Ghost Stories · Chapter
The House with the Brickkiln explained
The narrator and Jack Singleton rent a remote manor house for fishing, but soon experience unsettling phenomena: a recurring sense of dread, a mysterious figure from a painting of a brickkiln appearing in reality, a door opening by itself,
What happens
The narrator and Jack Singleton rent a remote manor house for fishing, but soon experience unsettling phenomena: a recurring sense of dread, a mysterious figure from a painting of a brickkiln appearing in reality, a door opening by itself, a candle extinguishing without wind, and a bell ringing inexplicably. The chapter culminates in Jack confirming the figure is a ghost.
Themes in this chapter
Fear and Terror
The narrator experiences 'the face of Fear' itself, a primal terror that overcomes reason when he sees the ghostly figure and senses an invisible presence.
Supernatural and Occult
The ghostly figure from the painting appears in reality, the door opens by itself, and a candle goes out without wind, all suggesting supernatural activity.
Isolation and Landscape
The remote setting of Trevor Major, surrounded by pines and a chalk stream, amplifies the sense of loneliness and dread.
Characters to notice
- Unknown Narrator
The narrator is one of the tenants, sharing the house with Jack Singleton, and experiences fear and supernatural occurrences.
- Jack Singleton
Jack Singleton is the other tenant; he confirms the ghostly figure from the painting and shares the narrator's sense of dread.
- Mrs. Franklyn
Mrs. Franklyn is the housekeeper who is startled by an unseen presence in the narrator's bedroom and finds her candle mysteriously extinguished.
- Franklyn
Franklyn is the servant who responds to the ringing bell and reports that it came from Jack's bedroom.
Key passages
“At that moment I saw the face of Fear; my mouth went dry, and I heard my heart leaping and cracking in my throat.”
In that instant, I confronted pure terror: my mouth became parched and I could feel my heart pounding violently in my throat.
The narrator describes the physical sensation of overwhelming fear.
“It’s a ghost, you know. He came down to the river about dusk and stood near me for an hour.”
Jack reveals that the figure is a ghost, having appeared to him by the river at dusk and lingered for an hour.
Jack confirms the supernatural nature of the figure.