Compare and contrast the two Victorian horror stories “The Red Room” by H. G Wells (1896) And “The Judge ‘s House” by Bram Stoker. (1891) Which seems to be the most effective example of the genre and why?
Compare and contrast the two Victorian horror stories "The Red Room" by H. G Wells (1896) And "The Judge 's House" by Bram Stoker. (1891) Which seems to be the most effective example of the genre and why?
People in the Victorian era loved horror novels. This is for the same reason, as we love them now; they're scary, and make us jump. Stories set in the Victorian period seem to be scarier because of the lack of communication possible with others. This helps the horror story to set a "deserted scene". Many people enjoy horror stories because they want to see the downfall of the main character possibly because of the evil things he has done, or the way he has been portrayed by the author.
Earlier gothic novels written in the 1700s have influenced both "The Red Room" and "The Judges house". These include Horace Walpoles' "Castle of Otranto" and Ann Radcliffes' "The Mysteries of Udolpho". If these books hadn't been written, possibly "The Judges House" nor "The Red Room" would have been written.
Short stories were very popular in the late 1800s and this is exactly what our two famous horror novels are.
"The Judges House" is about a young man, named Malcomson, who leaves his hometown for a while to study, undisturbed, for his "mathematical tripos" exam. He stays in a market town named Benchurch. The house he stays in is the old judges house, which is now deserted and feared by locals. Weird things go on in the house during his stay and then an enormous rat appears. The rat turns out to be the judges' spirit. Then the judge comes back from the dead, through a painting of him and hangs poor Malcomson.
"The Red Room" is different in the fact that the main character never dies, and that he never sees the ghost. The plot is that a young man comes to a castle to prove to the residents that there is no ghost in a most feared room: the red room. When the man is in the red room candles blow out and things get out of control. Then the man finds himself at the bottom of the stairs from the red room with the residents looking after him. Only then does he accept that your own fear haunts the room not a ghost.
I think the plot is better in "The Red Room" because the idea of a haunted room in a castle works really well for a horror novel. Even though the plot in "The Judges house" works, I don't like the fact that he goes to this town to study because its got no link with the horror theme. In "The Judges House" I like the way that the rat and the judge are linked in someway and then we find out his spirit was in the rat. In " The Red Room" the reason for the main character to go to the castle is good. Because he simply goes to prove that there are no ghosts, this builds up arrogance in the character, and that in turn makes us look forward to his downfall.
The setting of "The Judges House" is in a market town named Benchurch. It is described "as attractive as a desert", "isolated" and in "desolation". These are all words would make you feel vulnerable in such a situation.
The house that he stays in is "Jacobean styled", "old", "in isolation" and "fortified". This is the perfect setting for a horror novel. This is because it is isolated so it gives the impression that there isn't anyone to help Malcomson if something should happen. The windows are also "set unusually high and small"; this is giving the reader the impression that there could be something to hide in the building. Seeing that this is a horror story I think this was Brams' intention. In "The Red Room" there is no "outside", everything is set inside a castle, Lorraine castle. In the castle, the main character walks through some corridors to get to the red room. One is described as "long", "draughty", and "subterranean". By calling it subterranean it makes the reader think of the underworld and evil. As you can imagine if you were walking through a corridor like this it would make you feel very jumpy and nervous, exactly the authors intention. It is also described as "chilly" which gives the impression of ghosts being present.
Once in the red room the setting gets even darker. The "large somber room" has "black corners" and "shadowy window bays". It makes me think that it is possible for things to hide in the darkness, possibly supernatural beings. It is really scary to be in that room, perfect for the story to expand and for ghosts to appear from the corners. H. G Wells goes on to describe the candle in the room to be "a little tongue of light in its vastness" this is trying to make it seem like the man in the room is ...
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Once in the red room the setting gets even darker. The "large somber room" has "black corners" and "shadowy window bays". It makes me think that it is possible for things to hide in the darkness, possibly supernatural beings. It is really scary to be in that room, perfect for the story to expand and for ghosts to appear from the corners. H. G Wells goes on to describe the candle in the room to be "a little tongue of light in its vastness" this is trying to make it seem like the man in the room is insignificant by using the words "little" and "vastness". In the red room there is a "wide chimney" and a "wood fire", a "four poster bed" and "oak panelled wainscot" in the room. The room is very luxurious, as you would expect in a castle.
