The Body Snatcher, The Phantom Coach And Bleak House

The stories of horror told in the modern world play up an extravagance of fright - the bloodier the scarier, the more demented the more impactful. In the Victorian times, such an approach would be off the mark, and quite foolish. As the authors of that day wrote for audiences of all ages, they wrote to create chills, not convulsions. The elements of fright that laced the various stories of the time were either common tropes or the unique twist of that trope. Those features carry on in today’s readings of the same work, and, despite our modern bloodthirsty craze for terror, create the horror found in each of the feature frights. It takes exploration of three of those works – The Body Snatcher, The Phantom Coach, and Bleak House – to find which …show more content…
Edwards prepares the story for fright by creating an atmosphere prime for it. James is lost out in the dead of winter, in the bitter cold with night and heavy snow falling. In the increasing intensity of an oncoming storm, he begins to fear death. The story opening this way sets the reader up for an ominous tale, as getting lost in a snowstorm and freezing to death is a realistic fear. James is a character to root for in this situation, as Edwards establishes his love for wife and the newness of their marriage – there are consequences and now there is something to …show more content…
The chapter transitions to a scene in the dreaded house, where Mr. Snagsby is to meet Mr. Weevle and Guppy. Like the other two stories, the fear of imminent death permeates the story like the soot in the air. With a previous murder in the house, the men are quite uneasy about the dismal place. They notice a sort of greasy air around them and the soot falling from the ceiling. When Snagsby leaves and Guppy arrives shortly after, Mr. Weevle is only calmed slightly. Even with no evident threat, being the place of death creates a sense of worry in the characters, and subsequently, in the readers as