Landlady: A Short Story

Billy reassured himself that there was no harm in having some tea from the lovely old lady, but then quickly leaving the house. He took the tea, it still had the same bitter almond taste that it had had the past night, but this time it was more potent- he had to force himself to swallow it bit by bit.

People always say read the book before watching the movie, but are they that different? Roald Dahl’s, “The Landlady” and Herbert Wise’s film adaptation of the short story are comparable because they have many similarities, but also differentiate slightly. The Landlady is about a boy named Billy Weaver who arrives in Bath, England and looks for a place to stay. He stumbles upon a Bed and Breakfast and decides to go there. Billy thinks the Landlady of the Bed and Breakfast is very welcoming, but also strange. Later, when she invites Billy down for tea she talks about the two guests who were previously there awhile back, Mr. Muholland and Temple. She also talks about her hobby of taxidermy. When Billy sips the tea, he tastes bitter almonds and then the story ends, leaving the readers knowing that the Landlady poisoned him with Cyanide. The film is very similar for many reasons; for example, the plot, the setting, and the theme.

A person begins to read, their body submerged in goose bumps. The description of the setting makes them fear for the protagonist. Their head fills with the anticipation of what what might happen next. They start to wonder if the protagonist is going to live. Their eyes read the page as fast as they can but then the page stops, leaving them with a head filled with fears. This is an example of how a horror story should compel the reader. A compelling horror story needs to have a scary setting, lots of suspense, and a horrifying monster. One story that has the key components is "The Landlady" by Roald Dahl.

In the story, “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl there are numerous red flags where a young man, Billy, has trouble trusting his instincts. Billy is quite intrigued when he finds a Bed and Breakfast that is inexpensive. He finds the sweet old lady to be a little off, but ignores it until he realizes what she will do to him. In this story, Dahl shows that Billy should trust his instincts when something seems off, otherwise something awful might end up happening to him.

The Landlady by Roald Dahl unveils a valuable theme through mysterious and disturbing occurrences. The integrity and truthfulness of a person are difficult to uncover. They hide behind fake identities, masks which alter the beliefs of others. Despite the difficulty to realize one's’ authentic self, it is important to be alert and to notice clues in order to depict their personality or to predict situations. This is proven by the first encounter between the main character and the Landlady, the Landlady's behaviour and the evidence within the bed and breakfast guestbook. Therefore, the theme of The Landlady is to not be too trusting or unwary and to be perceptive.

After papa died, Mama, Esperanza, Abuelita were in shock. They lived without saying any word or talking until they ran out of money for livestock.Then soon, Hortensia, Miguel, and Alfonso decided to move to urban areas to get a job to live. Since Esperanza and Mama´s bank money was empty, they couldn't pay them for servants. They greeted them goodbye, hugged and told them that they would be back in couple of years. Then the next day, Mama thought we wouldn't obviously survive without money. So on Saturday, she went out with Abuelita to look out for a job near Él Rancho, in the late night when Esperanza was sleeping.When the sun was shining in Esperanza's eyes, she woke up with the birds chirping, chickens crying, but especially Mama

Dwelling about my own feelings led the direction of frustration and anger as I grew older, feeling for anybody’s feelings or situations, almost non-existent; don’t miss-understand, I had marvelous times and a caring person to an extent. Growing slowly into a person whose true character lived in a cage, confined to prison and when released, it was madness, not intending to only injure, I wanted to see blood, tasting this flavor in my mouth before a confrontation. Choosing who I wanted to associate with and if others left me alone there was no problem, although, at the end of the sixth grade the nestling soul fell asleep. There was a boy in school that began tormenting me every day walking home; undesirable name calling. Eventually deciding to

A snarling wolf can be as nice as a loving grandmother, and a cute bunny might actually be a demon in disguise, but you never know until you get to know them. The Landlady, written by Roald Dahl, is a short horror story of a young man named Billy Weaver going to the town of Bath for a business trip. While looking for a place to stay, he finds a seemingly kind, old lady who offers cheap bed and breakfast. While treating Billy to tea at night, the landlady poisons Billy and goes to make him one of her taxidermied collections. Dahl uses foreshadowing, characterization, and irony to examine how innocence can change the way things seem.

