Short Fiction · Chapter
An Account of Some Strange Disturbances in Aungier Street explained
The narrator describes his and his friend Tom Ludlow's terrifying experiences in a haunted house on Aungier Street, Dublin.
What happens
The narrator describes his and his friend Tom Ludlow's terrifying experiences in a haunted house on Aungier Street, Dublin. The narrator is plagued by a recurring nightmare of a sinister portrait of an old man in a crimson dressing-gown that appears at his window. Tom initially scoffs at his friend's fears but later suffers his own terrifying encounter, leading to a shared panic. The chapter concludes with the house's eventual destruction by fire and the narrator's reflection on the supernatural events.
Free preview opens on this chapter — companions, themes, and character notes appear beside the text.
Narrative arc
Story tension across the book — this chapter sits in Exposition.
- Setup
- Escalation
- Breaking point
- Aftermath
- Closing
This is the story's dramatic climax because it marks the psychological peak of the narrator's horror and the r…
Full beat labels and climax notes unlock in the reader.
Follow the arc while readingThemes in this chapter
- Supernatural and the Uncanny
The chapter is centered on supernatural disturbances, including a recurring nightmare of a malevolent portrait and unexplained phenomena in the haunted house.
- Guilt and Retribution
The haunting may be tied to past sins or crimes, as suggested by the house's history and the sinister figure in the portrait.
Characters to notice
- Tom Ludlow
The narrator's friend and housemate, initially skeptical of the supernatural but later terrified by his own haunting experience.
- Captain Barton
The narrator of the story, who suffers from recurring nightmares of a sinister portrait.
Key passages
“I saw, or thought I saw, with the most abominable distinctness, although at the time in profound darkness, every article of furniture and accidental arrangement of the chamber in which I lay.”
The narrator experiences a vivid nightmare where he perceives his room's details with unnatural clarity despite the darkness.
Highlights the clairvoyant quality of the nightmare, blending reality and illusion.
“The picture thus mysteriously glued to the windowpanes, was the portrait of an old man, in a crimson flowered silk dressing-gown... with a countenance embodying a strange mixture of intellect, sensuality, and power, but withal sinister and full of malignant omen.”
A terrifying portrait of an old man in a red silk robe appears at the window, his face showing intelligence, sensuality, and a menacing evil.
Describes the central supernatural image that haunts the narrator.
“I found afterwards that my would-be sceptical companion had his troubles too. But of these I knew nothing yet.”
The narrator later discovers that his skeptical friend Tom also experienced supernatural disturbances, though he had not revealed them earlier.
Foreshadows Tom's own haunting and the shared nature of the horror.
