“The Pale Man” Analysis

How would you feel being next door neighbors with a dangerous serial killer? Unless your sanity is nonexistent or you are the serial killer, you would feel very frightened and worried about staying alive. A scenario like this was written as a short horror story known as “The Pale Man” by Julius Long which told the story in the perspective of a professor’s assistant living in a hotel constantly being curious about his mysterious neighbor, who turned out to be death itself. Like any other horror story, “The Pale Man” contains many average elements that are considered “scary”. The three most obvious horror elements that are easily examinable involve daily life spiraling into something terrible, suspenseful doubts, and death. It’s always unnerving whenever something horrible and uncontrollable happens, which is why this horrific element was included in “The Pale Man”. The protagonist’s humble life grows more eerie as his mysterious neighbor was moving closer and closer to him. The source of this haunting moment comes from his previous neighbor, an old woman who disappeared as soon as the pale man lived in her room, thus creating a sense of suspense and uneasiness. …show more content…
Long creates a the emotion of uncertainty towards the protagonist and the reader. The curiosity begins when the protagonist states that “he [the pale man] must know that I am eager to make his acquaintance, yet his manner forbids overtures,” (Long). As the protagonist grows more interested in his peculiar neighbor, his curiosity turns into suspicion. This suspicion grows into a strong fear, especially when the protagonist’s discovers the real identity of the pale man. Suspense and doubt play a major role in the horror genre, and thus suspenseful doubts are what make “The Pale Man” a proper horror