Tension is built up in the story as Helen Stoner explains her suspicions that her stepfather “who is known to have a violent streak” is the killer and his motive for the attack means that she herself could be in danger. The reader can distinguish this and fear for her safety.
The narrator in the story is Watson, Holmes’ sidekick. When the reader compares him to Holmes he seems “dull-witted”, he makes Holmes look good, and is often in the same mental state of confusion as the reader when the clues are there in front of us, waiting to be pieced together like a jigsaw. It is for this reason the reader feels that they can relate to Watson and “accept Holmes’ superiority”. The reader can see the two (Holmes and Watson) have a close relationship as Holmes felt the need to “knock Watson up” especially to see the new client (miss Helen Stoner), he knew Watson wouldn’t want to miss out on this opportunity “should it prove to be an interesting case, you would, I am sure, wish to follow it from the outset”.
The setting for this particular story is very detailed, as I would have to be to describe the significant clues, for example, the ventilator, the (dummy) bell rope, the whistle, the saucer of milk, and the metallic “clanging” of the safe. Despite all the clues there were only two main settings, the Manor house in which Miss Helen Stoner lived and the crime took place, and Holmes’ house, which is famously known as 221B Baker Street.
“The Signalman” is a ghost story. Its author is Charles Dickens and the date it was written is unknown to me. There’s no one technique, which Dickens uses to create tension. It is created from the beginning with the mere settings of the story producing a feeling of unease. The signalman lives in isolation at the tunnel entrance to a railway cutting. The was in which the narrator (who is nameless) has to call “Is there any path by which I can come down to you?” shows the reader just how isolated he is, as there is no obvious way of getting down, so there mustn’t be any necessity to make a path way. His surprise at receiving this visitor is one of suspicion and generates more tension, “his attitude was one of such expectation and watchfulness” that explains to the reader he is ready for something to happen, he is ready to run away, and this is causing the reader to think that something is going to happen and the build up to that causes anxiety. The way in which the signalman “directs a cautious look to the light” forms apprehension as the reader is still expecting something to happen. This is completely the opposite to the Sherlock Holmes story (“the Speckled Band”) as in that the author wanted to be relaxed and comfortable with the story so far before he described the mystery through Miss Helen Stoner. He produced this feeling of comfort by having a nice room with comfortable chairs, food and a nice warm fire. Also Holmes and Watson didn’t give the impression that they were scared of their visitor, which is what is happening in “the Signalman”.
As the storyline deepens the reader is still told little about the signalman’s background to the reader, this helped form a more satisfactory atmosphere, as they all knew about her). The story does have its similarities to “the Speckled Band” however, as they give their explanations for what happened using a more scientific mind than a spiritual one. The narrator in “the Signalman” tries to show the signalman that the “someone else”, who he has seen before him, was nothing but a figment of his imagination – he looks for rational explanations as he is sceptical about the idea of ghosts, and the reader can identify with this, just as the reader could identify with the narrator in the Sherlock Holmes stories (Watson). The difference in “the Signalman” being that the reader is unsure of this narrator, they don’t know why he’s there or why he’s taking such an interest in the signalman himself. He’s therefore a mystery figure himself.
As the plot thickens the reader is told the signalman has seen the “spectre” twice before, and each time there was a disaster that followed it. Therefore the “pattern of three” suggests that the third time the ghost appears there will be a disaster. It is this that keeps the reader interested; it makes the reader want to keep reading on the find out why the “spectre” appears. Dicken’s deliberately leaves unanswered questions until the end to maintain the readers curiosity. However the story has a twist at the end of it, the ghost is warning the signalman of his own death. The two stories are also similar in the way that they both have all questions answered fully at the end, so again, as with “the Speckled Band” the readers of “the Signalman” will not be able to read the story in the same way again, they know the outcome, there’s no mystery.
“The Red Room” was written by H.G Wells and the date it was written, like “the Signalman”, is unknown to me. The story is like “the Signalman” meaning, it is another ghost story, and it is similar to “the Speckled Band” as it has a simple plot – a man (narrator) sets out to prove there is nothing superstitious about a “forbidden” room, in which a young Duke died, whilst in the room he suffers from several superstitious events and ends up being knocked out, he still refuses to believe in ghosts though. It is set in a castle, a very stereotypical setting to host a ghost story. Fear and suspicion about the room is created by descriptions (which are very important in mystery stories) of the surrounding and the other characters. In this case it’s the three old people who believe in a ghost occupies the “red room”, claiming, “There’s many a thing to see, and sorrow for”. The oddity of these old people itself causes some sense of abnormality, with such descriptions as “the man with the withered arm”, “the old woman sat staring into the fire, her pale eyes wide open” and “the man with the eye-shade (who couldn’t cease to cough and splutter)”. To have these three characters in a castle with descriptions including “oak-panelling” (old, dark, heavy), “alcoves”, “candles” (dim lighting, shadows), and “statues and heavy furniture” (in stereotypical ghost stories the statues come “alive” and join in the chase for the victim). “The Red Room” is now similar to “the Speckled Band” in the sense that the surroundings of suspicious events are in an enclosed space, as it’s inside, there’s less likely chance of escape if being chased, if this happens the reader will feel more on edge.
The reader shares their views with the narrator in the beginning. The narrator is down-to-earth and doesn’t believe in a supernatural force occupying the room; he argues “eight-and-twenty years I have lived, and never a ghost I have seen, as yet” this story is similar to “the Signalman” as the story focuses on the narrator trying to show the other characters that ghosts aren’t real, and then in the end, in both stories, the narrator is proven wrong. “The Red Room” is the complete opposite to “the Speckled Band” and “the Signalman” in the way that it doesn’t answer all the questions at the end of the story, the narrator from “the Red Room” doesn’t want to accept that he did infact fall victim to supernatural forces, he claimed he “witnessed something worse than a ghost – experienced the worst of all things to haunt poor mortal man…fear”.
All of these stories have similarities and differences; they also fit the pattern of mystery stories. All the stories “plunge into action” very early on into the story, and are focused, mainly, on one or two of the key points with very few characters over a relatively short space of time. The description is vital on building tension in the story; all of the stories I studied described the surroundings well enough to form this feeling.
I like “The Red Room” out of the three I chose to read, I liked it primarily due to the fact that it wasn’t answered fully, the story was left open for my mind to come up with possible solutions. I would be able to read it again, and not have the main essence of a mystery story, mystery, taken out of it, like I believe happened in “The Speckled Band” and “The Signalman” and “The Red Room” you are unknown…anonymous. You can find it easier to put the story down and walk away, but in “The Speckled Band” Watson (the narrator) is needed, you feel the need to continue reading because Sherlock Homes himself asked you to be with him on the investigation (“your presence might be invaluable”) you feel as though you have betrayed him if you walk away from the story. And though I don’t like detective stories, I found this one the most fascinating out of the ones I studied for that reason.
