Pre 1914 Short Stories :: The Red Room H.G. Wells Gotchi Horror Essays

Pre 1914 Short Stories Short stories were very popular in those times because they werepublished in magazines for house wives to read because they had zero else to do other then clean the house while their husbandswere working. Also the husbands would read them when they got home. Inghost stories the typical dress outting is usually a inglorious place or somewherein the middle of nowhere.The Red Room, by H.G Wells is a classic gothic horror story set inthe nineteenth century. Wells conveys the experience of fear in TheRed Room in many ways. The narrator first starts off by fashioning a b rarestatement in which he mentions that it would take a very tangibleghost to scare him. Since he knows that ghosts are thought to beinvisible, he mentions tangible instead. Notice he says tangible. Itcould mean that a ghost wouldnt scare him, as ghosts (according toothers) arent tangible. Furthermore he shows his fearlessness bydescribing the old people in a ghostly way and yet he himself is nots howing any fear at this stage. Wells overly uses clever manipulation,for he manipulates the reader into thinking that fear is not presentat all, which is not the case, because that aspect of fear is aroundhim with the old people. So by him showing such a contrast in thefearless character of the narrator, and the fearful environment orpeople, he makes the narrator stand out and be thought of as verygallant indeed.There is an unusual and sudden increase in the build-up of fear as theold lady mentions something about so much to be seen in the castle andsorrow for what has been seen by the naked eye. Maybe the old womanmeans sorrow for the young duke who had to die. She might hold back alsomeant that so many people have tried to come out of the red roomalive and abolish the myth of the room existence haunted, but much sorrowis felt each time when they dont make it out alive.A sense of suspicion is built-up by the old folks in the castle, forthe boy suspects them of enhancing the spir itual terrors of thehouse by using their repetitive insistence. The narrators characterat the beginning is one of a more bold nature, for, he mentions thatif he is to see a ghost then he will become wiser for he would knowwhat lays behind the door. present you can notice that the narrator takesa much more tranquil approach to the situation, when he mentions as