Friday 13th January 2023

A haunted house

The document is an extract from the short story « The

fall of the House of Usher », written by Edgar Allan
Poe in 1839.

On the first cover of the book, we can see two

manors : one is a normal mansion, and the other is
upside down. Maybe it is a story about ghosts, or
about two different worlds.

The house was in the countryside, alone and dark. The

atmosphere is dull, gloomy, dark, scary and full of
anxiety. It is oppressive. The narrator was afraid of the
house.

Upside down = à l’envers

countryside = la campagne
dull = terne
gloomy = lugubre
 Thursday 26th January 2023

The turn of the Screw

The first document is a book cover of a novel. Its

author is Henry James and it is entitled « The Turn of
the Screw ». There is a woman in the foreground, and
two children in the background. The woman seems to
be afraid of ghosts, and she can see shadows behind
the two children (Miles and Nora). She looks like their
governess.
The novel is about the governess and the 2 children.
They lived in a manor, in a countryside, in a place
where strange things happen.
The manor is haunted : it is very dark, creepy,
frightening and weird.

Friday 3rd February 2023

In gothic stories, strange, mysterious and sometimes

unnatural things happen. Most of the time, the story
takes place at night, in castles, manors, graveyards or
haunted houses. We can find unusual characters, such
as ghosts, monsters or vampires. Gothic stories got
famous during the late 18th century and at the
beginning of the 19th century.

Graveyards = cimetières
unusual = peu habituel
century = siècle

Frankenstein’s story

Frankenstein is a gothic novel written by Mary

Shelley in the 1790s.
Victor Frankenstein is a scientist who created a
monster on a stormy night. He created it using body
parts he found in graveyards. The Creature came to
life, and Victor was scared because he realised his
Creature was very unnatural and hideous. Then, Victor
abandoned his creature, which started chasing him
until the North Pole.

This is a gothic story because the story is about death,

the atmosphere is very spooky, creepy and gloomy.

Scientist = scientifique
stormy = orageux
graveyards = cimetières
unnatural = surnaturel
hideous = hideux
spooky = effrayant
creepy = bizarre
gloomy = lugubre
 Monday 6th February 2023

Coppola’s Dracula

The document is an extract from a film from

Francis Ford Coppola.
A young man, Jonathan Harker, is in a train. The
train is going from London to Transylvania.
Transylvania is in the East of Europe. In this region,
there are mountains and it’s desertic.
In the train, Jonathan is reading a letter and
writing his diary. D sent him a letter. D may stand for
Dracula, a vampire.
D is also the voice-over which sounds old,
frightening and creepy. The colours are red and black,
so they are dark and dull colours. Maybe Red is for /
represents / stands for blood. Maybe black stands for
death. The music is also terrifying. There are also
shades of blue and purple, two cold colours. They are
used to represent Dracula.

Frightening = effrayant
dull = terne / fade
stand for = représenter
shades = nuances
 Count Dracula

The document is an extract from a book, Dracula,

written by Bram Stoker in 1897. This is an extract from the
beginning of the book. Jonathan Harker arrived in Bistritz,
in Transylvania. It is described as a very beautiful place,
even though it is a bit strange.
He was in a little hotel. People were friendly and the
atmosphere was warm. But, when Jonathan talked about
Dracula, people were afraid, and the atmosphere changed
and became a bit threatening.
Then, Jonathan met the Count. Dracula is described as a tall
man with a white face and white hair. He had ears like a cat,
and fingers that looked like claws. He looked like a monster
or a corpse / dead person.

Even though = même si

threatening = menaçant
claws = griffes
corpse = cadavre
 Thursday 9th March 2023

Crimson Peak

The document is a poster. The film is entitled Crimson Peak

and it was directed by Guillermo Del Toro. There are three
characters represented on this poster : a man and two
women.

The atmosphere is very dark, a bit oppressive : the

characters are in the middle of the poster, the light is on
them.
One of the women is wearing a white dress, but it is
covered with blood. She is a blond-haired woman, and with
her white dress she embodies purity. On the contrary, the
dark-haired woman with a red dress embodies evil.
The man is married to the blond-haired woman, and to the
dark-haired woman.
The scene takes place in a dark isolated manor. This
manor / mansion is haunted by ghosts which open the
doors and target the blond lady.
White stands for purity and black and red stand for
shadows and evil. So, we know it’s a gothic story. The
blond lady is pure and kind, but the dark-haired lady is
evil.
In books, there’s no music. In films, there are more
feelings thanks to the stressful music, special effects and
the colours. While reading a book, you have to imagine
what is happening, whereas while watching a film, you
don’t have to imagine anything.

Covered with = couvert de

on the contrary = au contraire
embody = incarner
target = cibler
stand for = représenter
dark-haired lady = une dame aux cheveux foncés
evil = diabolique
stressful = stressant
whereas = alors que
anything = rien
 Monday 13th March 2023

The Amityville House

The document is a poster of the film “The Amityville

Horror”. It must be a horror film. The main element on
the poster is a house. It is quite dark, with a lot of orange
and black shades. The windows look like eyes, it gives
the impression the house is alive. We have the
impression there is a monster on the facade of the house.
The house is then personified : it must be the main
character of the film.

Must be = ça doit être

main = principal
shades = nuances
windows = fenêtres
alive = vivant
facade = façade
personified = personnifié → rendre un objet humain
The video is an extract from a documentary. It is based
on Daniel Lutz’s testimony about what he experienced
when he lived in the house.
A murder was committed in the house in 1974. The
following owners said they experienced many
paranormal phenomena, such as hundred of flies in mid-
December or even doors which slammed without any
reason.