The setting
makes the plot of "" possible. We learn that Mr. Nuttel has bad nerves and has been
sent down to a country retreat for a "nerve cure" on the advice of his sister. He
doesn't know the people he is staying with: he has never met them before. His sister, we learn,
visited the area four years ago, so she wouldn't be up-to-date on what is going on there. She
equips her brother with letters of introduction to the Sappleton family. Because of how he meets
them, in a setting that is obviously wealthy and in good taste, he is primed to believe the
niece.
Mr. Nuttel's ignorance of the setting makes it possible for the niece
to deceive him about Mr. Sappleton and his two brother-in-laws going hunting and disappearing,
so that when they return, Mr. Nuttel believes he is seeing ghosts.
also
plays on the idea of a "nut house." Rich people often went to country retreats, not
dissimilar to the Sappleton estate, that were set up to provide expensive rest cures for people
with psychological complaints. The Sappleton home has become a "nut house" in
different way, contributing to further shattering Mr. Nuttel's nerves rather than offering a
cure.
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