Sir Author Conan Doyle was most popular for his detective stories featuring the famous character Sherlock Holmes. He used various writing techniques to create suspenseful short stories to get credit for creating the most popular fictional detective of all time. Doyle has become an expert in detective fiction because of his ability to use different writing styles and methods to create exciting stories filled with anticipation and tension. One of the best examples is "The Adventure of the Speckled Band", where Doyle's use of characterization, setting and story structure helps combine gothic horror and detective fiction in exciting news. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an Original EssayThe use of characterization is one of the ways Doyle creates a suspenseful story. The narrator, Watson, tells the story in the first person. The narrator is a partner and friend of Sherlock Holmes, but he is not the main detective in the case. He sees the same crime scenes, the same evidence, the same victims' stories as Holmes, but he never manages to completely solve the case himself. This is essential to creating suspense throughout the story. Because Watson is not analytical enough to solve cases on his own, the reader also has no idea how the case will be resolved. Doyle does this on purpose because if readers knew all the time what the mystery of the Speckled Band was, then there would be no excitement or tension while readers wait for the case to be solved. For example, Watson and Holmes both saw the same evidence in Helen's house, and Holmes was able to draw conclusions, while Watson stated that "(he could) see no connection" (15) between the evidence and the crime. The reader therefore does not know how to resolve the matter and can then anticipate and even try to guess what the answer might be. Doyle cleverly leaves false clues throughout the play, including adding dangerous animals and bands of gypsies. Doyle does this so that the reader will struggle to solve the case on their own and be excited to finally find out what the true cause of death is. The anticipation of the revelation of the cause of the murder creates tension throughout the play due to the mysterious and confusing nature of the case. Another use of characterization that Doyle added to create a feeling of anxiety and worry in the reader's head is the victim of the case, Helen. . She is an innocent and helpless woman who fears for her own life. She rushes to Holmes' apartment early in the morning, wearing a black veil over her head which she lifts to reveal the terror in her eyes. She shivers and claims the cause is not the cold but fear, pure terror. “Her features and figure were those of a woman of thirty, but her hair was graying prematurely and her expression was weary and haggard” (Doyle 2). Doyle uses a helpless and frightened woman as a victim to make readers want to fear for her. Doyle's use of body features and dramatization of the feeling of fear she feels are added to make readers feel that the matter must be very serious and dangerous if it has adverse consequences on physical features and health Helen's mentality. Readers fear for Helen's life since she lives in the same room where her own sister died and next to a man of pure evil, Dr. Roylott.Roylott is another use of added characterization to scare readers. The man is very violent and angry, and has even served time in prison. He is known as the terror of his village. Dr. Roylott bursts into Holmes' house and Watson describes him as a huge man with "a large face, marked with a thousand wrinkles, burned yellow by the sun and marked with all evil passions" (8). Doyle creates the perfect villain. This man is described as an immoral and malicious person, capable of doing horrible things. Readers feel an uneasy feeling after Doyle reveals Dr. Watson's true identity, as this man lives right next door to innocent and terrified Helen. He is cunning enough to track Helen down and strong enough to beat or even kill her. Helen is not safe at home. This makes readers very anxious because Helen's own home is unsafe and she has no place to go to escape her fears. Helen lived right next door to an evil man, which is a perfect setting that Doyle created to add tension to the play. Doyle deliberately had Helen live in the same room where her own twin sister died. This adds a spooky and suspenseful vibe to the whole story. The house she lives in is a huge mansion that is sort of in ruins. Doyle creates an eerie atmosphere because the house is very old and “the windows were broken and blocked with wooden planks, while the roof was partly collapsed” (11). Home isn't exactly the kind of place someone would place a "home sweet home" doormat in front of. The discomfort of home causes readers to feel uneasy. It's a perfect setting for a sinister crime to take place. Doyle also uses the weather to create a frightening atmosphere for the readers. On the night of Helen's sister's death, "the wind howled outside and the rain beat and splashed the windows" (5). This sets the ultimate scene for a chilling crime to take place. If Doyle set the scene on a sunny day, rather than during a storm in the middle of the night, then readers might be less afraid of the situation. Even modern thriller and horror films use the weather in their favor to create a tenacious atmosphere. Doyle foreshadows the next repeated crime when he adds that there is "a cold wind that blows" (15) the night Holmes and Watson keep watch in Helen's room. Doyle sets the scene to address readers' fears. A reader may identify more with the gothic aspect of the story if the setting is as dark and dreary as the plot. Doyle's gothic writing techniques used to create the plot of the story also add to the sensational effect of the passage. Doyle creates the plot of the story in such a way that readers feel a sense of tension throughout the passage. That's because a life is at stake. If the case is not solved in time, Helen could be killed. Doyle gives readers this sense of time limit by using events leading up to Julia's death to correlate with similar events Helen is going through. Julia heard a faint whistling sound every night a few days before she died. Helen says she hears the same low whistles at night. Julia died a few days before her wedding. Hélène is going to get married soon. Readers know that this can portend imminent death. Sherlock then discovers that Dr. Roylott had very good reasons to oppose the marriage of his daughters-in-law. Readers also discover that Helen was moved to Julia's room not because of the construction, but because Dr. Roylott simply used the construction as an excuse to get her into the same room her sister is in..