'The Red Room' and 'Farthing House' are both ghost stories and fit into the Gothic mysteries. Red Room and Farthing House are written by different authors, at different times. Farthing House was written in the 20th centaury and uses more modern language. Red Room was written in the 19th centaury when it was the fashion of Gothic stories. Red Room is also set I n the Victorian times. In this essay I will be comparing how the writers build up suspense in their stories.
'The Red Room' begins straight into the story in contrast with Farthing house, which begins with a prologue to the story where the narrator is revisiting an experience from the past. Both of these stories build up suspense in different ways but successfully. There are some 'strange' and 'bizarre' looking characters in Red Room e.g. old characters that look 'inhuman', 'grotesque', a caretaker with a weathered arm. These bizarre people make the story sound more spooky and mysterious. They create an eerie atmosphere to the story, and add more suspense. It makes the reader anxious.
These 'old' looking people make the reader question if they have a history with the castle, what are their secrets and what are they doing there? On the other hand in Farthing house the characters are normal and described as cheerful and friendly by Susan Hill. This shows that the story has a more modern approach rather than the traditional. The people in Farthing House create a secure and friendly atmosphere.
The castle has no electricity, just candlelight. It gives the story a spooky setting and spine-chilling atmosphere. The candles give a haunting feeling. Everything in the castle cannot be seen with the candlelight's. as the man starts going up the spiral staircase his imagination takes over. He sees shadows weep up against him as he climbs the spiral staircase. This is the first sighting of anything 'unusual, and builds up a lot of suspense. Once inside the red room the man starts exploring it. The old fashioned furniture in the room makes the man lose his confidence. He again starts to remember the story of the dead duke, how he had 'fallen headlong down the steps' and lost his life. This makes him even more nervous and scared. He tries to calm himself down.
'The Red Room' begins straight into the story in contrast with Farthing house, which begins with a prologue to the story where the narrator is revisiting an experience from the past. Both of these stories build up suspense in different ways but successfully. There are some 'strange' and 'bizarre' looking characters in Red Room e.g. old characters that look 'inhuman', 'grotesque', a caretaker with a weathered arm. These bizarre people make the story sound more spooky and mysterious. They create an eerie atmosphere to the story, and add more suspense. It makes the reader anxious.
These 'old' looking people make the reader question if they have a history with the castle, what are their secrets and what are they doing there? On the other hand in Farthing house the characters are normal and described as cheerful and friendly by Susan Hill. This shows that the story has a more modern approach rather than the traditional. The people in Farthing House create a secure and friendly atmosphere.
The castle has no electricity, just candlelight. It gives the story a spooky setting and spine-chilling atmosphere. The candles give a haunting feeling. Everything in the castle cannot be seen with the candlelight's. as the man starts going up the spiral staircase his imagination takes over. He sees shadows weep up against him as he climbs the spiral staircase. This is the first sighting of anything 'unusual, and builds up a lot of suspense. Once inside the red room the man starts exploring it. The old fashioned furniture in the room makes the man lose his confidence. He again starts to remember the story of the dead duke, how he had 'fallen headlong down the steps' and lost his life. This makes him even more nervous and scared. He tries to calm himself down.
