There are many motifs used that are typical to the gothic horror literature genre. Within this essay I am going to be comparing and contrasting three stories which I have studied. I shall explain the main features used within these stories to portray reasoning for the genre given to them and how these elements are used effectively

The three stories I am going to write about within this essay is the Tell Tale Heat by Edgar Allen Poe, The Superstitious Man’s Story by Thomas Hardy and The Red Room by H. G. Wells. The title The Tell Tale Heart gives away a minute indication of the genre of the story because firstly a heart is something which brings about the contemplation of blood and gore. This is something that is key to a horror story.  The term tell tale also holds significant because it is the heart which tells the tale, this invokes the feeling of unnatural events because a heart cannot speak as it does not have its own mind or senses. The superstitious man’s story also arises the thought of not all is as it seems as there seems to be reason for the man himself to be suspicious or the man in not trust worthy. Both these elements add mystery to the progressive story because the title itself has a double meaning which seems to indicate a twist of events to follow. The red Room does not immediately give an indication to  the nature of the story, however if looked more closely if there is reasoning for the room to be red, the colour of blood there may also be a hidden meaning of morbidity in the title.

Within the setting of the atmosphere of these stories there is intent for the reader to feel a sense of lonely, dark and spooky beginning which sets a path for the rest of the story to follow. The Tell Tale Heart sets this tone with the use of hyphens to show the narrator’s maddened mind. An opening example of this is ‘True!-nervous-very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am…’ this tells of his loneliness and how left to deal with his emotions himself left him both scared and uneasy. ‘I heard many things in hell.’ Gives an idea of a more dark and sinister event for hell is a place of the dead which is said to be greatly unhappy and uninviting. The Superstitious man’s story also portrays the feelings of being lonely because he was a ‘silent man’ therefore shared little with others. He also seemed to go without people initiating his presence. ‘…behind your back without you seeing him,’ However to this story opening there s also a more dark and spooky side with the mentioning of ‘the sexton’ (a grave digger) and the mystery of common events; ‘ringing for church went very heavy all of a sudden,’ the begging of The Red Room has a far more pointed start which delves straight into the unnatural, with the introduction of eccentric characters ‘…the man with the withered arm,’ this also shows evidence of loss, death and decay all of a morbid tone. As well as the mention of ‘… a ghost…’ This tells of supernatural happening at the beginning which shows where the story is likely to lead. With the exception of The Superstitious Man’s story it is a common feature for gothic horror stories to be written within first person this fits in to both The Tell Tale Heart and The red Room.

A mood typical to Victorian horror storied is created within these stories. This mood is reflected with setting description about the surrounding weather and the scene. Within The Tell Tale Heart the begging is filled with the description of the narrator’s feelings and thoughts, his reasoning behind the deed that is to proceed within the story. However a dark scene is what is first introduced with the narrative ‘…dark lantern…’ which is an oxy-moron in itself, a lantern holds light and therefore should not be dark. The Superstitious man’s story has a more direct set orient; ‘…something clammy in the air…’ which shows signs of not everything being right with a feeling of withheld mistrust and mystery. The Red Room uses sensuous features to portray the same sense of unease with typical horror elements of ‘…the door creaked on its hinges…’ as well as hearing the unknown but not seeing it, this adds to the effect of not knowing what is expected ‘…the sound of a stick and a shambling step on the flags in the passage outside,’

Gothic horror stories have an unrevealing nature which makes the reader want to read on. There is the element of unexpected surprise as the story progresses and so builds up tension towards the climax. There are different types of tension building it may gradually build up to the height of the story, such as in The Tell Tale Heart ‘it grew louder-louder-louder!’; ‘I felt that I must scream or die!- and now-again!-hark! Louder! Louder! Louder! Louder! -‘. However a sense of relief comes to the end of this tension “Villains!” I shrieked, “Dissemble no more! I admit the deed! – Tear up the planks! – Here, here! – it is the beating of his hideous heart!” The Red Room has the same type of tension and relief ending ‘fear! Fear that will not have light nor sound, that will not bear with reason, that deafness and darkens and overwhelms.’ And in the same way as the red room all is let go to round off the story ‘I stopped abruptly.’ But it has an explained ending to the mystery of the story that has unfolded ‘”There is fear in that room of hers- black fear, and there will be – so long as this house of din endures.”Although The suspicious Man’s Story has a quite different ending; it leaves the reader to contemplate on the stories events and make ends meet because there is a twist at the end; ‘and it also came out that the time at which he was seen at the spring was the very time when he died.’ Here there is not such a great build of tension but added complexity.

In conclusion my favourite story is The Tell Tale Heart because it explains the madness of a man with complexity, the tension builds up so much that you are drawn in by the events as well as the description of the narrators feelings being so intense that you feel in touch with his character and although you know he is mad you can see a slight reasoning with the way he felt and the reason he carried out the deed he did. Overall this genre hold common elements within all stories but some are more comparative in others. Although there are similarities there are also differences that make each story unique and enjoyable to read.