“Thank you. It’s called ‘Empathy’, by George Eliot." I stared him straight in the eyes and waited "Is something wrong?" I didn't respond. I only kicked the blanket out of the way, revealing a small trap door. "It's a small place, Walter. There are not many places to hide an entire farm of coconut trees." His eyes went wide and he stepped back "Although, I won't lie. Having the trees underground was a smart idea. It's easier to keep it hot. But, how do you generate the heat? You’d need heating lamps." You could see his knees go weak as he started shaking “You ran a pet store, correct? With lizards and snakes? They need special heating lamps, don’t

It is a mid July summer day and as I clumsily shuffle down an uneven sidewalk, I can feel the heat from the cement radiate against my flesh and the feel of my sweaty palm on my caregiver’s forearm as she guides me through Old Town, a small historical landmark in Albuquerque, New Mexico. We head to a shop to get some ice cream to help cool us down. As we enter the shop I can smell the sweetness that fills the shop and I gladly welcome the cool air conditioner blowing on my face. I am excited to try the ice cream of this quaint little store, but as I look up to view the menu on the wall, I struggle to see what flavors they have. As I peer through a small tunnel in the middle of my vision, the rest of my vision so blurry I cannot make out any

I never caught her name, so I always called her Gertrude because that name just screamed “crazy old lady” to me. There was an incident with some pennies a few months before that she never forgave me for, so every time she came into the store she would scoff at me in disgust. Bundled up in her fluffy purple coat, Gertrude yanked her foster child behind her as she stomped to the register. I was the only person up front, so the situation was unavoidable. “Ugh. It’s you,” she mumbled, followed by her sticking her tongue out and making a gagging noise and an always hateful, “When are you just gonna quit that way I don’t have ta see yer face when I come in here?” “Ouch.” That one actually seemed even more hateful than usual, so maybe the cold had gotten to her too. As she shuffled out the door, tiny snowflakes began to fall. My manager, Sonya, parked herself beside me in the doorway and spit out a few profanities at the sight of the snow. She was not about to go out into the miniature blizzard to take her annual -- a year in normal human time was equivalent to twenty minutes of Sonya time -- smoke break. I, however, loved the feeling of the cold numbing my fingers so much that I couldn’t feel them and making my nose resemble that of

It hurt Dexter to even move his arms, so once the tea had cooled, Elizabeth raised his head while Mae spooned in the barely tolerable bitter tea into his mouth. Elizabeth explained, “This tea is steeped from a highly prized herb the Ma’camo trade with from the far south to get. We’re lucky to have some.”

Even though the gruesome, ghastly and demonic story known as “The Landlady” ends in a disturbing way, it portrays many characteristics about the protagonist, Billy. There are numerous ways to characterize Billy, a 17-year-old kid on his first business trip in the strange city of Bath, England. Billy begins his journey to a hotel known as the Bell and Dragon but stumbles to a halt when he sees a seemingly cozy bed and breakfast that catches his eye. For a few pages everything seems great; unfortunately for Billy, he has some flaws which ultimately lead to his shocking death at the hands of a demented landlady. These are curiosity, a tendency to miss important clues, and gullibility.

The Abandoned house stood there, with fog rising to the sky. Lights flickered being the only light in the dark….. The fog dragged a cold breeze, that sent a chill up my spine, this house has been here forever and nothing like this has ever happened before, I gulped and strolled into the cold night fog. As I approached the house, the door slowly opens and a Shadow steps towards me. The weather just dropped like 40 degrees, I don't like this at all.

Within “The Landlady” by Roald Dahl, the theme is that being naive can make one unaware of dangerous situations. Billy Weaver was looking for a decently priced hotel to stay at. However, an old lady offered to take him in for a night at her bed and breakfast. So, the lady welcomed Billy and insisted that he drink a cup of tea that happened to be posioned. Then, Billy slowly sipped the poisonous tea while he questioned the lady. Finally, Billy’s innocence led him to the high risk situation of consuming the toxic tea.