1. Who lives in a house like this?
LO: To be able to consider the use of setting within a gothic horror story
Who lives in a house like this?

2. Why do you think Susan Hill called it Eel Marsh House?
What does the reader associate with the words?

3. LO: To be able to consider the use of setting within a gothic horror story
Creating a perfect setting for your gothic story can be tricky. What kind of setting has Hill used?
As we read over the extract, consider how Hill has described Eel Marsh House to create a gothic setting.
Why has the writer called it EEL MARSH HOUSE? WHAT DOES IT SUGGEST?

4. LO: To be able to consider the use of setting within a gothic horror story
I looked up ahead, and saw, as if rising out of the water itself, a tall, gaunt house of grey stone with a slate roof, that now gleamed steely in the light, it stood like some lighthouse or beacon or Martello tower, facing the whole, wide expanse of marsh and estuary, the most astonishingly situated house I had ever seen or could ever conceivably imagined, isolated, uncompromising but also, I thought, handsome. As we neared it, I saw the land on which it stood was raised up a little, surrounding it on every side for perhaps three or four hundred yards, of plain, salt-bleached grass, and then gravel. This little island extended in a southerly direction across an area of scrub and field towards what looked like the fragmentary ruins of some old church or chapel…
I simply sat looking about me in amazement, hearing nothing save the faint keeling of the winter wind that came across the marsh, and the sudden rawking of a hidden bird. I felt a strange sensation, an excitement mingled with alarm…. I could not altogether tell what. Certainly, I felt loneliness….I felt quite alone, outside that gaunt, empty house. But I was not afraid- of what could I be afraid in this rare and beautiful spot? The wind? The marsh birds crying? Reeds and still water?

5. LO: To be able to consider the use of setting within a gothic horror story
I looked up ahead, and saw, as if rising out of the water itself, a tall, gaunt house of grey stone with a slate roof, that now gleamed steely in the light, it stood like some lighthouse or beacon or Martello tower, facing the whole, wide expanse of marsh and estuary, the most astonishingly situated house I had ever seen or could ever conceivably imagined, isolated, uncompromising but also, I thought, handsome. As we neared it, I saw the land on which it stood was raised up a little, surrounding it on every side for perhaps three or four hundred yards, of plain, salt-bleached grass, and then gravel. This little island extended in a southerly direction across an area of scrub and field towards what looked like the fragmentary ruins of some old church or chapel…
I simply sat looking about me in amazement, hearing nothing save the faint keeling of the winter wind that came across the marsh, and the sudden rawking of a hidden bird. I felt a strange sensation, an excitement mingled with alarm…. I could not altogether tell what. Certainly, I felt loneliness….I felt quite alone, outside that gaunt, empty house. But I was not afraid- of what could I be afraid in this rare and beautiful spot? The wind? The marsh birds crying? Reeds and still water?

6. See how many quotations you can explore in two minutes!
LO: To be able to consider the use of setting within a gothic horror story
Pick a quotation from the text that helps to create the spooky setting
The next person selects the key word of the quotation.
The next person creates a theory as to why the writer chose that word.
The next person thinks of AT LEAST TWO words to associate with that word.
See how many quotations you can explore in two minutes!

7. LO: To be able to consider the use of setting within a gothic horror story
The author creates a gothic setting by…
Make your point, using a technique.
The quotation that shows this is…
Select your evidence.
The word…..implies/suggests/indicates
This makes the reader imagine…
Zoom in- which words can you discuss in more detail? What do they make the reader think about or feel?
WHAT ADDITIONAL EVIDENCE FURTHER SUPPORTS YOUR IDEAS?
This creates an effective setting because…
The writer wants the reader to feel…
How does the writer want you to feel?

8. LO: To be able to consider the use of setting within a gothic horror story
In 60 words, convince me that you have selected the best quotations that create a spooky setting.
Consider:
Which technique has been used
What image it creates in the reader’s mind of Eel Marsh House
Why you think the writer has chosen that word.
If you can squeeze it in, how does your argument support the fact that Susan Hill decided to call the house EEL MARSH HOUSE?

9. LO: To be able to consider the use of setting within a gothic horror story
Has your partner:
Included a relevant point?
Selected a piece of evidence that uses a particular technique?
Analysed a key word ?
Considered how it makes the reader feel?
Explored what overall effect that writer is trying to create?

10. LO: To be able to consider the use of setting within a gothic horror story
If you could ask Susan Hill any question to help you to create your own gothic setting, what would it be?