The narrator describes the signalman as being “a dark sallow man with a dark beard and rather heavy eyebrows”. The signalman is so precise about his work and rarely makes a mistake, but he does realise it is forlorn and cut off from the outside world, ”His attitude was one of such expectation and watchfulness”. In the story the signalman had obviously been distressed by events and how they have occurred. Towards the end of the story, the narrator tries to offer help but then leans that the signalman had been killed, “… cut down by an engine”
In the nineteenth-century the railway was greatly developed and it was made easier to travel across the country. Communications were made easier, making the railway the best its ever been. The signalman is very clever and intelligent, but yet he is forced into a dead-end job, which is tedious and very repetitive. Ultimately his mistakes lead to his death. The Victorians were absolutely enchanted with strange goings on and supernatural beings. The signalman was strange and ridiculous, but we know as readers that he was telling the truth. The setting around him added th the tension and created a lot of suspense. The language used in the twentieth century sounds complicated to what it dies now for example “Resisting the slow touch of a frozen finger tracing out my spine…” and “said I when I rose to leave him…” They also used different sorts of language to that we use today, words like spectre, abhorrence and atop.
The Red Room begins with the narrator visiting Lorraine Castle because was told that it was haunted and he fancies a challenge. So he takes it upon himself to try and stay in the castle for a night. The castle is looked after by three old people, they try to convince the young man not to stay tonight be takes no notice of their advice and just wants to have a look for himself. They tell him if he is to visit the room, he is to do it alone. To get to the room you have to go through a passageway, a grand entrance with many sorts of statues and steps leading to the Red Room. The man had obviously taken into account of what the old people had said, this made him very nervous, when he arrives in the room he locks the door and inspects it. He has concerns about the darkness and shadows and decides to light many candles.
The ghost of the red room eventually puts out the candles and attacks him, he tries to flee from the room, but in doing so he takes a large blow to the head. When he comes to, it is daylight. The three old people crowd around him and want to hear about the Para-normal activity in the room,
“…Tell us is it truly the earl who – “
“No’, said I; “it is not.”
“…Is it the poor young countess who was frightened –”
“Well?”
“…There is fear in that room of hers – black fear, and there will be so long as this house of sin endures.”
“The Red Room” is set in Lorraine Castle and three old caretakers look after it. The narrator wishes to visit to visit the haunted room, which is the scene of many previous deaths and ghostly events. In paragraph three, the narrator describes his way to the room. He comes across different objects and shapes that alarm him, but after looking at them longer he finds out that there just pieces of furniture, like statues. He goes through a chilly passage, up a spiral staircase, onto a landing were there are statues and candles with the moonlight glowing onto them. The door to leading into the red room was in a shadowy corner were he then feared to go. When he got into the room he studied it, he found little corners in which the room was in shadow. Like the alcove, large fireplace, mantle piece, great big mirror and some of the walls had dark oak panelling. The room had a great stillness about it and shadowy interior, this startled him. “I was frantic with horror of the coming darkness.”
At first the narrator is very confident and calm. In the first paragraph he uses the word “tangible”, which would mean that he wouldn’t get frightened unless the ghost was very realistic and horrifying. He decides to proceed in staying in the room for the night. His confidence soon fades away until there is just total fear and terror. The narrator realises that he had made an idiotic mistake and that he was too arrogant. He knows that in the future he will appreciate the advice given and stick to it. By the end of this story the narrator felt differently about the old people and considered then friends instead of objects, “He spoke no longer as one who greets an intruder, but as on who grieves for a broken friend.”
Doctor Watson recalls this case as an extraordinary one. The investigation begins with a young lady calling to Holmes house asking to help her with a problem. The young lady is distressed and in need of help and advice from Holmes. Her name is Helen Stoner and she lives with her stepfather, Dr. Roylott who is a difficult man to get along with, let alone live with. His aggression, confrontation and moody behaviour are hard to live with, particularly after the death of his wife. Helen Stoners sister was due to marry but died just before her wedding. She heard a low-pitched whistling noise. Helen and Roylott came running, to find Helen sister dying, her last word were, “Oh my god! Helen! It was the speckled band! The speckled Band!”
No evidence was found on her body or room of foul play. Know Helen is due to be married soon and is worried about what will happen. She too has now heard the metallic whistling noise and is apprehensive for her life. Holmes and Watson have now decided to visit the house of Dr. Roylott for themselves and examine the room. Before Holmes and Watson leave, Dr. Roylott pays them a visit and threatens Holmes, because of his stepdaughters visit to them. Holmes then goes on to find out, that if either of the two stepdaughters marries, he in turn will be financially ruined and left with nothing. This is because Dr. Roylott’s wife had left the two daughters all of her money to share between them when they are both married.
Homes and Watson arrive at Stoke Maron and begin investigating the house, in particular the two bedrooms. There were two significant finds of Holmes’, one was the ventilator shaft between Dr Roylott’s room and Helens room. Also the bell rope, which was fake and why was there a saucer of milk, left upon the safe. Helen must sleep in her own room whilst Holmes and Watson sleep in her sisters. The case is potentially very dangerous so Watson is armed in case of attack. Nothing actually happens for a long period of time, suddenly Holmes begins to thrash at something on the bell rope with his cane. Then after the beating had stopped, they heard a terrible shriek from next door. The rushed in to Dr. Roylott’s room, finding him dead with a strange banded coil around his head. It was a poisonous snake that had killed Helens sister and now Dr. Roylott.
Helen was taken to her aunts house for safety, Holmes then goes on to conclude that although he is somewhat responsible for Dr. Roylott’s death he cannot feel guilty,
“violence does, not in truth, recoil upon the violent, and the schemer falls into the pit which he digs for another.”
The Speckled Band was set in a place called Stoke Moran in which a murder had taken place, in a mansion that Dr. Roylott owned. Also Sherlock Holmes office in Baker Street, London and The Crown Inn were Holmes and Watson waited for the signal to go into the mansion and find out who killed or what killed Helens sister.
Sherlock Holmes is one of the main characters in this story, he is the brains behind the mystery and he is the one who, finds out who the killer is. He is a private detective and gives detailed investigations and is a clever individual. Dr. Watson is Holmes loyal companion and trusted friend. He is also the narrator of the story. Helen Stoner is the young lady in distress who calls upon Holmes to help find who murdered her sister and to prevent it from happening to her. Dr. Roylott is the stepfather, who is aggressive and violent towards other people. He is the villain behind the story even when it doesn’t seen possible.
There is plenty of pre-twentieth century language in this story, for example “it is fear, Mr Holmes. It’s terror.” Also this language describes the death of the sister in a very pre-twentieth century way, “Oh my god! Helen! It was the band! The Speckled Band! The stories language is very seductive and makes you want to carry on reading to find out who killed the sister. The language is full of pre-twentieth century words and phrases, which wouldn’t make sense in this day and age.
I feel that all three stories have their good points and bad points, but I think “The Speckled Band” has the best story and is well written. It is more entertaining than both the other stories and I would gladly read it again. The two other stories had their good parts but overall, “The Speckled Band” was the best choice for me. I think that the Signalman was the most effective ghost stories as it was the only one for me that was actually about ghosts. The others were really about a killer and someone’s imagination. The Signalman was the only one to me that actually contained a ghost and some being haunted and then killed. I think the most entertaining ghost story for the nineteenth century had to be the speckled band as it had everything that an audience would actually want in a gripping murder story. Its got action, suspense and drama, which are all the ingredients for a classic and entertaining story like this one.
