A young woman being chased by the father of her late husband. An adventurer looking for a place to rest. The environments in Horace Walpole’s Castle of Otranto and Letitia and John Aikin’s “Sir Bertrand” convey a sense of fear, dread, and terror by respectively taking place in a monstrous enigmatic castle with numerous twists and turns and an abandoned mansion infested with supernatural beings filled with murderous intent. These mysterious and disturbing environments allow the plot to unfold in such a way that the story can continue.
In order for these stories to progress at all, the environment has to meet the expectations that derive from horror. Everyone has their own thoughts on what horror should be in order for it to fit their own personal molds, but one of the ways of achieving the thought of “scary” is through the use imagery and a descriptive narrative of the setting. In the Castle Otranto Isabella has to travel through the unknown of the secret passage with “An awful silence…” following…show more content… For instance, Isabella’s trip in the bowels of the castle, her reactions to going around gives insight her emotions. “She shuddered, and recoiled a few paces” (Walpole 588) The feelings of the characters transfer from the words directly to the readers of these literature works instilling the reader with sense of fright as well. While Sir Bertrand is filled with the same anxiousness of being trapped in a supernatural mansion with bloodthirsty shades the emotion put forth by him expresses his fear as well as his courage to overcome. The conflicting emotions give the reader a glint of hope the Sir Bertrand will prevail through the nightmare he is currently trapped in. “...the terror impelled him to make some hasty steps towards his steed- but shame stopt him his flight; urged by honour,” (Aikin and Aikin
