How "The Landlady" by Roald Dahl and the "The Red Room" by H. G. Wells build up mystery and suspense.

The two short stories that have been studied are "The Red Room" by H. G. Wells written in 1896 and "The Landlady" written by Roald Dahl in 1959. "The Red Room" is written in first person which creates empathy for the reader and so you can get in the 28 year olds' head. You can only get the man's point of view, you don't get to know any of the old people's views and makes the story more …

…that is why "The Landlady" could exploit Billy. In "The Red Room" Wells challenges the reader, is it supernatural, or the power of the mind? I preferred "The Landlady" because it was clever and subtle whereas "The Red Room" is dated and stereotypical. I felt empathy for Billy because he was weak and exploited but the twenty year old man was arrogant and cocky. I think Dahl's is the better story due to it's originality.