The fact that this is a castle is scary and provokes thoughts of gothic monsters. It is because castles are without technology that they are popular for the setting of horror novels. They are lit with candles, there was no electricity and it wasn't very cosy. The building is big and over powers you. The setting of the red room itself is better described than the room where Malcomson stays, in "The Judges House". That isn't described that much. It says how big it is, and about the paintings, but that is about it. I think that there is a lack of description inside the "Judges house", because in the story he moves around the town. In a horror story, there needs to be a dark setting. Even though "The Judges House" is described very well outside the setting of "The Judges House" fits the genre better. What I like about "The Red Room" is that just one room captures the essence of Victorian horror novels: loneliness and darkness.
The main character in "The Judges House is "young Malcomson". He seems rather arrogant and sure of himself. He is in his twenties and is studying for his mathematical tripos degree, so he is obviously bright.
It seems like he dismisses everyone's warnings about the house and that he is the only correct person around. He says to Mrs. Witham " a man who is reading for the mathematical tripos has too much to think of to be disturbed by any of these mysterious "something's".
This makes the reader want to see the downfall of him. This hostility between him and the reader creates tension because the reader wants to see him die. Malcomson laughs at Mrs. Witham, a lady who is scared of the house when she refers to the rat who sits in the chair as "the Devil himself". This is most rude and does not help the reader to warm to him at all. Although he is rude the reader for his hardworking and committed attitude gives him positive respect towards his study.
Mrs. Witham is the landlady and is terrified of the house. She often warns Malcomson about the house. She gets very serious and says, "If you were my boy you wouldn't stay there a night". Mrs. Witham is adamant that there is something supernatural in the old judges house, and later she is proved right. The reader builds up some sympathy with Mrs. Witham because of her vain attempts to stop Malcomson from staying in the house. She even brings the doctor out one day to try and deter Malcomson from staying but it doesn't work.
Mrs. Dempster is completely different. She is the cleaner for Malcomson and doesn't believe in the supernatural. What she does hate are the rats though. She states, " rats are bogies and bogies are rats". All this opposition between the two women creates tension. This is because the reader doesn't know who to believe even though Malcomson clearly believes Mrs. Dempster.
In "The Red Room" we never learn the name of the main character. He is very much the same as Malcomson. He is arrogant and only goes to the red room to prove others wrong. He doesn't believe in the supernatural. For example, in the red room he convinces himself that it is a draft, which is causing the candles to blow out. The main character is very offensive which leads to us not liking him and looking forward to his downfall. The elderly inhabitants of the castle are referred to as "grotesque", having "monstrous shadows" and "withered arms". By describing people this way it conjures up thoughts of monsters and the undead, which goes very well with the horror genre. There were many young Victorian men who started thinking that they were far superior to older people. Putting these elderly men and women in the same room as a young, full of himself man creates an interesting juxtaposition. The main character is finally proved wrong though, when he says, "It would take a very tangible ghost to frighten me", but in the end it is an invisible ghost that scares him.
When he is in the red room the main character checks for gaps in the wainscot and for secret entrances. Then he talks to himself to pretend he isn't scared of anyone or anything. This is quite strange behaviour really, but he doesn't want to admit he's wrong about the ghosts.
When he finds himself being looked after by the old people he seems to have been humbled, because of their friendliness towards him at the end of the story.
The old people are not the most charming possible to the young man. They give him glances of "positive dislike" and want to "relieve themselves of entertaining him". I can't blame them as the young man refers to them as "grotesque custodians". All the old people are terrified of the room because of the "evil goings on" in there. They aren't keen on the man going into the red room "On this night of all nights" one says. This quote makes you wonder about what is so special about this night. You never find out, but it makes you read on. Overall I think that the elderly people give readers even more unpleasant thoughts as they are described in such terrible ways. They are better characters than Mrs. Witham and Mrs. Dempster. This is because they make the story a lot more scary and dark, but there is more depth to Mrs. Witham and Mrs. Dempster because they create opposition and two different views on the supernatural.
Overall, I think that the characters in "The Judges House" are stronger because they are more complex. But on the other hand, if this is a horror story the old people in "The Red Room" are scarier and create better atmosphere.
In "The Judges House" there are many adjectives used to set atmosphere. At the beginning of the story, it immediately sets an atmosphere of relief and joy when the story quotes "Malcomson is happy that he is away from the rest of the world". It is the word "happy" that sets the atmosphere, but also "away from the rest of the world" instantly makes you aware that this place could make it hard for Malcomson to escape, especially in a horror novel.
