A Formal Investigation of Suspense Detected in The Hound of the Baskervilles
...at the farther end” (41). Mr. Stapelton told Watson later on in the novel that “it’s rather an uncanny place altogether” (50). These descriptions of Devonshire create a dull, gloomy place in the reader’s mind and adds to the suspense about the mysterious Baskerville curse. The dullness of Devonshire creates a tense and alert atmosphere for the Baskerville mystery. The gray descriptions of Devonshire foreshadow the unpleasant events to come. A second factor Doyle uses to build suspense is his use of characters. Sherlock Holmes is credited for most of the suspense readers obtain throughout the novel. “One of Sherlock Holmes’ defects was that he was exceedingly loath to communicate his full plans to any other person until the instant of their fulfillment” (108). Watson states this just before they take action on the case. “The great ordeal was in front of us, at last we were about to make our final effort, and yet Holmes had said nothing. My nerves thrilled with anticipation” (108). Readers are filled with suspense as to what Holmes’ course of action will be until the exact moment when his plans are revealed. Another suspenseful character is Mr. Jack Stapelton. Mistaking Watson for Sir Henry Baskerville and speaking in a low voice so Mr. Stapelton would not hear, Mrs. Stapelton eagerly warned Watson to return to London. “Go back to London! Start tonight! Get away at all costs! Hush, my brother is coming! Not a word of what I have said” (51) Why does Mrs. Stapelton warn him to return to London? Why is she fearful that Mr. Stapleton might hear her warnings to Watson? The reader begins to wonder about Mr. Stapelton and is suspensful about his mysterious behaviors. Finally, Doyle depicts suspense with the technique of foreshadowing. The death of the moor ponies drowning in the Grimpen Mire forshadows the death of Mr. Stapelton. “Only yesterday I saw one of the moor ponies wander into it. He never came out. I saw his head for a long time craning out of the bog-hole, but it sucked him down at last” (49). At the end of the novel, Holmes states that Mr. Stapelton was “somewhere in the heart of the great Grimpen Mire, down in the foul slime of the huge morals which had sucked him in, this cold and cruel-hearted man is forever buried” (115-116). The reader can relate Mr. Stapelton’s death at the end of the novel to an earlier event in the novel when Stapelton shares his knowledge to Watson about the death of the moor ponies. Another example of foreshadowing is the long, low moans Watson heard while walking along the moor-p...