A sense of place

It may seem obvious that, in order for a piece of fiction to seem believable, it needs to be carefully placed against a convincing backdrop. In ghost stories this is especially the case and it is central to the success of the three tales under consideration here. According to Glen Cavaliero: 'The lasting appeal of James' stories lies in their distillation of gothic terrors which are quietly caused to impinge upon a meticulously drawn familiar landscape.' It is a principle that James set out in his own discussions of the subject in the 1931 essay Ghosts - Treat Them Gently:

Setting or environment, then, is to me a principle point, and the more readily appreciable the setting is to the ordinary reader the better.

Without this carefully established setting, half the impact of the supernatural would be lost. The opening four paragraphs of A Warning to the Curious provide an excellent example. Additionally, you can view the complete text.

Activity 1 - setting the scene

1. Read the opening four paragraphs that introduce James's A Warning to the Curious.
2. Discuss with the class how the author manages to make this lengthy description believable. Consider the following points:

  • The direct appeal to the 'reader';
  • The allusion to Great Expectations;
  • The detailed use of lists, suggesting a kind of panoramic overview;
  • Details such as the church having a 'peal of six bells';
  • Phrases such as 'How well I remember...';
  • The evidence of knowing the place in several seasons - Summer and Spring;
  • The appeal to more senses than the visual - sound (bells); feeling (hot Sunday);
  • The disarming rhetorical questions - 'But why do I encumber you with these commonplace details?'
  • The self-conscious references to the work in progress: 'I have not quite done with the word-painting business yet.' This kind of ironic detachment is a characteristic of James and adds to his being a reliable witness of the fantastic events that unfold.
  • The appealing portrait of a seaside resort in season, where people are able to enjoy innocent pleasures - 'And here you may sit on a hot Spring day, very well content to look at the blue sea-and distant martello tower to the south.' On second reading this sentence proves rich in irony. The idyllic tourist spot is revealed to be the place of Ager family's restless vigil down the centuries and also Paxton's undoing. The seemingly incidental reference to the Martello tower also proves significant given the horrible events that occur beside it later in the tale.
  • The reference to a third character - also known 'slightly' to the narrator.
  • Finally - after all this material - James introduces a first hint of menace: 'Since he died I haven't cared to go there. And I don't know that I should anyhow after the particular thing happened on our last visit.' The impact of this is all the greater for the lengthy preamble.

Activity 2 - image analysis

The three film versions of these ghost stories are filmed on location in order to embed the events in a context defined by believable geography. Long shots (or establishing shots) immediately locate where the action is to unfold. The scenes may or may not include figures. If they do, then they also invite speculation about the character of the person seen in the distance and the likely outcome as he draws nearer.

1. Use the images in the Image Analysis Handout, or freeze the relevant DVDs at the appropriate moment (see suggested times next to the image captions).

Whistle, And I'll Come To You
(00.6 - figure most distant, seemingly dominated by the landscape)
A Warning To The Curious
(01.19 - figure in distance amid trees digging)
The Signalman
(1.08 - First view of the signalman's box in its deep cutting.)

2. With the class, consider the following:

  • The foreground, middle-distance and far distant elements;
  • The weather;
  • The sensations students might feel if they were part of this scene - think about more than what is seen;
  • The relationship, if any, between the location and anyone observed in the picture;
  • The mood of the scene - happy, melancholic, lonely, scary, intriguing;
  • Describe the feelings of the unseen observer who sees (choose one of the following):
    • the approaching figure in the Whistle image;
    • the person watching the figure digging in the distance in the still from A Warning;
    • the person looking down on the hut in the cutting and considering the life of the signalman whose duty it is to remain on duty there.

3. Ask students to write a detailed description of the scene.