Another comparison is how character’s lives are left after the stories. In The Ostler and C.I.N.P. both the character’s lives are ruined by supernatural forces. In the Ostler, Isaac’s life is in tatters after his wife attempts to kill him. He is tormented by her and fears for her return; he is still tortured by a dream of her attacking him. We see this whilst he is taking sanctuary in a barn and when the story begins, whereas, in C.F.I.P. the character goes from a lieutenant in the war; to a murderer who is to receive the death penalty, all because of the “evil eye”.
Another comparison between these two stories is the of use flashback. These flashbacks help add to the suspense in The Ostler and C.I.N.P, as the story can be taken in different ways, and it leaves the reader in awe and makes the want to read on and here why the characters are in the current position. Without the flashbacks it could be easy for the reader to lose interest and put down their book.
In C.I.N.P. Dickens creates tension from the beginning. When the narrator says “this is the last night I have to live”. The reader is immediately drawn in and wants to know why his fate has been decided.
In C.I.N.P. the narrator’s sister-in-law creates a lot of tension. He says he was “afraid” and “haunted” by her, and we become interested in what he has discovered about her.
When the narrator says she made his “blood run cold”, this adds suspense as it is very disturbing and we wonder what has led to this, situation.
More tension is added just before the evil deed is done. When he is preparing to murder the boy, his actions are like an animal hunting its prey, the tension is crated because we sense that the boy’s death is coming, and even though it is terrible, we are drawn into the man’s pitiless desire to kill the boy. Had it have not been for the boy’s overpowering eyes, he may have been able to commit the murder in a way that made it seem like an accident.
More tension is added as we are led to imagine the murder itself, but it may show the man was not quite himself, but influenced by something beyond his control.
When the murdered boy is discovered, the tension is created by the bloodhounds suddenly emerging over his fence. Here the bloodhounds madly begin to dig where the boy was buried; this leads to the narrator feeling extremely nervous and fearing he will be caught. It is really his fear that caused him not to be able to hide the body. But even though the man has done a terrible thing, we do feel some sympathy for him, and this is emphasised in the closing statement “I am alone in this stone dungeon with my evil spirit, and that I die tomorrow. This makes us feel for the man, as he does seem to show some remorse, though he does not make excuses for his actions.
Tension is also added as the story is told in the first person, because it feels as though we are being brought closer to the reader, that he is personally telling the story to us and that we are in direct relation to him.
Tension is created in various ways in Wilkie Collins’ The Ostler. The first way is how location is used. Before Isaac has the dream of his attempted murder, the environment is set by describing “the surging moan of wind”. This adds tension as it gives it a scary factor, and leads us to expect some sort of action. This happens at 2 o’ clock in the morning which causes the reader to feel discomforted. It gives the feel that when it is dark we become very helpless, and this makes it seem more frightening, foreboding, and it makes both the reader and Isaac feel threatened.
Tension is added in other ways in The Ostler. At the beginning of the story we find a man with a “withered woebegone face”, tension is creates here because we wonder who is this man and what is he doing here. When the unknown stranger (Rebecca Murdoch perhaps) says it is a strange time to find an Ostler asleep, we become curious about of him again and we begin to realise that something is not right about this man, yet we want to know why.
Tension is again added when the man starts to moan in his sleep, and we become aware he has some horrible and frightening history, and again the reader is intrigued to find out what has happened to him
The majority of the story is told by the land lord, which adds tension because the landlord know the story so well it appears that Isaac and his story is something of a legend (that maybe Isaac is like a hero), yet something very strange and frightening is to happen, because it is so well know the reader feels they must find out why.
The inn and the landlord near the beginning of the story add to the tension. The windows have iron bars mounted and you begin to wonder is the inn trying to keep something out, and if so what? When Isaac tells the land lord of his the dream, he acts rather peculiarly, its seems as if he knows more that he is letting on, maybe what we had assumed a dream was really more realistic.
In R.R. tension is also created at the very start with the sceptical view of the supernatural from the arrogant man. It puts him in a bad light and a part of the reader wants him to be wrong, due to his arrogance and overconfidence.
H.G. Wells also uses location to add tension. It is a dark night in a desolate strange and frightful castle, and straightaway the reader is entranced and leaves the reader to set the scene in their head and imagine what is to come, this way the scene of the story can seem as scary as the reader wants it to be.
The three strange residents also create tension, and you become curious about their appearances. The way he talk about the “Red Room” adds suspense, they seem to be rather credulous and superstitious, this is shown in there fear of the “Red Room” and the unknown.
There is a woman who repeatedly says “Tonight of all nights!” which created tension as you wonder what is significant about this night and why are they so scared of the idea of someone taking cover in the “Red Room” at night.
Tension is also created because we learn how the castle has a notorious history. There is the woman who apparently died in the “Red Room” and the death of the young duke. The reader becomes frightened of this room but it leaves you asking many questions, such as are these true and is there really something strange about this room. Even though the reader is supposed to be frightened by the room, we want to read on to find out if there is something significant about the room.
More tension is added on the man’s journey to the “Red Room”. It appears that a shadow is following him, and when he spots it, his reaction is to draw his weapon. This leaves the reader feeling alarmed. But this abates when we discover it is just a statue, so from a while you are able to believe this is nothing abnormal here, but the whole time aware of the predicament.
We are then taken into the “Red Room”. Tension is evident here by the man’s poise gradually weakening. This can be shown in the candle and how it repeatedly goes out, the man tries to stay calm but you can tell he cannot tolerate it and is terrified by the darkness. The reader also feels some satisfaction because you feel the man had it coming and that he deserves it after being so arrogant and big-headed.
In the end, the man who is now in a position a terrible fear and fright tells us that there are no ghosts, but it is fear itself that drove him into a mad fit. This makes the situation even more frightening and leads the reader to believe that if they are so afraid of something they could end up in a similar condition.
These stories were written in Victorian times and were very successful when published, because people were fascinated by supernatural stories. This may have been due to the fact that they were “Run of the mill” people. Or some people felt they could relate well to the stories. They would not have had TVs and so this would have been their entertainment.
During these times people relished stories of the unknown and supernatural, and the authors obliged and given them what they wanted.
But today, these stories would not be so popular due to the high demand for quality TV, and the decline in book reading. Therefore the imagination of today’s society has been weakened. It is a pity that society doesn’t appreciate quality literature now.
