The reader is now forced into thinking that this is where dead people go adding fear and the feeling of extraordinary into the story. Water is closely associated with life so this is probably the place where the fountain folk law comes from. This adds to the mystery of the whole occasion. He would not go anywhere near the spring whilst he was alive so he may have gone there to meet or at least to try and meet his son.
This story is full to the brim with death. Each character appears to be a witness to a death of some sort. Hardy has attempted to use Devon old folk law to help build a story that creates fear and suspense for the reader. A very strong image is illustrated when he went into the church but never to return. It seemed to me that when a witness recited their statement the story sped up. “ Last night, being Old Midsummer Eve, some of us went to church porch, and didn’ get home til’ near one.” A lot of punctuation is used here and throughout the play Hardy tries to use improper grammar and phonetic spelling which helped make the story seem real and therefore more fearful and exciting for the reader.
The second story to comment on is “Confessions Found in a Prison” by the legendary Charles Dickens. This story on first read seems heavily influenced by the horror writer Edgar Allan Poe who has influenced many horror writers. His ideas appear in numerous amounts of horror stories of the 19th century and even today his ideas still play a huge part in horror writing and films.
This particular story is about a child, whose parents die and he ends up living with his auntie and uncle. Unfortunately for him though his uncle loathes him. This helps add tension and suspense to the story and throws fear into the reader. Dickens is clearly keen to make the child seem defenceless as he uses the word “little” to describe him on numerous occasions. This means the reader becomes very critical of the uncle very early on in the story even before his plot to kill the young boy is even revealed. I believe also that the reader is made to fear the truth or confession of the man in prison. “this is the last night I have to live, and I will set down the naked truth without disguise.” Dickens again increases the fear in the reader when he writes, “my name is in the black book of death.” This is because he uses the word “death” which is sure to catch the reader’s attention and make them feel fearful. “He bequeathed to him all he had.” This starts to further worry the reader of the story as we begin to think that there is maybe an ulterior motive about his actions.
We then learn of his ideas to kill the “little” child. He says, “I may have thought how serviceable his inheritance may have been to us.” This shows the greed of the uncle and angers the readers yet more. It then becomes clear that Dickens had wanted to write about a wealthy young boy and put him up against his mean uncle. The boy is evidently living in a very unstable family. This means all the readers’ sympathy is cast upon him getting the reader much more involved. The reader should feel fearful as this boy is supposed to protect his inheritance from someone who is keen to take advantage of his fragile state. “I could never bear that the child see me looking at him.” The reader will now feel wound up about this and feel angered and fearful. At this point the child starts to sense that his uncle is going to kill him. This gives the impression that his uncle is very cowardly which can also help enhance the reader’s great anger. His general dislike for the child has resulted in him wanting to kill the young boy. “creeping under certain shrubs.” In more graphic parts of the short story a more fluent, faster and emotive story is told. This man has now started to stalk the child and wants to kill him with a real great passion. This strikes fear into the reader. Dickens uses powerful words such as “thrust” and “terror” are used giving the reader horrific imagery which mirrors the uncles behaviour.
“His mother’s ghost was looking from his eyes.” is a hugely powerful quotation. It has reference to the extraordinary but also puts fear into the reader. We later find out that the boy’s mother hated the uncle he was staying with. The reader then realises that the child is in her child. This strikes both fear and the extraordinary into the reader. It is clear that the uncle will be killing three people and not just one. Him, his mother and father. This adds another section to the huge list of reasons to dislike the uncle.
“That night I buried him in a garden.” This is similar to many other murders. It strikes fear again into the reader. At this point Dickens changes the structure somewhat by using lots of short sentences and commas. This adds to the fear of the story as it seems to speed up and more strong imagery is used. “I ordered scouts in every direction.” This is the cover up of the terrible crime. The reader is now in suspense asking themselves if justice will be done and the boy is found. Though this does seem unlikely, as no one would believe that it was he. “I spent the night in fits and starts.” He is dreaming about what he has done. He is reliving the search and the murder, which further enhances the fear, and suspense in the reader as the story is told again. This also shows that the uncle is feeling guilty and the reader may now have a better opinion of him.
“I sat down with my chair upon the grave.” This is very strong imagery. The reader at this point will be feeling the suspense. The man who wanted the boy only for the money is now sitting on him. “I shivered.” He obviously is very concerned with what he has done. The shivering makes him more life like to the reader. “The angry dog tearing at the earth.” The dog’s action is very similar to that of the uncle. This shows that a mere dog has similar characteristics to him.
The story ends with “I die tomorrow.” This is an excellent finish to the story. The reader will feel relief knowing that justice will be done but in truth if he was to stay alive the guilt would be more than enough punishment. This is a story of greed. The uncle wants the inheritance of the boy and so greed forces him to kill the boy. He tries to cover up his murder but gets found out. This is similar to many stories or films today. The story contains mystery, suspense and fear. Dickens did not give the people names in the story. This helps to add suspense and mystery but also means that you don’t get as attached to the characters as you would in a story that does include names.
