Ghost Stories :: English Literature

Ghost StoriesGhost stories revolve around lots of unquiet tales that work ondisplacing the readers fear. Some of the main techniques which makethem successful involve Fear, Drama, Danger and Suspense. However,the main idea is that they create stress too. Such stories which use tenseness to dramatic affect are The tearing Room by H.G. Wells andFarthing House by Susan Hill both are written in prototypical personnarrative to allow the reader to get scared along with the maincharacter. Both stories also build tension through their Style,Setting, Structure and Language.The Red Room is about a ghost hunter who is a known ghost,Farthing House is about a wo manhood who stays with her aunt at aresidential house and feels and sees a womans supernatural presencein her room - both tales have a dramatic twist at the end emphasis is created through The Red Rooms setting in many ways -Firstly I can assure you, said that it will take a real tangibleghost to frighten me. This dramatic opening t o the story sets theghost hunter as a Brave, Strong character. The word tangiblesuggests it will take more(prenominal) than a scary image to frighten him, yettension is caused because the reader now expects that something willbe frightening him - soon.H.G. Wells builds on this subtle tension and the supposed invincibleman by setting his story to contradict and unease the mansassurances, not only is he in a strange house with a legendary redroom (building immediate suspicion by the fact that the room isrenowned, You will show me to this haunted room of yours,) but Wellssurrounds him with grotesque characters too.The common chord custodians set the story by introducing the reader to theRed Room and through their crusty appearance. If is your ownchoosing, said the man with the withered arm and glanced at me squint-eyed only four lines into the story and the main character, alongwith the reader already senses that all is not well, mainly becausethe man is deformed - withered and becau se he is performing oddly i.e.looking askance. This action suggests the custodian knows somethingwe dont, he appears too shifty.Wells continues to build tension through introducing the second manwho also adds to the characterisation shambling step, more bent, morewrinkled, more aged, his lower lip half averted, hung pale and pinkfrom his decaying yellow teeth, began to cough. The verbshambling suggests the man may have a limp and the repetition of theword more portrays a disgusting image of the ageing wreck, barelyhuman. The mans manky description backs this up and encourages the