In Gothic Horrors there is usually no escape route for the characters of the stories. It puts them in a difficult position, with no way out which can build up suspense, keeping the reader’s interest and attention. When the characters are trapped in these situations it can be very unnerving for the reader as there are always delays for them to find out what happens; they are always kept in suspense. In 'The Red Room' the protagonist experiences unnatural feelings, while inside a room which he could not escape from. The characters have overactive imaginations and their emotions are always described, delaying the main feature by building up the suspense. The light source, usually the moonlight, can be used to portray the ordinary objects surrounding the characters as menacing as it can cause disorientation within the characters. “The moonlight coming in by the great window,” affected the objects in ‘The Red Room’ by making them look like: “vivid black shadows or silvery illumination.” What Gothic Horror authors would describe the most would be the emotions of the characters. They are usually extreme emotions; fear being the most common.
Herbert George Wells was an English novelist, he was born in Bromley on 21st September, 1866 and he died in 1946. His first book was called ‘The Time Machine’; he is mainly associated with the genre Science Fiction. He was the author of the Gothic Horror story ‘The Red Room’. H. G. Wells was concerned about the fate of humanity. He was in a world where technology and scientific study were advancing rapidly. Wells was a philosopher; he was a member of the socialist Fabian Society.
William Wymark Jacobs, who wrote 'The Monkey's Paw', is known especially for his sea stories. His familiarity with the wharves and the people who frequented them gave him material for these stories. Jacobs was born in 1863 and he was born in London. He held a civil-service position in the post office before becoming a professional writer, although even then he practised writing as a hobby. He finally resigned from the post office to give his full attention to literature. His first short story was ‘Many Cargoes’, it appeared in 1896. Jacobs's tales are usually filled with humour, but his best-known story, ‘The Monkey's Paw’, which was written in 1902, is a widely anthologized tale of horror. His last short story, Snug Harbour, appeared in 1931. W. W. Jacobs died in 1943.
‘The Red Room’ is set in ‘Lorraine Castle’. This castle adds to the tension as it has been “deserted for eighteen months.” This is similar to ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ as the cottage is in the middle of nowhere. The pathway is very lengthy, as the protagonist makes his way to the red room the surroundings on the way are described to keep the reader in suspense. Since the red room is very far from the parlour, the journey would prolong the reader from getting to the main part of the story, describing “the long, draughty subterranean passage was chilly and dusty.” Subterranean suggests that it is dark and enclosed, just like an old tomb. In ‘The Cone’ the author also prolongs the reader from getting to the main place of events. “He had stopped talking to catch his breath.” Breathlessness, gasping and exhaustion can also build tension.
There are similarities on the passage/pathway in ‘The Red Room’ and ‘The Monkey’s Paw’. Both are very long distances and both are isolated in the middle of nowhere. Since both are set at night time it is very dark in both places. The writer of ‘The Red Room’ describes the ornaments on the landing as “ghostly ornaments.” They were “from another age,” and they need modernising because they are old. In ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ there is also an exotic, creepy object: the actual monkey’s paw itself. A spiral staircase leads up to the red room. This adds to the creepy effect as the protagonist has to walk in the dark, being only able to see what his candle lights, and not knowing when the staircase will end as he cannot see to the top. This is alike ‘The Monkey’s Paw’ as the characters have to use candles to be able to see around at night when they have to find the paw after coming up with the idea to wish their son alive.
The light source was from the moon. It reflected light into the castle through the ‘great window’. It caused all the objects in the room to look as if they were in “vivid black shadow or silvery illumination.” This light is not very reassuring but there isn’t much choice as the story takes place during night, just like ‘The Monkey’s Paw’.
The “bronze group stood upon the landing” are statues. The statues add to the tension as they frighten the protagonist because he cannot see them clearly due to the lack of light and because their shadows are badly distorted. The shadow of the statues looked like it was someone creeping down getting ready to pounce on him and attack him. “A bronze group stood upon the landing, hidden from me by the corner of the wall, but its shadow fell with marvellous distinctness upon the white panelling and gave me the impression of someone crouching to waylay me.”
