Name: ___________________________
English Advanced B
Suspenseful Passages
Read the following passages and complete the tasks.
From, “Speckled Band”:
"I could not sleep that night. A vague feeling of impending misfortune impressed me. My sister and I, you will recollect, were twins, and you
know how subtle are the links which bind two souls which are so closely allied. It was a wild night. The wind was howling outside, and the rain
was beating and splashing against the windows. Suddenly, amid all the hubbub of the gale, there burst forth the wild scream of a terrified woman.
I knew that it was my sister's voice. I sprang from my bed, wrapped a shawl round me, and rushed into the corridor. As I opened my door I
seemed to hear a low whistle, such as my sister described, and a few moments later a clanging sound, as if a mass of metal had fallen. As I ran
down the passage, my sister's door was unlocked, and revolved slowly upon its hinges. I stared at it horror-stricken, not knowing what was about
to issue from it. By the light of the corridor-lamp I saw my sister appear at the opening, her face blanched with terror, her hands groping for help ,
her whole figure swaying to and fro like that of a drunkard. I ran to her and threw my arms round her, but at that moment her knees seemed to
give way and she fell to the ground. She writhed as one who is in terrible pain, and her limbs were dreadfully convulsed. At first I thought that
she had not recognized me, but as I bent over her she suddenly shrieked out in a voice which I shall never forget, 'Oh, my God! Helen! It was the
band! The speckled band!' There was something else which she would fain have said, and she stabbed with her finger into the air in the direction
of the doctor's room, but a fresh convulsion seized her and choked her words. I rushed out, calling loudly for my stepfather, and I met him
hastening from his room in his dressing-gown. When he reached my sister's side she was unconscious, and though he poured brandy down her
throat and sent for medical aid from the village, all efforts were in vain, for she slowly sank and died without having recovered her consciousness.
Such was the dreadful end of my beloved sister."
From “The Most Dangerous Game”:
"There was no breeze. The sea was as flat as a plate-glass window. We were drawing near the island then. What I felt was a--a mental chill; a sort
of sudden dread."
"Pure imagination," said Rainsford.
"One superstitious sailor can taint the whole ship's company with his fear."
"Maybe. But sometimes I think sailors have an extra sense that tells them when they are in danger. Sometimes I think evil is a tangible thing-with wave lengths, just as sound and light have. An evil place can, so to speak, broadcast vibrations of evil. Anyhow, I'm glad we're getting out of
this zone. Well, I think I'll turn in now, Rainsford."
"I'm not sleepy," said Rainsford. "I'm going to smoke another pipe up on the afterdeck."
"Good night, then, Rainsford. See you at breakfast."
"Right. Good night, Whitney."
There was no sound in the night as Rainsford sat there but the muffled throb of the engine that drove the yacht swiftly through the darkness, and
the swish and ripple of the wash of the propeller. Rainsford, reclining in a steamer chair, indolently puffed on his
favorite brier. The sensuous drowsiness of the night was on him." It's so dark," he thought, "that I could sleep without closing my eyes; the night
would be my eyelids--"
An abrupt sound startled him. Off to the right he heard it, and his ears, expert in such matters, could not be mistaken. Again he heard the sound,
and again. Somewhere, off in the blackness, someone had fired a gun three times. Rainsford sprang up and moved quickly to the rail, mystified.
He strained his eyes in the direction from which the reports had come, but it was like trying to see through a blanket. He leaped upon the rail and
balanced himself there, to get greater elevation; his pipe, striking a
rope, was knocked from his mouth. He lunged for it; a short, hoarse cry came from his lips as he realized he had reached too far and had lost his
balance. The cry was pinched off short as the blood-warm waters of the Caribbean Sea dosed over his head
1. What details do the authors refer to that increase suspense?
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2. How are the two texts different?
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3. Which do you think is more effective in building suspense?
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4. Write 2 paragraphs that mirror the style that these authors use. Possible scenarios include: you wake up in the middle of the night; you are all
alone in the woods; you are lost in a museum or an old building; someone is following you down an abandoned road, etc. Be sur e to include
details, imagery, dialogue and descriptive language.