# The House with the Brickkiln explained — Ghost Stories > Chapter companion for Ghost Stories by E. F. Benson. ## 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. ## Character check-ins ### 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 lines > 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._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ghost_stories_se/chapters/the-house-with-the-brickkiln - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ghost_stories_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ghost_stories_se/chapters