What is it that makes an effective Horror story?
The essay over the next few pages aims to explore what it is that makes a horror story so effective, and which of the two that I have chosen, are the most effective. A horror story is made up of a Tense and chilling atmosphere, added to some rather exciting happenings and a main character. They give you adrenaline rushes without you actually being in the action, which is why there so popular. The first horror story ever written was the castle of otronto by Horace Walpole. He was so ashamed by this ‘new’ form of story, he pretended at first it wasn’t his, then as it became really popular, he owned up and made some more. The Castle of Otronto started off the trend of horror storys, and a new age in literature began.
The first horror story I am going to look at will be “The Judge’s house” by Bram Stoker in 1891. In this story, the tension begins to build right at the beginning “Malcolm Malcolmson made up his mind to go somewhere to read by himself”. We know that Malcolm is the main character now, and has decided to study for his Exams on his own. The tension is created because we know that the setting will be the farthest thing from safety. “…unpretentious little town … nothing to distract him”. He goes to a place a long way away called “Benchurch”. He arrives at a gothic style house, described as a sort of prison/house, which is now typical, for a horror story as many have copied off of other older books like this one now. The tension rises when we are told that he is staying the night in an “Old rambling, heavy-built house of the Jacobean style”. We begin to feel more tension as the agent, Mr. Carnford he’d be happy for Malcolm to have the term in the house for free to prove there is nothing wrong with it, which hints that something might be wrong, However he does pay his three-month rent. The tension is rising steeply when he talks about the house to a local landlady of the inn where is he staying, she says “Not in the Judge’s House!” She grows ‘pale’ as she speaks. The reader should now realize that there is really something bad going to happen, or this is the place that the horror will happen. He is told and warned that he shouldn’t pend a single night there, which makes us wonder whether something has happened long ago that the locals are in the know about. When our two main characters enter the house they work out from the bed it hasn’t been entered or slept in for 50 years. The maid was indeed curious to see inside the house, and obviously curious and eager to disprove the fact that there might not be a sence of evil about it. The old lady offers to stay the night, but Malcolm persuades her not to, and that he is fine by himself. She does not seem rather pleased about this, but leaves. All through the night Malcolm hears mice or rats scampering making loud noise which begin to irritate him, and as the main character build emotion the tension builds, but also builds anticipation. The rats are still there, but he “…got accustomed to the noise as one does to the ticking of a clock…” Malcolm Draws his attention back to the rats which have started scampering again. It look from the book that the rats are playing with Malcolm’s mind so more tension is created. The tension carrys on rising as Malcolm Notices a large portrait of the Judge, the owner of the house. At first glance he started so suddenly that he almost dropped a lamp he was carrying. This raises tension as Malcolm makes a mistake nearly dropping the lamp showing that he is very scared at this time. “It was nearly an hour when he looked up from his book disturbed by the sudden stillness”. This creates tension as in the middle of the night, when everything is still, you are waiting for something to happen. There’s no wind howling and roaring, there is no sound. Tension rises extremely as the Judge rises from his chair. This is when you actually begin to feel frightened. There was some fascination inn the Judge’s eyes. The Judge is keeping his baleful eyes on Malcolmson the whole time, which brings the tension right up. Nobody likes to be glared in the eye. Finally, the Judge, who had been keeping his eyes fixed on Malcolmson, looks up. When the alarm goes off in the Judge’s house, crowds rush and see what’s going on, the doctor at the head. When they burst into the great dining – room, they find at the end of the rope of the great alarm bell, hung the body of the student. And when they looked up at the picture of the Judge, there is a malignant smile.
