‘The Body-Snatcher’ and ‘The End Of The Party’ differ greatly in terms of their structure. This is because they have a style that best fits in with how each story is told. ‘The Body-Snatcher’ contains an introduction, whereas ‘The End Of The Party’ doesn’t. The introduction in ‘The Body-Snatcher’ gives some brief background information on the story because it was based on real events. Therefore setting the scene for the story to begin telling the reader about societies fears at the time in which it was written. It also outlines the main theme of the story, being morals and fear. “The fears being explored here are those of death and the dead, with the issue of body snatching being particularly topical.” This explains some of the fears explored in the story. “Criminal elements were often involved….grave robbing and worse….1828….infamous trial of Burke and Hare….selling bodies for purposes of scientific dissection….moral questions concerning greed and the pursuit of personal gain.”. This gives a slight insight into some of the topics of the horror story, which begin to make you want to read on.
‘The End Of The Party’ doesn’t require an introduction because the story is fictional and not based on real events, so no further information is needed unlike ‘The Body-Snatcher’.
‘The Body-Snatcher’, is at the beginning of the story told in first person narrative with the narrator telling the reader of the events of him and his companions. “Every night in the year, four of us sat in the small parlour of the George at Debenham”. The story then goes into a flashback style, with the narration becoming third person omniscient, and the reader forgetting almost that there is a narrator, and learning of the events that happened in the past between Fettes and Macfarlane.
‘The End Of The Party’, however is told in a linear fashion, with the events occurring in a chronological order, starting in the morning and ending in the evening of the same day. “Peter Morton woke with a start….a party this evening….a quarter to six till half past , hide and seek in the dark”. This shows the events of the day. The narration in this story is also told in third person omniscient, with all the thoughts and feelings of the characters being made known to the reader. There area also no flashbacks in this story unlike in ‘The Body-Snatcher’. With both stories being told mainly in the third person narrative, this is effective because the reader can experience all the thoughts and feelings and goings on rather than just one characters thoughts and feelings. This is effective in the horror genre, as the tension can mount with the reader being made known of everything so that they can feel a part of the story.
‘The Body-Snatcher’ was written forty-eight years before ‘The End Of The Party’, so this has an effect on the language used. ‘The End Of The Party’ is more comprehensible and up to date than ‘The Body-Snatcher’ because it was written later, in the twentieth century. The language in the horror genre is usually quite complex with lots of long descriptive words and both stories contain this feature. Some of the language in ‘The Body-Snatcher’ is difficult to understand, as perhaps many of the words are unused today. This is then why some footnotes are used, as it will help the reader to determine the meaning of particular words. For example “ crapulous * drunken” is no longer used in modern society, also “ wynd *narrow alley between houses”, “ululations *howling” are words that are not used so often today and so can make parts of the story difficult to read and comprehend. Both stories contain many adjectives, which is quite typical of the horror genre. This is important in providing vivid descriptions of the characters and situations. These descriptions are given in great detail, which can make the reader feel more involved in the story and can build up the tension and suspense immensely with all the intricate details being given to create a picture of the environment and atmosphere. In ‘The Body-Snatcher’ when Fettes and Macfarlane are in the graveyard, exhuming the body of the farmers wife, vivid descriptions are given “Then came a clang of broken glass; night fell upon them; sounds alternately dull and ringing….silence like night….the body inserted in the dripping sack”. These descriptions are effective in building up the image of the setting and creating tension and anticipation into what is going to happen in these circumstances.
‘The End Of The Party’ is also very effective in providing good descriptions of the relationship between the brothers and also Francis’ fear of the dark, “Already experience had taught him how far their minds reflected each other….but I won’t go to Mrs Henne-Falcon’s party…. I swear on the bible I won’t”. There are also many similes used in ‘The End of The Party’, such as, “again he saw a great bird darken his brother’s face with it’s wings.” This helps to emphasise Francis’ fear of darkness and can then too make the reader feel afraid of the dark, even if they weren’t before. It also creates the image of Francis’ face being darkened by a great bird and so it creates a strong atmosphere. So Stevenson and Greene, similarly include many adjectives and great descriptions, but the language used in each story differs because of the forty-eight year age gap.
