Bowen’s “Demon Lover” and “The Happy Autumn Fields” have both implemented the use of a chest containing histories related to the protagonist and a house in poor condition due to bombing or other disturbances during the great war.

“Demon Lover” plays on the concept of Mrs. Drover’s past relationship and uses it as a catalyst for a supernatural presence in the house; more than likely playing on Mrs. Drover’s guilt of continuing her life after her lover’s death at war. It is more so driven by a psychological based haunting, dealing with Mrs. Drover’s perception of ‘morality.’

“The Happy Autumn Fields” had sharp and instantaneous transitions that would catch me off guard and have me rereading passages trying–trying to figure out if I had missed some important information. While this did hinder the flow of my reading, I found the use of a historical haunting interesting. Bowen uses ambiguity to make the story more so of a mystery. The reader’s perception of the reading can cause different assumptions of the story’s end. While Mary believes she is a descendant of Sarah–giving the story closure–Travis tells Mary that Sarah passed without bearing children–making the story open-ended.

The ambiguity and simplicity of the chests were the most interesting aspects of the stories for me. While they weren’t really driving the story, I felt that they gave the stories tone and the building a certain eeriness about them. Though, this might just be due to the wordage of the story (chest in an attic sounds a bit eerier than a cardboard box).