Another theme applied in each story is the ghostly theme. In ‘The Red Room’ the old people believe that a ghost haunts the room. This makes you wonder if the ghost exists and why it is there. The ghost in this story is thought of as dangerous and so the reader will want to know what the ghost will do if you enter the room.
The ghost in ‘The Signalman’ is not thought of as dangerous but more of a warning:
“I started up, looked from that door, and saw this someone
else standing by the red light”
This ghost could be standing by the red light to be warning the signalman of danger. This makes the reader curious of what that danger will be and whether the signalman will survive it. The ghost is also is also, “waving as I just showed you” and so you speculate why the ghost is waving but you will never know unless you read on to find out the answer.
A ghost is usually a certainty in a ‘scary’ story and most consider them the cause of the horror. However a ghost can be used as a warning. Either way the ghosts keep the reader asking certain questions about them and wanting to find out the answers to them.
The final theme used by both authors is the theme of sudden revelation. Both ‘The Red Room’ and ‘The Signalman’ keep the reader guessing right up to the end of story. In both stories the answer is not particularly clear and does not provide the reader with a final, conclusive answer. This keeps the reader wondering about the story after he or she has read it. By giving a general answer the mystery is still there after the reader has read it. ‘The Red Room’ suddenly reveals that there is no ghost in the room, just one man’s battle with fear:
“There is no ghost at all; but worse, far worse…Fear!”
This makes you question whether he would have injured himself if he had not been told about the ghost at all by the old people. This still gives a sense of mystery about the room after the answer has been given.
‘The Signalman’ also has a sudden revelation at the end. It reveals that the signalman had seen his own fate and had been warned by the ghost how it would occur. There is no answer of why he was warned and why he did not hear the whistle or the calls from the driver. This again lets the reader make up his or her own mind about the reasons.
Using a vague, but sudden revelation at the end keeps the reader guessing right the way through the story and after it. I makes he or she decide their own opinions of what happened and they can believe what they want to believe and so will be satisfied with the answer.
There is only one main character in ‘The Red Room’ and three minor characters. The main character is rather curious and inquisitive and is always looking for an answer which is just like the reader:
“Show me this haunted room of yours”
This shows the detective is very eager to find the truth about the room and is very arrogant, feeling that he is not afraid of any ghosts. When he reveals at the end that he has been in contact with fear it shows that even the man who feels he is so strong can be scared. This shows the reader how scary fear really is and any man has fear. This again makes the reader want to know exactly what the detective saw to make him so sure it was fear.
The three other characters build up the suspense more than the detective because of the mystery surrounding them. The old woman staring at the fire keeps repeating, “This night of all nights”, and makes the reader speculate what happens this night of all nights and why it is so special. The man with the withered arm also creates mystery by making the reader wonder why he has the withered arm and whether it is anything to do with the red room. The man with the bad back is similar to the man with the withered arm by making the reader ask himself or herself how he got it and whether it was old age or the red room. All of these three characters seem to be so scared that they will not even walk with the detective to the room. This again brings up the question, why are they so scared of the red room?
Each of the characters in ‘The Red Room’ is one-dimensional. The detective is arrogant and curious; one man has a withered arm, another with a bad back, and the woman just stares into the fire. This creates mystery as you wonder what the detective looks like and what the others personalities are like. These attributes are chosen by the author to show a side of the character they only want you to see.
Again in ‘The Signalman’ the young man is very inquisitive like the detective in ‘The Red Room’. He had reason to call down to the signalman and use the words, ”Halloa! Below there!” This leaves the reader again with another question they will want answered. The signalman himself seems to be very aware that he is being warned of something but is not sure what. Being that he is wondering what he is being warned of it leaves the reader wondering what he is being warned off too.
Having characters that are inquisitive themselves increases the curiosity of the reader and leaves them speculating about the future. Having one-dimensional characters causes the reader to be wondering about there other traits.
The narrative structure of both stories is very similar. It is in chronological order and a 1st person narrative so the reader encounters the events as the characters encounter it. This means that nothing is revealed to the reader at the beginning of the story and so they have as much knowledge as the main character. This also makes it clearer for the reader to understand the order in which the events happen. The fact that the readers are as uninformed as the characters themselves it helps them relate to the characters more and wonder what they would do in the characters situation.
The setting of ‘The Red Room’ is simply darkness. This darkness makes it all the more mysterious. The detective at one point think that there is a man in the room with him:
“Gave me the impression of someone crouching
In waylay me.”
This darkness makes the detective manifest his own fears of the ghost and that he is in the room with him. Also he believes that the ghost is putting the candles out and because he cannot see anything his fear may take control of rational thinking that the candles may be going out because of a breeze. Because he never sees the room fully lit you have no idea whether there is a ghost in there or whether it is his imagination. Despite from being dark it gives the impression that the room is small and claustrophobic. This may be one of the detective’s fears and so makes him uneasy. It is also deserted and makes you wonder why no one has been or is, in there.
The setting in ‘The Signalman’ is very dark and lonely. It is as though the signalman’s only interaction with another person is when he talks to the younger man. This makes you wonder why he is all alone and whether it is his choice to stay away from the world. It is as though the setting is a different world belonging to the signalman.
I believe that to make a story mysterious and full of suspense you need to create mystery because mystery in the present creates suspense in the future. You must not reveal everything to the reader and leave them to figure it out for themselves. It should keep the reader guessing right till the end of the story. I believe that both stories achieve this remarkably well and cover all of these points to make the stories full of mystery and suspense.
