‘The Red Room’ was written some time after ‘The Signalman’ but both were written in the nineteenth century.
An effective short story is composed of many characteristics. In my opinion, literary devices such as similes and metaphors build an atmosphere and a tension (when in a supernatural story). Also the length of sentences is important when in a gothic short story. Short sentences are important to imply a tense, scary feeling, however long sentences are to imply safe, calm moments of a story. This literary device which I find is the most important in not only short ghost stories but all short stories. I believe that without irony a ghost story would not be worth reading as it is what gives the story its potency. In ‘The Signalman’ irony is the basis of the story. I will go into more detail later on. ‘The Red Room’, however, is not all as powerful and as well used as in ‘The Signalman’. The twist added by irony is essential to a ghost story. Although this is not a literary device the number three features in most ghost stories. As in ‘The Red Room’ three mishaps take place in and around the room, and in ‘The Signalman’ three appearances of the ghost bringing three tragic incidents. It creates an uncertainty that something more will happen. Repetition is used a lot in short stories, creating a theme, like in ‘The Signalman’. However in ‘The Red Room’ repetition is used to smaller effect such as to make an air of worry, ‘("This night of all nights!" said the old woman.)’. This line is repeated a paragraph later.
‘The Signalman’ is a story of a signalman who is haunted by the warning of unfortunate happenings, in the form of the ghost, to come in the future that he cannot comprehend. He is visited by a by who shouts the words ‘Halloa, bellow there’. This is what the ghost shouts to the signalman to warn him. The signalman tells the narrator of his sightings under the red light in the tunnel and the terrible incidents afterwards. Finally, there is one more appearance of the ghost during this appearance the entranced signalman is run over by a train.
There are few literary devices used in this ghost story. For example there are little metaphors or similes, ‘could he never rise into the sunshine from between those high stone walls?’ Although there is repetition, which creates a theme or a pattern repeated throughout the text, for example the words I previously mentioned, ‘Halloa, bellow there’, ‘Look out! Look out!’ ‘For God’s sake, clear the way!’ This repetition is used as I explained to make a theme. In this case a link between the characters which has a supernatural element. Personification is used, ‘wet stains stealing down the walls’ to give the effect of there surroundings being alive or almost watching in on the scene, this once again adds a supernatural tone. Irony is another literary device which I have explained the purpose of in ‘The Signalman’ already, it is to add a supernatural zest to the story.
‘The Red Room’ is not that dissimilar to ‘The Signalman’. He uses metaphors and similes but few and far between, ‘and left an ocean of mystery and suggestion beyond its island of light’. He also uses irony, as I have said, but in this the irony is of lesser influence. It is only a mild shock, which as I stated earlier, I do not think is appropriate when trying to scare the reader. The literary techniques are similar to that of ‘The Signalman’. Repetition, for example, is used. However in ‘The Red Room’ repetition is used to smaller effect such as to make an air of worry, ‘("This night of all nights!" said the old woman.)’. This line is repeated a paragraph later. Unlike ‘The Signalman’ there is a frequent use of adverbs such as ‘whose head rocked silently as I passed him, scarcely startled me.’ Adverbs are used in this piece to build a vivid image in the imagination. On the other hand, ‘The Signalman’ displays a lack of description.
In conclusion, I find that ‘The Signalman’ was a more effective supernatural short story than ‘The Red Room’. On one hand ‘The Signalman’ had a distinct lack of description, but on the other hand, ‘The Red Room’ had a fault in strength of irony. As I said in my description of what makes a good short story, I described irony as what is needed to make a ghost story what it is. I find that as ‘The Red Room’ does not have a shocking enough ironic twist to scare the reader, therefore I found ‘The Signalman’ more effective.
