A second mystery occurs when Nancy Weedle sees William Privett coming out of the church on Midsummer night. (On Midsummer night, it was believed, people who are seen to be coming out of the church are doomed to die in the same year). Nancy Weedle replied, when asked by Betty Privett, "You saw my husband."...."We thought we did see him, but it was darkish, and we was frightened, and of course it might not have been he."
An explanation for this could be that it was William Privett, again, sleep-walking to the church on Midsummers Eve or it may not have even been William Privett at all. Nancy Weedle mentions it being dark and she also mentions that it may not have been William.
Two more mysteries occur when William is working in the meadow with John Chiles. They had been resting and had just eaten. John suddenly looked over his
shoulder and;
"A great miller-moth came from William's open mouth."
This seemed very odd to John. Then he realised that it was time to start working again. John called William, but he took no notice. "Then, John went up and shook him, and found he was dead."
An explanation for a miller-moth coming out of William Privett's mouth could be that a moth flew in his mouth and then straight back out as the insect was flying as moths are proned to do. But another explanation is produced by the writer. He wants you to think that the moth is resembling William Privett's soul coming out of his mouth and the moth is the symbol for his soul. As for William dying, he could have died in his sleep or he could have had a heart attack or a fit while sleeping and because he was unconscious, he could not make any sounds to warn his colleague. If a fit had taken place he might have choked on his own tongue, and as a product, suffocated himself.
One more mystery occured when we find that William has been seen at the spring by Philip Hookhorn even though at the same approximate time was dead while he was working. Also, William's son had died at the spring and William was never seen at the spring after his son had drowned in that same spring. "This surprised Philip Hookhorn very much, for years before that time William's little son - his only child - had been drowned in that spring while at play there, and this had preyed upon William's mind that he'd never been seen near the spring afterwards, and had been known to go half a mile out of his way to avoid the place."
An explanation for William being noticed by the stream could be: William and John who had been sleeping for a long time before John noticed that William had died. Therefore, while John was asleep, William could have wandered off while still sleeping to the stream (because he seems to have a tendancy to sleep-walk). That means that he could have been at the stream, unconsciously, and back in time for John Chiles to not notice him being away.
The Mysterious events in "Night Fears" are:-
Who is the stranger? Why does he seem to know so much about the night-watchman? Why does he not show his face or respond to the night-watchman's approach? Why does the night-watchman kill himself?
We do not know who the stranger is. The night-watchman only notices him when he turns around; "Someone was sitting on the barrier, his back turned on to the night-watchman's little compound. 'Strange I never heard him come,' Thought the man......The stranger paid no attention to the watchman's slowly advancing tread. A little disconcerting." Even when the night-watchman shouted "'A fine night.' The stranger did not turn round"
When asked "Won't you turn and warm your hands" by the night-watchman, the stranger replies "I prefer to warm my back." This lack of interaction makes the stranger seem disinterested or, at worst, threatening. He does not reveal his identity, he appears to want to unsettle the night-watchman. This manner is maintained throughout the conversation with the night-watchman making the him even more ill-at-ease.
When the night-watchman realises he hasn't been left any coal, the stranger responds:
"Have you noticed," proceeded the stranger "How easily men forget,
This coke of yours I mean, It looks as if they don't care about you very much leaving you in the cold like this."
This plays on the night watchman's mind, unsettling him into thinking that what could just be Old Bill's forgetfulness, could actually be an action of malice.
Other occurences when the seeds of doubt are sown further in the mind of the night-watchman occur when he talks about his wages. What he previously believed to be "Gilt-edged" were derided:
"Well you won't go very far when the children are a bit older, declared the stranger! Have you any prospect of a rise? The man said no, he had just had one."
This process of floccinaucinihilipilification continues:
Of night work: The stranger adds; "Dreadful thing insomnia....makes a man ill, mad sometimes. People have done themselves, sooner than stand the torture."
Of children: "You won't see much of them, remarked the stranger while you are on this job. Why they'll grow up without knowing you!"
Of his wife: "You won't see much of her either, that's a risk....When the eye doth not see, continued the stranger, the heart doth not grieve; On the contrary, it makes merry. He laughed."
In the stranger's final comment he mentions "It's a pity you're under contract to finish this job." Even though the night-watchman hadn't mentioned a contract showing that the stranger had a knowledge of the night-watchman's circumstances which he used to undermine the night-watchman's sense of well-being to such a great degree.
All of these mysteries could be explained as being the workings of the night-watchman's sleep deprived mind.
There are many similarities and differences in the two mystery stories:
Similarities
Both of the main characters die suddenly, at their place of work, and are both fit and healthy.They both refer to domestic scenes and appear to have a supernatural or paranormal involvement:
In "The Superstitious Man's Story"
There are two ghost-like apparitions of William at the church and at the spring and his death is predicted by both Nancy Weedle and more loosely by the sexton when the bell went very heavy all of a sudden;
"He'd not known the bell go so heavy in his hand for years - he feared it meant a death in the parish."
In "Night Fears"
The stranger plays the devil's advocate by preying on the night-watchman's fears and lowering his self-esteem to such a degree that he is driven to commit suicide. Even after the night-watchman's death, there is an eerie, unnatural atmosphere, as the stranger ' turned round for the first time and regarded the body of the night-watchman.' Seemingly unconcerned and without conscience.
Both the stories concern the events surrounding the premature deaths of the main characters in strange circumstances. Both occur at the end of the stories providing a 'twist' that is
unexpected. In "Night Fears" you would expect the night-watchman to disregard the stranger as he appears to be coping with the way his life is and you certainly would not expect him to kill himself. In "The Superstitious man's story" William's death is so sudden "John called to him and said it was high time to begin work again. He took no notice, and then John went up and shook him, and found he was dead."
Differences
The differences in the two stories are great:
"The Superstitious Man's story" is narrated by a villager to a villager in a rural setting. The story is very anecdotal involving a number of village characters and written in latter-day English; "Faith I didn't think whe'are 'twas Midsummer or Michaelmas: I'd too much work to do." The story contains evidence of superstition and religious belief.
"Night Fears" is a modern day story in an urban setting and most of the dialogue within the story is inside the night-watchman's head. The characters do not have any names which makes the content darker and less personal. It is also set entirely at night and is secula and interested in psychological realism; "He enjoyed the thought that held his mind for the moment, but always with some aggreable impatience for the next."
In conclusion the two stories are similar in that they involve the unexpected deaths of otherwise healthy working men in mysterious circumstances. "The Superstitious man's story" is almost like an old English fable, whilst "Night Fears" is a much bleaker, modern day suspense story.
Although I enjoyed both stories, I prefered "Night Fears" because I could relate to the content of the story more and the writing of the story allowed room for your own imagination.