This story so far has been one of the short stories that I have like the most. The setting or the architecture is just what the Gothic genre is about. I can easily picture it as all the horror movies that have as a setting a haunted houses. “The Others,” “The Conjuring,” and even “The Amityville Horror.” Big wood houses, with hundreds of rooms and which one can easily get lost. Another element that is present in this short story is the great imagery that Bulwer uses to describe the horrors that the tenants of the house experience. A big house is creepy enough but why don’t we add some horrific wood sounds, sneaky shadows, and creaking of doors? Houses that keep deep and horrific secrets are the best place to stay a couple of nights isn’t it?
Something that really got my attention is the necessity of the main character to rationalize the mysteries and the supernatural of the story by blaming it under the human brain and the chemical processes of the brain which is totally related to the titles of the story. “G” and his servant “F” were the hunters of the supernatural, of ghosts, and/or haunted houses which is now the first title. However, part of the resolution or explanation that “G” gives to the happenings during their stay in the house is that they were affected and influenced by the house and they had some sort of chemical reaction: “In some constitutions there is a natural chemistry, and these may produce chemic wonders.” (113)
Either chemical or supernatural, horrors are real, they may be within you due to our irrational fears, they may be directly connected to the environment that surround us, or the unknown and suspicious secrets hidden in between the walls of a house or the layers of earth. My fears can manifest in a forest, your fears my manifest in a close room without windows or doors. “G” says it himself “no two persons ever experience exactly the same dream” (134) and no two persons ever experience the same night terrors.
These comments are very relevant for Gothic lit. and haunted-house stories in general. The setting and these large, mysterious wooden houses are essential elements in these scary tales. For some reason WOODEN houses are very prevalent. There is also the importance of trying to rationalize the supernatural, especially as a strategy to fight fear and terror.
The setting of the story is one of the more important features, to say it that way, that creates the mood of a story. There is not way to have a horror or scary tale that does not include a setting of a wooden house, huge stone house, or a house that looks like a castle without sounds. Add sounds to a scary story is essential, appeal to other senses beyond the sight. These allow us to actually have the whole image and the whole place pictured in our minds.
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ReplyDeleteThis story so far has been one of the short stories that I have like the most. The setting or the architecture is just what the Gothic genre is about. I can easily picture it as all the horror movies that have as a setting a haunted houses. “The Others,” “The Conjuring,” and even “The Amityville Horror.” Big wood houses, with hundreds of rooms and which one can easily get lost. Another element that is present in this short story is the great imagery that Bulwer uses to describe the horrors that the tenants of the house experience. A big house is creepy enough but why don’t we add some horrific wood sounds, sneaky shadows, and creaking of doors? Houses that keep deep and horrific secrets are the best place to stay a couple of nights isn’t it?
ReplyDeleteSomething that really got my attention is the necessity of the main character to rationalize the mysteries and the supernatural of the story by blaming it under the human brain and the chemical processes of the brain which is totally related to the titles of the story. “G” and his servant “F” were the hunters of the supernatural, of ghosts, and/or haunted houses which is now the first title. However, part of the resolution or explanation that “G” gives to the happenings during their stay in the house is that they were affected and influenced by the house and they had some sort of chemical reaction: “In some constitutions there is a natural chemistry, and these may produce chemic wonders.” (113)
Either chemical or supernatural, horrors are real, they may be within you due to our irrational fears, they may be directly connected to the environment that surround us, or the unknown and suspicious secrets hidden in between the walls of a house or the layers of earth. My fears can manifest in a forest, your fears my manifest in a close room without windows or doors. “G” says it himself “no two persons ever experience exactly the same dream” (134) and no two persons ever experience the same night terrors.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteThese comments are very relevant for Gothic lit. and haunted-house stories in general. The setting and these large, mysterious wooden houses are essential elements in these scary tales. For some reason WOODEN houses are very prevalent. There is also the importance of trying to rationalize the supernatural, especially as a strategy to fight fear and terror.
ReplyDeleteThe setting of the story is one of the more important features, to say it that way, that creates the mood of a story. There is not way to have a horror or scary tale that does not include a setting of a wooden house, huge stone house, or a house that looks like a castle without sounds. Add sounds to a scary story is essential, appeal to other senses beyond the sight. These allow us to actually have the whole image and the whole place pictured in our minds.
ReplyDelete