“The Red Room” by H.G. Wells is the last of the allotted stories I would like to discuss. It is set in a haunted house creating the feeling of the extraordinary and immediately striking fear into the reader. Many haunted houses in England are deserted and are unoccupied because people are scared of the unknown. This is a very good setting for a story like this although somewhat predictable. In the opening line we see the use of ghost, which stands out next to the word “tangible” This, strikes fear into the reader. “She swayed her head side to side.” This shows that the woman is very uneasy and unnerved in living in the house and it also strikes fear into the reader. The reader is new to this haunted house and is fearful as is the woman who despite living there for years is still scared.
“They were trying to enhance the spiritual terror.” These words strike fear into the reader. The place sounds bad enough even without the enhancement of people who live there. Also Wells’ choice of word throughout the book, like in the quotation above, adds to the fear and terror of the story. The sounds of noises in the houses, which are unexplained, add to the extraordinary and fear in the reader. As the sound of the noises are not explained, and left unknown, the reader begins to think that the noises are more sinister than what they may in fact be. “Grotesque custodians” shows the language used in the book to strike fear into the reader. The use of old people helps add the antiquated feel of the house. This again helps bring in more fear into the reader, as ghosts are often found in older houses. “There’s a candle on the slab outside the door.” This makes the reader feel fear and scared and possibly tense. The room is clearly dark. This means that many of the things in the room are unknown which helps add to the fear; this is the reason for people being scared of the dark. “But if you go into the red room tonight.” This sentence is cut short to help add to the suspense of the reader. “an age when omens and witches were credible.” This adds fear into the reader as the person in the story, who has not got a name and so this adds also suspense and the feeling of not knowing. When the narrator enters the room with the candles, the red room, the story begins to speed up. We can now feel the fear in the voice of the person that is s about to enter the room.
“Sudden twinge of apprehension.” This is fast, so it fits in well with the speed of the story. At this point I think that the character is trying to synchronize the fear and apprehension in the reader, this adds to the feeling experienced by the reader. When he enters the room he checks everything. Even “the dark oak panelling.” I think that this adds to the reader’s fear because even something apparently harmless can have evil spirits lurking around or even in it.
“My precise examination of the room has done me good, but I still found the remoter darkness of the place too stimulating for the imagination.” This continues to build the fear in the reader. Once more their feeling is reflected in the person’s actions. Wells had made different sounds, which may have been ordinary sounds, seem something sinister. This plays on the imagination of the reader and on the person observing the room, of course. “The echoes were not pleasant.” In my opinion echoes make the things in the room have a voice. This could be the ghost. The reader is yet again encountering the extraordinary. The “ingoldsby fashion” collection of nineteenth century ghost poems also make the reader aware of the extraordinary connotations of the room. “Penumbra perpetually shifting and stirring.” This gives the shadows a human form, which adds to the fear of the reader.
“I turned my head involuntary, and saw two candles on the little fireplace were extinguished.” This makes the reader feel frightened and it strikes fear into them. Yet again Well’s has managed to make something like a draught of wind into a ghost. The candle continues going out despite him relighting them. This makes the reader feel even more fearful. If it were the wind it would not target some candles and not others.
After this point the story speeds up greatly as huge chunks of the text are in short sentences. This is due to there being a lot going on as he tumbles about the floor trying to fight this extraordinary force. This makes the reader also more fearful and adds to the suspense because you have no idea what will happen next. I believe that light symbolises life. As someone keeps putting the candles out, this must surely mean that something not alive is in there. “I had forgotten the exact position of the door.” This makes the reader even more fearful as you don’t know if he will get out. The next section of the story includes a vast amount of description and action. It climaxes with” I remember no more.” This makes the reader feel fear as you think that he may well be dead. When he wakes up the old people who refused to go into the room surround him. “The room is haunted.” Is the last shock of the story as the fear is released a little. It ends by talking about the power of darkness. This makes the story end with the reader in fear.
I believe that Wells has done extraordinarily well to make ordinary events seem much more sinister. He has been able to play on the fear of people to create a story feared my numerous people.
The three horror stories all have differentiating styles of frightening the reader. Some used folk laws around in this country at that time. Others used ideas from other people to help create a truly horrific story whilst managing to use great imagery and description. I think that all three of the above can be found inside these stories. Today’s films use the same ideas and concepts to shock people. This shows how good imagery and description will forever be crucial in horror books and film as they are able to shock an audience without becoming tame. Especially if murder, abduction or supernatural beings are used. All three authors create atmosphere by their choice of language. For example when describing people with a “withered arm” and “monstrous shadow.” As well as their description of houses “queer old mirror” and “door creaked” these have been much used clichés in horror films and novels throughout the 20th Century. I think that all three writers have managed to use the ideas of horror stories from people like Edgar Allan Poe. In particular, Hardy uses Poe’s types of settings such as ddilapidated and derelict buildings. They use these locations to illustrate people who have neglected their own welfare and were regarded as morally corrupt. Another common theme that runs through the three stories is the constant gloominess suggested by the cold and dark contributing to the atmosphere of oppression and neglect. Hardy in particular likes to use witness’s accounts to write a mystery story about death whilst Dickens used greed and dislike as a reason to kill a young boy. Wells used strong imagery technique to create horrific scene and suspense.
I think that all three stories are able to portray the feeling of the extraordinary, fear and terror.
