Victorian Ghost Stories Nearly Always Encompass Family

The short stories “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe and “House Taken Over” by Julio Cortazar are two well known works of literature that encompass unique literary styles. Poe utilizes Gothic literature in his story, a style of writing that incorporates elements of darkness, gloom, drama, and intense descriptions. On the other hand, Cortazar uses Magical Realism and its realistic characters, setting, and fantastic and unusual events to tell his tale. Despite the two being completely different genres, they share many similar traits, specifically relating to fear.

It is a well known fact that Edgar Allan Poe‘s stories are famous for producing horror or terror in his readers beyond description. However, it is one of this essay’s attempts to precisely describe these two characteristics present in The pit and the pendulum and The black cat. Horror may be defined as “the feeling of revulsion that usually occurs after something frightening is seen, heard, or otherwise experienced. It is the feeling one gets after coming to an awful realization or experiencing a deeply unpleasant occurrence.” On the contrary terror is described as “the feeling of dread and anticipation that precedes the horrifying experience” These two concepts are thought to be crucial when analyzing Poe’s writings. It is going to be

Transformation plays a role in stories meant to scare us by playing with our imagination safety and mood of a story. Imagination appears in both Edgar Allan Poe’s, gothic fiction story “The Fall of the House of Usher,” by Usher’s isolated environment and in Joyce Carol Oates gothic literature story “Where is Here?,” by foreseeing who people are. Transformation also plays a role by it assists knowing our own selves are safe in a scary situation. This is shown in, “ Why do Some Brains Enjoy Fear?,” by Allegra Ringo and in “ House Taken Over,” by Julio Cortazar. Transformation plays with our imagination and our safety it also plays a role in the mood and setting. This appears in , “The Fall of the House of Usher,” and “The Dream Collector,”

While reading “Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne, I couldn’t help but feel a constant overwhelming sense of dread. The root of this could have come from the story’s dark setting deep within an “haunted forest” or from Brown’s mysterious “Devil”-esque companion. While I read, another story came into my mind; the story of the “Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allan Poe. In Poe’s tale the same heart pounding emotion can be felt as he describes the reunion of two friends within “the House of Usher.” With the manors “eye-like windows” and “sorrowful impression,” Poe wastes no time in setting the Gothic mood. Through their distinct writing styles Hawthorne and Poe establish a common Gothic theme within their stories.

Edgar Allen Poe’s short story, “The Fall of the House of Usher”, sets a tone that is dark, gloomy, and threatening. His inclusion of highly descriptive words and various forms of figurative language enhance the story’s evil nature, giving the house and its inhabitants eerie and “supernatural” qualities. Poe’s effective use of personification, symbolism, foreshadowing, and doubling create a morbid tale leading to, and ultimately causing, the fall of (the house of) Usher.

Chills run down your spine as a breath of wind rushes past your frame. Incoherent whispering fills your ear due to the flowing wind… Edgar Allen Poe, one of America’s most prolific writers, wrote numerous horror stories that defined the genre for modern writing. Effort went into creating the style that he was known for, but was it constant from one story to the next? Despite differences in plot and length there are similarities of tone, setting, structure, narration, and character between two of his most famous stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Fall of the House of Usher,” that allude to Poe’s true writing style.

Chills slide down your spine as a breath of wind rushes past your frame. Incoherent whispering fills your ear due to the flowing wind… Edgar Allen Poe, one of America’s most prolific writers, wrote numerous horror stories that defined the genre for modern writing. Poe used a specific writing style, which is now well known, but was it constant from one story to the next? Despite differences in plot and length, there are similarities of tone, setting, structure, narration, and character between two of his most famous stories, “The Tell-Tale Heart” and “The Fall of the House of Usher,” that allude to Poe’s true writing style.

