Overall, The Signalman is a typical ghost story as it has a supernatural plot where a man sees a ghost, which then leads to his death and the death of others. Although, in a way The Red Room is not a typical ghost story as you discover at the end there are no ghosts involved, it does have the same outline and features of a ghost story but it relies on fear and not the supernatural.
The setting of a ghost story is one of the most important factors when writing a story. The author has to choose carefully where the story will be set to create a mysterious atmosphere. The Red Room is set in a typical place- an old house, it has old people living in it which signifies they know the history of the house and what supernatural beings lie within it. Whereas, The Signalman has a different setting. It is located in a valley, on a railway line. Which is not that mysterious or supernatural in a modern world, but during Victorian times people were very uncertain about new technology such as steam engines. By having the story set on a railway line makes the scene more eerie as there are now two fears- the fear of Ghosts and the fear of Modern Technology, which most people at the time did not trust. Charles Dickens has used plenty of adjectives to describe how lonely the signalman is and to describe the setting. “His post was solitary and dismal” the narrator keeps pointing out that the signalman is always on his own, he calls the setting a “dungeon.” He then moves on to describe the setting “A dripping wet wall of jagged stone” this builds suspense up as well, as you know it is the perfect place for something to go wrong. Finally, he describes the tunnel-“Depressing, barbarous, with a forbidding air”. We now know the climax of the story will be here, by the mouth of the tunnel.
The time of day is very important in ghost stories, especially ones that are written pre 1914, as there was no electricity in most houses. This is a key factor which authors pick up on; they can use imagery to describe these dark places by using similes, metaphors and personification. “Plunged into darkness” and “Feared and fought against.” Although the time of day is not spoken about in The Red Room, there is a lot said about how dark it is. The ending is involved, by referring to the candles going out mysteriously so it would suggest it is during the night “two candles were extinguished and the room plummeted into a sombre red and black.” A dark setting adds tension and creates a more mysterious atmosphere. Whereas in The Signalman, we are told the ghost only appears during the night. “One moonlight night.” Colours are a useful way of reflecting the concerns and faces of the author, as they resemble a lot. Black and red are used in both stories to create fear and danger. The tunnel and the room are black which resembles death and fear of the unknown and red resembles a warning. “The room plummeted into a sombre red and black” and “Terminating a gloomy red light with a black tunnel” Both the stories end in day light which contrasts the dark and lets the reader know it is all over.
The characterisation is talked about a lot in both stories. The signalman is described right at the start so we can clearly picture and sympathise for the lonely man. “Dark sallow man, dark heavy eyebrow.” This tells us he has been on his own for along time as he has not dressed or kept himself clean for friends or family. In this story the character is revealed to the reader whereas in The Red Room the narrative only tells us about other characters- the old people. This discomforts the narrator “ He had a withered arm” the only thing we find out about the narrator is he is sceptical of supernatural beings and doesn’t believe in ghosts. This narrative style hints at the fact that he will survive and will not discover any ghosts, whereas The signalman is described so when he is found murdered you feel sorry for him as you knew the ghosts were warning him of his death.
H G Wells and Charles Dickens are extremely good at building suspense in the two stories, although the authors have gone about it in different ways. In The Signalman suspense is built up right from the start as the narrator calling down shocks him. “halloa!” The use of repetition is used to describe when he sees the ghosts, this happens three times. The suspense increases when he talks about the ghost the dies down a bit but then it is created again causing a ripple effect the reader feels something will happen sooner and sooner but then nothing happens so suspense is created. The author has not described the ghosts, he has left it up to the reader to decide, which builds tension as it is your imagination that can see the ghost. In The Red Room suspense again is built form the start as the narrator talks to the old people. The reader knows something will go wrong when the lady tells the narrator not to got o the Red Room –“This night of all nights!” this sentence is repeated again just before he makes his journey to the room to add even more suspense. Repetition is also used again in the room when the candles keep being extinguished. This builds suspense and panic all the way to the final climax. “The flame vanished” In a way the old people are red herrings as they really try to scare off the narrator by telling him not to go to the room. “ There are many things to see and sorrow for.” But in the end he discovers there is nothing in there.
The resolution in The Signalman is very satisfying as it has a twist were the main character is killed. Throughout the story, you feel this could never happen but after reading it you realise the ghosts weren’t warning over civilians’ deaths, they were warning of his death. The ending does have a moral as it is telling people to be careful with modern technology and to not always trust it and that people can be killed. People of the time would like this, as this is very similar to what they believe in. Although, the ending of The Red Room wasn’t very satisfying as it spent a long time building up suspense and this supernatural factor only to be told there was no ghost. I fell the morale of the story is to not be so sceptical of new forms of technology as in a way it tells you not to always believe what other people tell you.
The stories raise concern about fate and the after life, they are telling the reader that ghosts do exist. Throughout the Signalman we feel the ghost is evil, but in fact it has always been there, trying to warn him that something will happen. It is just the fact that people won’t accept that ghosts can help us and from what they have been told by others- that ghosts are evil. People during Victorian times believed that there are supernatural beings, people were even hung for ‘being witches’ so these sorts of stories were entertainment for the reader, but also filled their minds with even more uncertainty about the after life. A modern reader would have a different reaction, as we are more sceptical about the after life so wouldn’t necessarily believe the story was true but would enjoy reading it. The attitude of the modern person may also affect their beliefs of the story and whether or not it does have a moral or hidden meaning.
