The Gothic Setting of J&H

In Jekyll and Hyde, Stevenson uses vivid imagery to describe the darker side of London when dealing with Hyde's character or any other mysterious situation. One example is of Hyde's lair, which is described as: "two storeys high; showed no window, nothing but a door on the lower storey and a blind forehead of discouloured wall on the upper; and bore in every feature, the marks of prolonged and sordid negligence." He continues by describing the door which had no bell or knocker and also showed signs of abandonment. Such a place is fit for a character like Hyde and is meant to inspire terror and confusion into the reader's mind. According to Radcliffe, terror is supposed to stimulate the imagination and challenge the reader to use his or her's intellectual skills to overcome their fear. My imagination was definitely going wild during this story. I don't feel like this book had many elements of horror. Radcliffe also states that Horror renders the mind uncapable of resolution. I could wrap my mind around everything that was happening so this book could best be described as terrifying and suspenseful.