Suspense is widely known as the centerpiece of Gothic writing. Such a style of writing lives, breathes, and glorifies through skillful application of suspense in the reader. When masterfully applied, suspense will often manipulate the subjects’ stress, anxiety, and state of safety with the goal of applying fearful characteristics to otherwise innocent objects. For example, in a book wrote to examine the use of psychology in the horror genre, renowned Gothic author Stephen King wrote, “what’s behind the door...is never as frightening as the door...itself.” Picture

The Victorians were convinced ghosts were dangerous though, evil spirits believed either to get them, to possess the living or to do the devil’s work. People in the 19th century were also intrigued by the after life, including what happened when you actually died. Henry James’ family was also included in this. This would give Henry James a perfect reason to write the novella aimed at a huge proportion of people who would be actually interested in reading a book involving ghosts.

Ghosts, as with any other misunderstood group or people, have been preyed upon by others without understanding. The lack of knowledge about ghosts and haunting activity has led people astray as to what they really are. What Hollywood and television portrays is very inaccurate and cannot be relied upon as truthful. They show these spirits of the dead as being evil in nature, filled with malice and harmful intent. But that this is not the case. The field of paranormal activity is amazing. It has caught the imagination of people from every walk of life. It has always interested me and has influenced me to pick this as the topic for my research. Through this research I wish to uncover the truth about the existence of ghosts.

Elizabeth Gaskell’s The Old Nurses Story was published in (1852), it has been defined as “the epitome of the traditional ghost story of the Victorian period (1837-1901), perfect to read on Christmas Eve and containing numerous Gothic motifs; a haunted mansion, a female protagonist who encounters a series of mysterious, unsettling events, a ghost child, and a dark family secret.” (Giakaniki. 2010). It was first published as part of Charles Dickens’s (1812-1870) English magazine in the Christmas edition of Household Words (1850-1859). (Gaskell & Kranzler. 2000: viii). The story is a retrospective account told by the nurse ‘Hester’ and the title itself represents a form and expression of female identity that of the role of the nurse maid situated in Victorian society.

I have chosen to write my essay on the selected passage from Elizabeth Gaskell’s The Old Nurse’s Story (1852). It presents a story being told by an old lady to a group of children about their mother, Rosamond, whom the lady has looked after as a nurse since she was a young child. When they were young Rosamond was orphaned and they were sent to a large house within the family to live, which turned out to be haunted by the ghosts of the current resident’s sister and her child who were banished from the house and subsequently died. This passage is from the first part of the novel when they first arrive at the house and are as yet unaware of the ghosts or the family’s dark past.

Horror Stories are a very popular genre of books. Some can be exceptionally malicious and gruesome in nature while others are tamer and rely on suspense. People tend to read these stories for the adrenaline rush, to explore the unknown, and to conquer their own adversities. Studies show that us as humans like to experience fear. We read and view scary stories so we can experience artificial situations of “fight or flight.” These scenarios, whether real or imagined, get your body ready for action by giving you an extra dose of adrenaline. The thrill and suspense that hangs over us while reading, is a welcomed feeling. Scary stories also allow us to explore the unknown. In books there are boundless supernatural realms, where wonder and horror walk side by side- realms were people rise from the dead, and fight their own

Edgar Allan Poe was a famous American author who specialised in short story and gothic fiction. One of Poe’s most famous works was The Tell-Tale Heart which explores murder, mental illness, cruelty and horror. The viewer becomes aware of the unprovoked mental challenges between characters which heightens the tension and fear, as darkness envelops the reader and the strong beating of a heart gradually grows louder. In order to create a more dramatic storyline, Poe has applied a range of narrative techniques including characters, point of view, setting, and theme, to amplify the intensity of the text and to elicit fear within the reader.

Unlike this somewhat loose narrator, the first person narrator, Miss. Hester, in “The Old Nurse’s Story” does not have this kind of flaw, for she tells, with enough details, only what she actually heard and saw as a participant in the story, leaving no room for the readers to doubt the authenticity of the plot. When describing the surroundings of the Furnivall manor house, Hester states “Only in front of the house all was clear. The great oval drive was without a weed; and neither tree nor creeper was allowed to grow over the long, many-windowed front; at both sides of which a wing projected, which were each the ends of other side fronts; for the house, although it was so desolate, was even grander than I expected” (2). Reading her narrations, a full view of the grand manor house is automatically drawn inside my head. This kind