Terror is the emotion felt in anticipation of an event. Horror is the emotion experienced after seeing something ghastly. One of the greatest sources of terror is obscurity or ambiguity; of the reader not knowing what is real or unreal, true or false. James is the master of ambiguity in the novella.

             James introduces terror via the genre of the gothic novel which he encourages by the Governess's own reading of The Mysteries of Udolpho' a classic gothic story. James introduces a number of features of the classic gothic novel:.

             Isolated setting at Bly in 1840s when Jane Eyre, another Gothic claasic was written.

             Luxury and eccentric architecture of house.

             Innocents endangered by the supernatural.

             Young woman in danger without male support.

             Secrets about death.

             Hints of sexual transgressions.

             The Governess is also aware of other texts that may influence her interpretation of events such as Jane Eyre. After her first sight of a male figure on the battlements she wonders whether there is, " an unmentionable relative kept in unsuspected confinement as in Jane Eyre.

             James prepares the reader for an obscure tale at the beginning with Douglas, the partial frame narrator, telling his audience that the "story won't tell, not in any literal, vulgar way ". They (and the reader) are told to expect shadows and indirection. He also uses language, to heighten the obscurity and impending sense of terror with long unpunctuated passages, grammatical twists and turns and emotional shading.

             For example, James uses gaps and fragmentary dialogue that has to be completed by others including the reader. When the Governess asks Mrs. Grose about Miles and whether she, "has never known him to be bad ", Mrs. Grose replies, " Oh never known him - I don't pretend that ". The effect is that the reader is left to fill in the gaps about Miles and his morality is obscured. Is Miles still ˜an innocent' or are there some deeds from the past that must not be discussed.