H.G. Wells describes the narrator’s journey to the Red Room in great depth with a contrast of long and short sentences, with the use of descriptive language. The narrator at this point becomes very melodramatic and starts to discuss every little piece of detail that is not necessary. He pays a lot of attention to the detailed surroundings and often refers to one specific thing on more than one occasion. However the journey has a great effect on both the reader and the narrator. It creates fear and suspense and is a tension builder; the passage is the start of growing fear that the narrator experiences. This ‘chilly, echoing passage’ is a common factor in a ghost story for it is dark, damp, cold and dusty. It is dimly lit, any sound can be heard and any movements made are greatly magnified. As the narrator carries on down the passage, he sees shadows and ornaments, which make him feel slightly uneasy. H.G. Wells uses imagery to help paint a clear picture in the reader’s mind. “The moonlight coming in by the great window on the staircase picked out everything in vivid black shadow or silvering illumination. “The frequent use of “shadow” adds to the experience of fear before even entering the room.
“But its shadow fell with marvellous distinctness upon the white panelling and gave me the impression of someone crouching to waylay me.”
H.G Wells has written the journey to the red room as a piece of continuous writing, as it creates a rhythm and has a pace to it. Therefore the journey seems to be never ending.
As the narrator enters the red room we realise how he is being very protective with the candle, it makes the readers want to know whether or not he has a sense of fear. He closes the door and ensures himself that the door is securely locked, the reason being is to make himself feel more safe as he is slightly nerved that someone could come in; although he is expecting the threat to come from a person and not a ghost. However the tension begins to rise as he carries on examining the room. He begins to pick out lots of small detail, again this shows the readers he is being very melodramatic.
“I pulled up the blinds and examined the fastenings of the several windows before closing the shutters.”
The dark detail of the room creates the atmosphere as it makes the narrator feel he has been stranded in a room full of blackness. H.G Wells uses lots of verbs to describe every action made by the narrator. The use of verbs helps explain the narrator but also makes him sound rather superstitious, cautious and curious, it gives him a childish like appearance. He tucks “up the valances of the bed” and begins to look for “secret openings.”
This makes the readers want to know does he really believe in monsters or ghosts?
The narrator then begins to light as many candles as he possibly can. Not only does it give the room a brighter feeling it also makes the narrator feel secure. H.G Wells has structured the story so that there is alternating tension and cheeriness of the narrator in the Red Room.
The narrator tries to ignore his anxiety by speaking out aloud, giving rational explanations and reciting rhymes. “I began to string some rhymes together.” This puts the reader’s mind at ease, yet at the same time the reader knows that tension is being created. However the narrator does this to convince himself that there are no ghosts?
The narrator feels a lot more protected once the candles have been lit, where as when he first stepped into the room the darkness made him feel slightly uneasy. Although he is feeling safe and nothing strange is happening he has still prepared himself for the worst, by arranging his revolver by the side of him, which again makes him feel safe. However as soon as the candles go out he becomes unsettled, the constant relighting of the candles adds to the tension and soon the narrator senses fear.
“It was after midnight that the candle in the alcove suddenly went out, and the black shadow sprang back to its place.”
He tries to reassure himself by showing humour “That drought’s a strong one!” however he still senses that something or someone is there.
He begins to lose his self-control, when he realises that he can’t stop the candles from going out. “I cried with a queer high note.” Shows us that his voice is no longer in control. It is here that panic sets in, when the narrator reacts badly to the candles going out. He attempts to keep the room well lit on several occasions, but each time he comes closer to a growing “engulfing darkness”. As darkness increases the narrator becomes terrified. H.G Wells has used metaphoric language to personify the darkness to help empathise fear in the Red room. The narrator then experiences fear by believing things are there that don’t exist, such as “An invisible hand.” He has a battle with something that’s not visible, a battle between the flames. However the experiences of fear only occur once the narrator is in darkness. “I was almost frantic with the horror of the coming darkness.” The darkness overcomes the narrator as he struggles to keep his self-control and he completely loses it. “I stumbled and fell.” The constant repetition of darkness further adds to the fear “Flung out my arms in a vain effort to thrust that ponderous blackness away from me.” The narrator soon realises that he has lost the battle and is attacking himself “Struck myself against some other bulky furniture.”
The narrator has been defeated by fear, due to the loss of his self-confidence, which is due to the darkness. He still tries to reassure himself by again speaking out aloud to himself to remain rational. “Systematic examination.”
The readers are able to notice the difference in the narrator’s attitude at the beginning of the story and the way his attitude has changed towards the end of the story. The narrator now knows that some things can’t be explained and are better off not being explained.
“The Worst of all the things that haunt poor mortal man and that is, in all its nakedness- Fear.”
The narrator gives a less melodramatic description and doesn’t seem to ignore the old man’s experience, but also seems to be certain that there is no ghost or spirit.
H.G Well’s language conveys different states of fear by using façade because to the audience the narrator seems like he is being brave, he shows confidence but yet he still feels nervous and uncomfortable towards the housekeepers. The mysterious behaviour can seem curious.
H.G Wells has written the story so that it can still escape a ‘modern reader’. Although a modern reader is familiar with horror stories and horror films, H.G Wells still keeps the reader engaged with the story. He has created a tense atmosphere throughout the story, and left many cliffhangers, where the readers are left in suspense, making them want to carry on.
The imagery that H.G Wells uses in this story is descriptive and traditional of a Victorian horror story with its castle, the characters and of what is in the castle. H.G Wells uses the imagery as part of what the narrator is scared of. He uses vivid black shadows, furniture and the candlelight all as part of the narrators imagined fear of the Red Room.
“The shadows seemed to take another step towards me”
This again helps a modern reader imagine the fear the narrator is experiencing and since H.G Wells has written the story in first person, the story sounds more emotional, thus the reader is able to understand how narrator is feeling.
I have shown how H.G Wells has successfully conveyed fear in the Red Room by discussing how the narrator’s attitude is at the beginning of the story, the way in which the narrator handles fear, and how fear defeats the narrator; with the use of descriptive, detailed language, use of verbs and metaphorical language.