The use of interesting vocabulary in each story encourages the reader to keep on reading. Stevenson’s and Greene’s use of vocabulary is very well chosen and contributes to the effectiveness and atmosphere of the story. Rather than using boring common words, the language used is more convincing and helps to achieve tension and suspense. Some of the words that Stevenson uses in ‘The Body-Snatcher’ are, “melancholy alcoholic saturation….struck down with apoplexy….pale and resolute in look….turbulent pleasures”. Also some words can add a sense of foreboding that something bad will occur, “ one dark winter night….black night….hell, God, Devil, right, wrong, sin, crime.” This use of vocabulary can make the horror story more powerful and really create the atmosphere; also these words are quite evil and associated to the horror genre. In ‘The End Of The Party’ words such as, “the long pigtails swung superciliously to a masculine stride...daunted by her ignorance....spoke with ostentation….dimly phosphorescent lawn…. darkness” are used. These are potent words that add an extra emotion to the story and also help to form the scene and the surroundings.
In ‘The End Of The Party’ lots of repetition is used with lots of references to Francis’ heart, “a rapidly beating heart….the jump, jump of his heart….his heart beat unevenly.” These references to his heart emphasise Francis’ fear of the dark. These references to his heart indicate, throughout the story that something might happen to Francis to do with his heart. It is also quite ironic because in the end Francis actually dies of a heart attack because his fear of the dark was so immense. Also as we read an effective horror story, our heart beats faster as the tension mounts. So the beating of Francis’ heart from his fear, help us to feel that we can relate to Francis, as our heart will begin to beat faster as we feel scared like and for Francis.
Repetition is not really used in ‘The Body-Snatcher’ because nothing needs to be emphasised to give a clue to the ending, perhaps so it can be more unexpected.
Stevenson and Greene use very different characters in different ways. In both stories, the main characters are all males, but in ‘The Body-Snatcher’, the characters are adults, and are quite old, whereas in ‘The End Of The Party’, the main characters are two young boys.
Fettes and Macfarlane are the two main characters in ‘The Body-Snatcher’ and the narrator tells us about their eventful past, although we never learn anything about the narrator, as this may steer attention off the main characters. The narrator must know of Fettes’ and Macfarlane’s past as he says, “and perhaps there is now no other man alive who could narrate to you the following foul and unnatural events.” This is speaking directly to the reader and builds up tension and uneasiness with the reader not knowing what they are about to witness. In ‘The End Of The party’ the characters are made known to the reader immediately, “Peter Morton woke with a start”. This instantly introduces one of the main characters and we are then introduced to the other main character, “Francis Morton was still asleep….Peter lay down again with his eyes on his brother….it was himself who he watched, the same hair, the same eyes, same lips and line of cheek”. This makes the reader aware of the twin brothers in the story and so you can begin to learn about them. This is similar to ‘The Body-Snatcher’ where the characters are immediately identified, “the undertaker, and the landlord, and Fettes, and myself.” We do not meet Macfarlane instantly, but he is presented to be someone who we don’t really want to meet, we get this impression because is asked, “Do you know him Doctor? God forbid, was the reply” This makes the reader apprehensive about Macfarlane and quite inquisitive into what is so bad about him. Fettes and Macfarlane in ‘The Body-Snatcher’ are very different to Francis and Peter in ‘The End Of The Party’. The relationship between peter and Francis Morton is of love and trust, so this enables the reader to feel that they can relate to them and trust the characters. The relationship between Fettes and Macfarlane in ‘The Body-Snatcher’ is of hatred and rivalry. Fettes warns the others about Macfarlane, “That man Macfarlane is not safe to cross, those that have done so already have repented it too late.” The writer here portrays Macfarlane as the ‘baddie’, this makes the reader not trust him. Macfarlane is made out to be evil and a character to hate, this is done commonly in the horror genre in stories such as ‘Dracula’ and ‘Frankenstein’s Monster’, where a particular character is built up to be disliked. This is not done in ‘The End Of The Party’ and the characters are young and innocent and so when Francis dies from his fear, it is more unexpected and shocking.