The author then describes the town as "isolated" and "desolated". This plants a dark atmosphere and makes you worried and feeling alone. That makes a great story if you "feel" the story for yourself.
Later on in the story, the painting of the judge, which is in the dinning room, is described using five adjectives! The judge is described as "strong, evil, merciless, crafty and vindictive". Firstly, this many adjectives show this is an important character and a large part of the story, but the actual adjectives give the judge a nasty profile. When the house is described as having "heavy gables" and a "high walls surrounding" this all sums up what you should think of the judge, a powerful and feared member of law.
The main rat is described as having "baleful eyes" and eventually we find out that it is the judge himself. This gets you thinking about the link between and judge and the rat when you don't know the truth.
In the final show down between the ghost of the judge and the desperate Malcomson, atmosphere is created by describing the characters movements and expressions, "chill of horror", "trembling like a man in a palsy" and "incapable of action" are just some of the descriptions of Malcomson before he was hanged. It really gets you scared at creates suspense. The judge is described as having "baleful eyes" like the rat, "expressionless" and showing no remorse. Are there any more words, which create such a terrifying atmosphere? From these quotes it takes two pages for Malcomson to die by carrying on it creates great suspense and tension. The change in sentence length creates even more. These adjectives in the story start in a happy atmosphere right at the beginning but soon get dark and mysterious. This story has been excellent for creating atmosphere but not dark enough to be a great horror novel.
In "The Red Room" atmosphere is created in the first sentence when "ghosts" and "brighten" are quoted. You know that there will be ghosts in the story, which gives you an insight into how the story will evolve. The other characters are all old living in the castle. They are all scared of the room they are described as "omens, witches and ghosts" this is trying to create an atmosphere of the presence of supernatural beings. When the "old women" living in the castle says to the main character says "this night of all nights" makes you want to know more about the night and why this night is especially dangerous. Suspense and tension are both created. When the reader discovers that the setting is Lorraine Castle you immediately think of gothic novels, especially with the descriptions of the "Ganymede" and "eagle" statues. As the main character is walking to the red room he goes through a passage described as "long, draughty and subterranean". This creates a very spooky atmosphere. The main character is carrying a revolver, which obviously shows that he came prepared for any surprises. This is setting suspense because the reader wants to know what there is to scare the character.
Once in the red room the main character has a "twinge of apprehension" and looks over his shoulder. If you ever look over your shoulder it is usually because you are worried that there might be something behind you. This is what he is doing, worried about something.
All this description of a room makes the place one of the most depressing possible! "A large sombre room", "germinating darkness", "perfect stillness" make for the perfect horror novel. "Sombre" makes you think of still and evil, "germinating darkness" makes you feel that darkness is growing around you and you can't escape it.
At the climax of "The Red Room" many candles are blown out mysteriously. When this happens it is terrifying and makes the reader wonder what is going on. The shortening of the sentences makes you read faster, and that in turn builds tension.
Overall I think that "The Judges House" creates better descriptions, not because of the setting descriptions, but because of the descriptions of the people and concentrating on two main characters: the judge and Malcomson at the end of the story.
"The Judges House" is written in third person narrative, which gives the author the freedom to decide whether the main character lives or dies. The author relates to the main character, Malcomson, as "he". "Malcomson made up his mind", is an example of this narrative. After a speech "said he" often follows, this shows an objective narrative. In "The Red Room" it would read "I said" because it is written in the first person narrative. It is subjective.
Third person narrative gives a good ending because, until the end (unless already stated) doesn't tell the reader whether the main character lives or dies.
Unlike "The Judge's House", "The Red Room" is written in the first person narrative, which immediately tells you that the main character survives. In this case the story needs to be exciting through out, in order not to bore the reader with a predicted outcome.
I'm sure that the best narrative for the horror genre is the third person narrative, which is used in "The Judge's House". This is because it gives an exciting ending and an unpredicted outcome.
Overall, I think that "The Red Room" Is the most effective example of the horror genre. This is because people can get lost in the story. It is a lot more magical than "The Judge's House" which is more or less set in real life. The story really excelled in the atmosphere of the red room itself because of the wonderful descriptions of the furniture and vastness of the room. The Red Room" is definitely more gothic styled than "The Judge's House" and this is what I think a Victorian novel should be like.
By Louis Rummer- Downing 10L2 , 10JF
