Red Room is set inside a castle largely in one room.
The Signalman and the Red Room are well known examples of nineteenth century ghost stories. Write a critical comparison of these two stories. A critical comparison of "The Signalman" and "the Red Room" which are well known examples of nineteenth century ghost stories The Signalman" and "the Red Room" are well known examples of nineteenth century ghost stories. Write a critical comparison of these two stories. "The Signalman" by Charles Dickens and "The Red Room" by H.G.Wells are both well known examples of pre-twentieth century ghost stories and are based on the supernatural.
How Tension and Suspense Is Built Up In The Red Room There are many different ways in which HG Wells builds up tension and. suspense in The Red Room. One way in which he does this is through the use of language in the process. One of the main effective uses of language in The Red Room is the use of personification; "made the shadows cower" and quiver. The shadow embeds fear into the reader, as they wonder if the shadow is alive, which creates tension as the reader wonders what.
Everyone is scared of something, whether it be heights, clowns, or fear itself. Some people loathe being scared, while others relish the experience. Those who enjoy horror tend to seek it out through many sources, including movies and books. There exists a certain kind of book that is designed to strike fear into its readers, to keep them up at night. These books are known as horror stories. Many great writers in history have found their muse in the horror genre, one of them being Edgar Allan Poe. In his short life, Poe wrote many poems and short stories which are recognized as being some of the greatest horror stories of all time. For example, “The Raven,” “The Tell-Tale Heart,” and “The Pit and the Pendulum”
“Decaying” and “yellow teeth” are both phrases which implies a huge contrast between the man and the old people. The man is young and confident about going to the red room and he is also un-believing in ghost. The old people are awkward to one anther and towards the man,”with their gaunt silences”, “evident unfriendliness”. He will fear these old people and if the narrator feels uneasy so will the reader. The repetition of warnings is another factor that creates suspense.
How does the writer create tension and suspense in The Red Room? The writer is able to create tension and suspense through various ways in the short story ‘The Red Room’. The opening sentence in the story immediately mentions the supernatural, which immediately tells us that this is a gothic story. The first sentence is dialogue, but we do not know who is speaking.
The Nelly Butler hauntings is referred to as the first recorded ghost story in American history (LiBrizzi 5), and possibly the most exciting hauntings to date as there are still many unsolved mysteries. The apparition appeared on more than 30 separate occasions to over 100 witnesses in Sullivan, Maine, just over fifteen years after the American Revolution (5-6). Although the Nelly Butler apparition is one of the most convincing ghosts of all time, it was subject to suspicions of fraud. These claims turn out to be groundless as the evidence reveals the ghost to be genuine.
From the perspective of a ghost story, the narrator makes references to some “creepy” ideas early in the story, noting her first impression of the house is, “it is haunted” (Gilman 746). Beyond the aesthetics of the house, we see a level of fear overcoming the narrator in: “there is something strange about this house-I can feel it” (Gilman). What about the house makes it appear and feel haunted? Not the aesthetics of the home, but what’s inside…..inside the wallpaper. Almost immediately we see the issues...
...out of all of the stories was “Redroom” and the one that I liked least was “Treasure in the Forest.” I liked “Redroom” because it has all of the features of a ghost story, it has a number of believable characters some of whom are exaggerated to make them seem more horrible than they really are. I particularly enjoyed the air of mystery created by the title and the words Wells uses “walked down the chilly, echoing passage.” To give a feeling of temperature and of the sounds being heard by the character. I liked “Treasure in the Forest” the least because of the way that Evans betrays Hooker even though he’s about to die.
a dull grey colour as if it had lost the will to live and stopped
The story unfolds in a rickety colonial mansion described by the narrator plainly as “a haunted house” (Gilman 1) with barred windows and rings bolted to the walls (Gilman 2). These features along with the “horrid” (Gilman 6) yellow wallpaper entrap the narrator and swaddle her in her own madness. As the “woman” (Gilman 6) in the wallpaper takes hold of the narrator’s psyche she grows sinisterly corporal, depicted through the unintelligible sporadic entries. The purpose of the narrator’s journal warps from entries assuring herself of the pettiness of her sickness to entries that confirm and act as horrendous safe haven’s for her unhinged mental condition. Entries like “I see her in that long shaded lane, creeping up and down. I see her in hose dark grape 'arbors, creeping all around the garden” (Gilman 8) juxtapose nonchalant writing style with dark subject matter in a way that creates a disturbing tone that must be uncomfortably ingested by
Life is a series of frequent changes. At some point in life one will be tossed into circumstances that urges one to make decisive life choices and adjust particular behavior for the aim of becoming a better form of oneself. Despite one’s recognition that modifications have to be done, the process of changing is difficult. Thus, some individuals are scared to change and refuse to do so. In “ A Rose for Emily”, William Faulkner uses literary tools such as the setting, symbolisms and the conflicts to develop his theme that fixation of the past will wound one’s present. Falkner exemplified that changes are inevitable and refusal to accept the progression will only result in decadence that eventually will induce negative effects in one’s life.