Also the character is very sceptical about the supernatural, “It will take a very tangible ghost to frighten me” but still manages to become worried about a spirit in the room, “in a state of considerable nervous tension”. This could mean that there is something in the Red Room because even someone as disbelieving as him becomes nervous in there.
The idea of a ghost being in the room, in my opinion, is probably due to the character’s over-active imagination which tales of the haunted room add to. At the beginning of the story the old people in the house create tension by repeating phrases like “It is your own choosing” and “This night of all nights”, this would make the character feel uneasy and slightly nervous about what is to come and could change his feelings upon going into the room. The character also personifies the darkness around him, “the remoter darkness of the place, and its perfect stillness, too stimulating for the imagination” this not only creates tension but makes it sound like it is the reason for his paranoia, as it sounds like there is something real around him but in reality it is only darkness. Also, later on in the story, when the candles start going out, “then in a volley there vanished four lights at once in different corners of the room” and the ornamental Chinaman’s head begins to rock “a porcelain Chinaman on a table whose head rocked as I passed him” these could both be due to a draught or his frantic movement in the room causing a slight breeze and not the work of a malicious spirit. He says himself when he first goes into the room that the candles are flickering in the breeze, “the one in the alcove flared in a draught” which shows that there was a light wind that could have became stronger and blown the other candles out. The gothic setting and colours of the house also add to the idea that there is a ghost as it fits into gothic tradition, with the old passages, “the chilly, echoing passage”, spiral staircases,” through that is a spiral staircase” and grand windows, “great window on the grand staircase”, these could make the character feel nervous of his surroundings and therefore uncomfortable, which could cause his imagination to wander. Also the sign that it is dusty,” the long subterranean passage was chilly and dusty” shows that the house is not very well looked after or inhabited often and has been left to fall into decay for many years, which not only falls into gothic tradition but because of the obvious age of the house it could make the character feel that it hides many secrets in the spooky surroundings. I think the darkness and fear of the unknown are the main reasons for the unease in the Red Room and the character did not actually see anything but just thought that he did, in addition to this he says that things seemed to happen which shows that he des not actually know if they did, “an invisible hand seemed to sweep out the two candles on the table”. The words “invisible hand” shows that there is nothing there and it is just his imagination or a breeze. Furthermore the fact that both the main character fell down the same stairs that the duke fell down years ago when he was trying to complete the same vigil does not mean that there is anything supernatural pushing them, but just means that because all the candles had gone out, it was dark and they could not see where they were going and with all the panic both the character and the duke tripped too near the stairs. The character admits that his imagination is controlling his thoughts, “dispel the fanciful suggestions of its obscurity before they obtained a hold on me” so I think that he just let his imagination take over his rational thoughts and started to believe and become afraid of the spirit more than he otherwise would do. Finally the character says at the end of the story that it is his fear that made the Red room intimidating and not a ghost, “there is no ghost there at all; but worse far worse… Fear…” so this proves that there is no ghost.
To conclude I think that there are some compelling descriptions and tales of a supernatural presence in the room that could mean that the Red Room is haunted because of the deaths that have taken place in there and the fact that neither the character or the young duke could complete a vigil in the room could be due to a supernatural being. However in my opinion there are rational explanations for all the “mysterious” happenings and as there is no sign of a tangible ghost, or anything else for that matter, I agree with the characters own conclusion at the end of the story, that there is nothing in the room and it was just his own fear that frightened him out of staying there.