Warings
Warings is the large manor house where Joseph Hooper and his son Edmund Hooper live. Early in the novel, Charles Kingshaw moves to Warings with his mother, Helena Kingshaw. There is a long tradition…
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Moths
The Hooper family owns a vast collection of dead moths, which have been preserved, classified, and arranged in glass display cases. Edmund Hooper seems to enjoy looking through this collection, but Charles Kingshaw finds it…
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The Red Room
The Hoopers keep their moth collection in a room called the Red Room. This is one of the most overt allusions to the English Gothic tradition: in many Gothic novels, there’s a mysterious room that…
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Crows
Charles Kingshaw is terrified of crows: at one point, he’s attacked by a large crow, and later, Edmund Hooper leaves a large stuffed crow in his bed, frightening him to the point where he can…
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Water
At different points in the novel, Charles Kingshaw is attracted to but also repulsed by large bodies of water. He feels comfortable swimming in a stream in the middle of the wood, but he’s terrified…
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Leydell Castle
One day, Joseph Hooper drives Edmund Hooper and Charles Kingshaw to a local tourist attraction, Leydell Castle. Children come from across the country to play at the ruins of this authentic medieval castle, and Joseph…
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