There are three pages of text that is about the protagonist entering the red room. This can help give a creepy effect because it is describing how dark and scary the passage way to the red room was. It helps set the scene and also keeps the reader in suspense.
The colours described in 'The Red Room' are important because they help add to the creepy effect. They are effective because black is a common colour in Gothic Horrors, it makes the place sound like a dark and creepy place. The ‘silver illumination’ also adds to the effect because it tells us that the characters can just about see some of the objects in the room thanks to the light reflected from the moon. Silver is unreal looking, it is mystical. It shows how the character of 'The Red Room' feels scared or curious, as he can just about see the outlines of the different objects, giving the reader an image of the room and its contents. Red is possibly the colour of the room hence the name ‘red room’. Red is a classic gothic colour as it can represent blood. There is also some black but mainly up the chimney. They help give the effect of a dark and creepy room.
Tension is built by the descriptions of the darkness. “Stood with the candle held aloft.” This shows that the room is dark because a candle is needed to light the room. “With its shadowy window bays.” “Looking around that large sombre room.” “My candle was a little tongue of light in its vastness that failed to pierce the opposite end of the room.” These are quotes from the story which suggest that it is dark. They all keep the reader in suspense as they prolong them from getting to the main part of the story.
Once in the room, suspense is maintained: the red room can be seen as a large room as it is described by having an “ocean of mystery.” Oceans are very big so this shows us that the room is very large. There are many furnishing in the rooms; there is a bed, two mirrors, blinds, curtains, shutters, a fire place, candles on a mantelshelf and an armchair. The ordinary homely furnishings are infused with menace because it is a dark and haunted room which has pretty furnishings in it such as a four-poster bed. There could be someone or something lurking behind the pretty ‘valances’ of the bed or any of the other objects. You would struggle to see anything as it is so dark. There can be menacing things hiding in places like up the chimney because it is darker than usual.
Sounds such as “crackling of the fire”, “echoing” and “crackling” add to the unsettling atmosphere of the room. The fact that it is all silent in the room can be unnerving as these sounds go against the silence. The protagonist is not making any noise, so he could hear a pin drop. Hearing these two sounds can be unsettling because he’s waiting to see any unnatural being and every second of this can make him paranoid, thinking that there is something, not right, lurking near him.
The raging weather in 'The Monkey's Paw' is the contrast which opens the story. It is cold and wet and inside the small cottage it is cosy and warm. It is the opposite of outside inside the cottage. The fact that the cottage is in the middle of nowhere means that it is highly unlikely that there is someone else around the area. It is isolated as Mr White bawled: “This is the worst of living so far out.” Being far away from everyone and also being inside a cottage which is very cosy, it has the blinds drawn and the fire burning brightly. It gives you a sense of security, unlike in 'The Red Room' as being far from everyone in the red room can be unnerving. There is light from the fire and the blinds shut out all the horrible weather outside. This sense of security is made to seem fragile to add to the effect of a creepy, isolated cottage. They allowed danger into their cottage, the danger being the monkey’s paw.
Mr White has a violent outburst which can break the cosiness. He reveals, with his “unlooked-for violence,” that he’s sick and tired of how he lives in an old cottage in the middle of nowhere. It is difficult to access and there are very few neighbours close by to be there if he needs help. He’s not happy where he lives. The “path’s a bog, and the road’s a torrent.” This adds to the fragility of the cosy domestic scene.
As Mr and Mrs White waited for their second wish to come true the setting was very cold and dark. There was no fire lit or even any candles. This is similar to ‘The Cone’ it also mentions coldness. “Why is the woman’s heart cold within her?” There is also a feeling of coldness in 'The Red Room'. In the red room “the wind was blowing inside the room.” After Mrs White came up with the idea Mr White struck a match and lit a candle. Mr White could not see clearly because it was very dark, just like in 'The Red Room' the protagonist could not see clearly either due to the room being so big with only a few candles around. Mr White’s candle had a light which was not strong enough to light the room therefore Mr White had to feel his was around the house because of the darkness. “He went down in the darkness, and felt his way to the parlour.” This can add to the tension as it is making a secure place become scary. In both 'The Monkey's Paw' and 'The Red Room' they are in isolated places. It would be highly unlikely for someone to be around therefore the cottage and the castle would be safe, secure places. The characters’ powerful emotions can unsettle the reader, keeping them in suspense. It can interest them as well as there can be twists in these stories as the secure places are becoming creepy and chilling.
