The Beetle by Richard Marsh is s story based upon the dark and mystic Egypt from where comes The Beetle, a creature of horror,which can change its form at will. This story is based on revenge for a crime committed against the devotees of an ancient religion. Beetle has hypnotic powers and seems to prey upon young middle-class English people, in this case, the character of Marjorie Lindon, the fiancee of a rising politician, Paul Lessingham, and his rival, Sydney Atherton. What is very interesting is that the story is detailed from the perspectives of not one, not two, but four different persons. Each individual overlapping where the other left off so that a whole story is told from each separate view point. Moreover, there are labels clearly who the reader is following in the specific section of the reading they are on. It goes from Holt, to Atherton, to Lindon then lastly to Champnell. Each character has their own personal experiences and lives that makes those experiences unique; Holt is poor, Atherton pompous, Lindon a woman and Champnell is an unbiased third party. The suspense lies in the ways the story is narrated, like :
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'As the words came from him in a kind of screech, the lamp went out, and the place was all in darkness, and I knew, so that the knowledge filled me with a sense of loathing,that with me, in the room, was the evil presence of the night before. Two bright specks gleamed in front of me; something flopped off from the bed on to the ground; the thing was coming towards me across the floor. It came slowly on, and on, and on. I stood still, speechless in the sickness of my horror. Until, on my bare feet, it touched me with its slimy feelers, and my terror lest it should creep up my naked body lent me voice, and I fell shrieking like a soul in agony'.
or "A face looked into mine, and, in front of me, were those dreadful eyes. Then, whether I was dead or living, I said to myself that this could be nothing human, - nothing fashioned in God's image could wear such a shape as that. Fingers were pressed into my cheeks, they were thrust into my mouth, they touched my staring eyes, shut my eyelids, then opened them again, and-horror of horrors!-the blubber lips were pressed to mine-the soul of something evil entered into me in the guise of a kiss."
Best part of story, including ending:
I liked this story for the narration, it is a kind of suspense which can never be repeated.
Best scene in story:
When the creature appears at the first time, it engages the reader upto an extent that the reader is forced to read further until the mystery opens up.
