Comparative Essay Sample: The Masque of the Red Death vs. House Taken Over

“Chills traveled down my spine; my rash felt like it was crawling like a thousand spiders burrowing into my skin. Itchy, Itchy, ITCHY! I wanted to rip off my skin as I scratched it over and over till it drew blood...” While reading this excerpt, one may have experienced a sudden urge to scratch their arm or leg. Description in books may have such an effect that it leads to the reader feel things, physically or mentally. The feeling that something is there in the dark or imagining that one is experiencing the same thing as the character, even though it is not. The descriptions and details of books can transport people into the book themselves, often leading them to believe in things that are not real. 

With such vivid details, readers get engulfed in the world of the book. In “The Masque of the Red Death”, this can be seen several times throughout the book. With the highly detailed description of the setting in the book, one can really imagine the blood-bedewed halls and the ebony clock. The more imagination a person has, the more vivid the setting becomes. In addition, the masked man plays an ominous role in adding to the setting. With their presence, the readers' minds may turn the setting dark and mysterious to fit along with the new antagonist. Even after one is done reading, that mindset of the fictional world may persist and alter the readers' thinking to be wearier of their surroundings due to the book. 

People’s imagination takes over reason when fear is involved, often leading the anticipation. As seen in “The Masque of the Red Death”, the chiming of the clock made the people paranoid, whispering and chatting about what is to come next. More in-depth, these people began anticipating what was going to happen next, ensuring fear in them instead of logically thinking. Adding on to that, in “House Taken over”, the siblings can be seen letting their imagination affect them both physically and mentally. Though there is not actually something there, the noises down the hall and in the kitchen make them believe that there is an entity somewhere in the house. Because of this, they lose sleep and eventually leave the house over this. Overall, imagination can lead to people believing in things that are not real, making them anxious and paranoid. 

Overthinking can often have people questioning what is real and what is fake. From personal experience, after watching a scary movie there are monsters under my bed or in my closet. I began thinking that something was out to get me. My movements became hesitant when I entered any room even though I knew every nook and cranny of my house. Overthinking affected me in such a way that my day-to-day life changed for a few days. Going back to “House Taken Over”, the siblings stop thinking to not be scared. In their case, they overthought to the point where they stopped thinking altogether. To escape their imagination, they just shut it off altogether, but in the end that never did work because they still lay awake at night fearing about the entity. Overthinking can lead people to second-guessing and alteration of normal life. 

Nonetheless, people with mature minds and strong reasonings are not very affected by this, however, imagination is what makes life more colorful. Overthinking and anticipation can often turn into anxiety and paranoia. Hiding under the blankets because that one stack of clothes looks a little too much like a person to living in the world with one’s favorite characters, details and descriptions can make fiction feel real.