Throughout ‘The Body-Snatcher’ we learn about Macfarlane and how he enticed Fettes into body snatching, this gives the reader even more reason to hate and not trust Macfarlane. Fettes is described as “an old drunken Scotsman….parlour sot….bald dirty and pimpled….he drank rum – five glasses regularly every evening.” So here we learn that Fettes drinks, perhaps to drown his sorrows or to forget something, which later we discover is his past with Macfarlane. When we meet Macfarlane he is described as being, “richly dressed in the finest of broadcloth and the whitest of linen….great gold watch chain….wealth and consideration.” This shows that Macfarlane came of better than Fettes. When these two characters have a brief encounter, Stevenson uses the technique of dropping small bits of information, that keep the reader captivated and wanting to keep reading to find out what will happen next. “Did you think I was dead too?….money from you! The money that I had from you is lying where I cast it in the rain.” This keeps the reader in suspense and keeps them reading to find out what they are talking about. It also adds hints of anticipation and suspicion of Macfarlane, which keeps the reader engaged. This is used in ‘The End Of The Party’ with the references to Francis’ heart, because it is in the end that he dies of a heart attack. Also the writer drops hints as we go along about how Peter feels that he being the older twin must protect Francis, “an instinct of protection towards the other who was afraid of so many things…Where’s Francis? He wondered. If I join him he will be less frightened of all these sounds.” There is great irony in this fact that Peter, the protector of his younger twin Francis, is ultimately responsible for his death.
The characters are important to the horror genre and both writers portray their characters differently. In ‘The Body-Snatcher’, the use of one character being more hated than the other is effective because the reader can build up different pictures of the characters. Also because ‘The Body-Snatcher’ goes into flashback style we learn why Fettes has ended up how he is at the start of the story and why he hates Macfarlane. The characters in ‘The End Of The Party’ also work well because the reader can relate to them, as they can seem familiar because their relationship is of love as a family.
The setting is important for a horror story because it can create the atmosphere and mood. ‘The Body-Snatcher’ uses a more typical horror story setting, as it is set in a small isolated village, and also in a graveyard for a part of it, “solemn and isolated destination…in the sunken woods….grave at midnight.” These describe the isolated graveyard surrounded by dark woods, this gives the reader a tense and uneasy feeling that something bad will happen. It can also make the reader feel scared because they can imagine themselves in that location, which would be a frightening experience. In comparison to this ‘The End Of The Party’, is set in a house in a normal everyday situation. This helps the reader to relate to the story because the setting is familiar, but also shows the reader that bad things can happen anywhere, even in the comfort of your own home. “Children ran upstairs, and the lights on the top floor went out….the carpet wavered under his feet. “This describes some features of a home and is very different to the setting of ‘The Body-Snatcher.’
Mood and atmosphere are vital to a story in the horror genre, as they can make the reader feel scared, tense, and uneasy and enable them to experience other emotions. It can also draw the reader into the story and make them feel a part of the action. ‘The Body-Snatcher’ has a very strong atmosphere throughout the story, and even more so at the end, “an atmosphere of increasing terror.” In the horror genre, pathetic fallacy is widely used to create an atmosphere and mood, and a great deal of it is used in ‘The Body-Snatcher’, “a cold, dense lashing rain….blew a puff of wind….incessant strident of the pouring rain….a world of wet and darkness.” The atmosphere is built with these kinds of weather (rain, wind, darkness and storms) as these are all linked with the horror genre and are effective in creating the mood of the story. The atmosphere is also increased with the, “dead body….dogs were howling.” These are also commonly associated with the horror genre and can create a tense atmosphere. However, in ‘The End Of The Party’ a different type of atmosphere and mood is created. The story revolves around a main theme of fear of the dark. Darkness is mentioned frequently throughout the story, making the reader be able to experience the darkness, “the whole room seemed to darken….struggled in pain and darkness….darkened house….by himself in the dark….the approaching terror of the dark….an island of darkness….dark deserted floor….no more darkness.” The story doesn’t contain a lot of pathetic fallacy, but contains one reference to rain to add to the introduction at the beginning and to set the scene, “rain tapped against the glass.”
Some horror stories have a certain date that is associated to them, when bad things are supposed to happen, such as Halloween or Friday the thirteenth. This is used in ‘The End Of The Party’ where the date is, “the fifth of January….a year had passed since Mrs Henne-Falcon had given her last children’s party.”
