Cross ’ s series , provide hiding places for the killers . For instance , episode one of series two focuses upon a young woman who , walking home late at night , takes a London side street , its dark and seemingly lifeless buildings intensifying the uncanny sense of a hidden , stalking presence . Sensing that she is not alone , the woman turns to discover that a man wearing the punch mask made famous by the Scream movies has been following her . Wielding a large knife , the man seizes the moment and brutally murders the woman .
In the novel and the series , the dread inspired by setting is often intensified by creating the sense of a haunting , a device long associated with Gothic horror ( Hutchings 14 ). As Jerold Hogle comments , “ These hauntings can take many forms , but they frequently assume the feature of ghosts , specters , or monsters . . . . that arise from within the antiquated space ” ( 3 ). Accordingly , in several episodes , the action takes place in derelict dwellings that , as they harbor the killer awaiting the victim , recall the haunted houses that have become one of the “ visual codes ” of Gothic horror ( Hogle 2 ). The second episode from series three provides an example . Here , a lone woman returns to her flat , thinks that she senses another presence , and brushes off the uncanny sensation of a haunting as a product of her imagination . Of course , the monster is hiding in-wait for her . In fact , the director positions the camera under the woman ’ s bed to create the killer ’ s perspective and to reveal to the viewer where this monster is located . Thus , from the perspective of the killer , whose foot fetish drives him to rape and kill , the viewer watches as the woman removes her shoes and reveals her bare feet . She finds her fears confirmed but only after she closes her eyes and presumably falls asleep . That ’ s when the killer , head first and lying on his back , slides out from under the woman ’ s bed , his movement evoking the impression of something monstrous and inhuman . She opens her eyes to find the killer lurking over her in semi-darkness .
In many Gothic horror narratives , the dread inspired by setting is amplified by sounds that intensify the sense of a haunting and the presence of a monstrous evil ( Hutchings 126- 134 ). A striking example of the use of sound to inspire a sense of dread occurs at the beginning of the fourth episode of series three . In this episode , a single housewife , awaiting the arrival of her late-working husband , goes through the house searching for the source of a strange sound : she finds , much to her relief , that a pigeon has been trapped in one of the rooms . Any fear that danger awaits is seemingly put to rest after she receives a couple of texts , supposedly from her husband , one telling her that he is on his way and the second informing her that he ’ s stopping by the store to pick up that night ’ s dinner . The caller arrives at the house
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