The Open Door, and the Portrait

by Mrs. Oliphant

In The Open Door a sense of suspense intensifies as the horrifying environment unfolds and events heighten the imagination of the reader. An excerpt reads, "It was close to us, the vacant door-way in it going out straight into the blackness outside. The light showed the bit of wall, the ivy glistening upon it in clouds of dark green, the bramble-branches waving, and below, the open door -a door that led to nothing. It was from this the voice came which died out just as the light flashed upon...