‘The Body-Snatcher’ and ‘The End Of The Party’ both have unexpected endings with a twist, and this resembles a typical element of the horror genre. In many horror stories there is a definite increase in tension up to the end of the story. In ‘The End Of The Party’ this is achieved, “Where’s Peter….Where’s Francis?” This makes the reader curious and keep reading to find out what happens next. This tension and suspense continue right up to the end of the story where it reaches its climax, “they were silenced again by Mrs Henne-Falcon’s scream.” This tells the reader that something dramatic has just happened. This is effective because the writer keeps the reader in suspense because they don’t find out what has happened until the very end of the story. This is a very powerful, unexpected and shocking ending, and can have a shocking and perhaps sad impact on the reader as they learn of Francis’ death. ‘The Body-Snatcher’ also has a good horror story ending. It ends in a cliffhanger with an effective twist. At the end of the story when Fettes and Macfarlane are bringing the body of the dead woman, that they have dug up, to their gig, they discover that the body has changed into that, “of the dead and long dissected Gray.” This is a supernatural twist that fits in well to the horror genre. It is unexpected to the reader and keeps them asking questions to their self even after the story, such as; how did the body transform into the body of Gray? What happened to Fettes, Macfarlane and the gig?
Fear is an extremely important part of any horror story, with the character’s fears, society’s fears and the reader’s fears being a theme of each story. In ‘The Body-Snatcher the fear of the characters is expressed through Fettes as he is scared of being found out about the murders to supply the medical school with bodies. This is evident when Fettes finds out about Jane Gailbraith, “he took refuge in his room. There he reflected in length over the discovery.” The character’s fear in ‘The End Of The Party’ is very strong and is the fear of the dark possessed by Francis. “I’m afraid of the dark. I’ll scream and scream and scream.” This tries to impress upon the reader how scared of the dark Francis really is.
Society’s fears are common in both stories. In ‘The Body-Snatcher’ the society’s fears at the time are of death and grave robbing and are outlined in the introduction, “the fears being explored are those of death and the dead….issue of body snatching being particularly topical.” Also in ‘The End Of The Party’ society’s fears are of death and dying. Many people tried to think of good things when they thought of death, “Francis is now where he had always been told there was no more terror and no more darkness.” But Francis’ fear was so immense it continued with him even in death, “the pulse of his brother’s fear went on and on.”
There is also the reader’s fears being brought out in each story. In ‘The Body-Snatcher’ the reader fear is finding out that bodies are killed for dissection, at the discovery of Jane Gailbraith, “she was alive and hearty yesterday.” It is also a fear of the supernatural, where at the end of the story, the body of a woman transforms into the body of Gray. The reader here, doesn’t understand how or why the body has changed and cannot explain it. The reader also fears the unexpected, which builds up the tension to the end of the story. In ‘The End Of The Party, the reader’s fear is at the discovery that Francis Morton died from his fear of the dark being so immense and that he died at the touch of his brother’s hand. This makes the reader feel scared and uneasy because they think of their own brother or family member trying to comfort them, which results in Francis’ death. The reader will feel the most mix of emotion at the very end of ‘The End Of The Party’ because of so many events taking place with the discovery of how and why Francis died and also that his fear has lived on even in death.
The horror genre has been incredibly popular for all of society. Horror stories are entertaining, exciting, gripping and offer a thrill to the reader. They allow us to imagine the worst possible situations and extremely scary circumstances, with us knowing that what we are reading is (reassuringly) fictional. Horror is popular with all age-groups and genders, as it provides a sudden adrenaline rush to the reader. Horror is also popular because people like to be scared and scared by the unknown. They like the thought of scary situations, which can give people nightmares. Film now has a great influence, with many horror films being made, this means people are getting harder to scare, as the idea of horror is more accepted. Despite this, horror is a genre enjoyed by many and there are increasing numbers of horror stories and films being made, and it remains a very popular genre.
Overall, I think both of these horror stories are very effective and are good horror stories. My favourite out of the two is ‘The End Of The Party’, I prefer this story to ‘The Body-Snatcher’ because I think it successfully manages to twist an everyday situation into being scary with a very unexpected and sad ending. I think it is exciting how it builds up to the end, and then all the events happen at once and make me feel quite shocked and afraid at this point. My idea of a horror story is more like ‘The Body-Snatcher’, with more typical horror elements, like graveyards, weather, dead bodies as are involved in ‘The Body-Snatcher.’ I think this is why I prefer ‘The End Of The Party’, because it is still a horror story, but without many of the typical horror components.
Overall, horror is very popular. A successful horror story has the ability to scare the reader and keep them in anticipation through parts of the story. It also should be able to keep the reader captivated and reading to the end. A good horror story combines tension. Suspense, atmosphere, the unexpected and fear effectively to have an impact on the reader. A good horror story also contains a good structure, an effective setting, the use of fear and vocabulary, these are what make successful horror stories and make the horror genre so popular.
Emma Keller 11T