The old woman in 'The Red Room' says: “there’s many things to see, when one’s still but eight-and-twenty.” By this she means that the protagonist is still young, he has not experienced much. It shows he is still naïve. The protagonist claimed that: “eight-and-twenty years, I have lived, and never a ghost have I seen yet.” He is coming across as arrogant and cheeky, that he believes he is wasting his time visiting the castle.
“‘Well why don’t you have three, sir?’ said Herbert, cleverly,” and “‘Might drop on his head from the sky,’ said the frivolous Herbert.” These jokes ease the tension. Herbert is a funny person; he brings laughter, fun and sense into the family home. His jokes make his parents and the readers enjoy him more. It makes it feel worse when he dies.
When the signalman reveals the source of his “troubles” the narrator is thinking that he’s crazy. His mind is playing tricks on him. This reaction fits with the late Victorian thinking as they were the times when the people had far more faith in science and rational thinking. They all believe that they have taken a step forward, in life, with their inventions. Tension is built up when Herbert bangs on the piano as a joke. He is trying to be funny by making a silly joke; it’s a conspiracy, he is trying to make fun of his dad. Herbert shows that he is just joking by winking, showing that he is not just a silly child. A Victorian man would be ‘ashamed of credulity’ because their times were a time for great rationality.
The protagonist in 'The Red Room' makes a joke about his horrible experience. “It occurred to me that when the ghost came, I could warn him not to trip over them.” Jokes in these stories can help to ease the tension. In ‘The Cone’ Mrs Horrocks also jokes when she says: “I thought he would not spare you.” These words have an ironic foreshadowing of events later in the story because it is like an omen, it will kill Mr Raut.
Irony is also used in 'The Monkey's Paw' and ‘The Signalman’. It is ironic how Herbert says: “Well, I don’t see the money and I bet I never shall.” It is ironic as Herbert actually never gets to see the money. The words: “Below there!” in ‘The Signalman’ cause a similar foreshadowing of disaster because it is ironic because the words he uses are identical to the ghost’s.
“A fine crash from the piano greeted the words, interrupted by a shuddering cry from the old man. His wife and son ran towards him. ‘It moved’.” This shocked Mr White as the monkey’s paw moved after his wish. He felt a loss of control and let an eerie cry just as there was a loud crash from the piano. This can add to the tension as whenever a character experiences something spine-shilling they would usually lose control, leading to them have powerful emotions described. This can interest the reader as these methods of writing stories were aimed at the people in the Victorian times, people who enjoyed these types of descriptions.
The writers of these stories use a style of writing with sentences such as: “eight-twenty-years, I have lived, and never a ghost have I seen as yet.” This style is an archaic English style of writing. The writer uses it because it helps add to the chilling atmosphere. The writers would also use extended metaphors. In ‘The Cone’ there is: “and were suddenly extinguished one by one in the throat of the tunnel which, with the last, seemed to swallow down the train, smoke and sound in one abrupt gulp.” It would make the tunnel look like a living monster, greedily devouring everything around it. Similes are also commonly used in Gothic Horror stories. “Red and hot as sin,” and “white as death.” These are examples of similes from ‘The Cone’. They are unnerving and they give ‘hellish’ imagery.
In conclusion, Gothic Horror stories give readers something to enjoy. These stories can be chilling, horrific as well as exciting at the same time. These texts made the people of the Victorian era feel proud to be a Victorian, they had just come out of the Industrial Revolution which made them become more intelligent and more rational. It shows how the people of those times had matured. These texts helped me to understand the people of the Victorian era, and also the people before the Industrial Revolution, and how they became more educated, how they became more scientifically thinking and more rational. It allows me to see the difference between the times they were living in and the present times.