It was as I approached the last few bays that I heard what at first I took to be the soft closing of the door at the far end of the room, but which went on, even and regular, like the breathing of someone asleep, a sighing that seemed to come out of the air above my head, as though the whole, great room were somehow a living thing,exhaling around me.I glanced up at the gallery.Someone was there,I was certain of it. The wood creaked. A footfall. I was as far from my way of escaping thing, exhaling around me. I glanced up at the gallery. Someone was there, I was certain as I could have been, trapped alone in this empty place with – whom? What?
‘With nothing,’ I said, aloud and boldly, scornfully – but then started at the sound of my own voice. ‘Nothing.’ And went to the spiral staircase nearest to me, and began to climb, my steps echoing harshly in the stillness of the room.

1. Look at the section beginning “It was as I approached…” and ending with “stillness of the room”.
How does the writer use language here to create a fearful atmosphere?

It was as I approached the last few bays that I heard what at first I took to be the soft closing of the door at the far end of the room, but which went on, even and regular, like the breathing of someone asleep, a sighing that seemed to come out of the air above my head, as though the whole, great room were somehow a living thing,exhaling around me.I glanced up at the gallery.Someone was there,I was certain of it. The wood creaked. A footfall. I was as far from my way of escaping thing, exhaling around me. I glanced up at the gallery. Someone was there, I was certain as I could have been, trapped alone in this empty place with – whom? What?

‘With nothing,’ I said, aloud and boldly, scornfully – but then started at the sound of my own voice. ‘Nothing.’ And went to the spiral staircase nearest to me, and began to climb, my steps echoing harshly in the stillness of the room.

Explanation:

The write uses figures of speech mixed together to create a fear ful atmosphere.