The Red Room

The Red Room or Red Room may refer to:

Art and entertainment

Companies

Places

The Red Room (short story)

"The Red Room" is a short gothic story written by H. G. Wells in 1894. It was first published in the March 1896 edition of The Idler magazine.

Summary

An unnamed protagonist chooses to spend the night in an allegedly haunted room in Lorraine Castle. He intends to disprove the legends surrounding it. Despite vague warnings from the three infirm custodians who reside in the castle, the narrator ascends to "the Red Room" to begin his night's vigil.

Initially confident, the narrator becomes increasingly uneasy in the room. He attempts to conquer his fear by lighting candles, but keeping the candles lit in the draughty room becomes an ongoing battle. Each time a candle is snuffed out, the narrator's fear increases. He begins to imagine that the drafts are guided by a malevolent intelligence. As the narrator's fear reaches a crescendo, he stumbles onto a large piece of furniture (possibly the bed), and ricochets of the walls, in a blind panic; hitting his head and eventually falling unconscious. The caretakers, who found him earlier in the morning, feel vindicated when the narrator agrees that the room is haunted. They are eager to hear a description of the phantom, but he surprises them by explaining that there is no ghost residing in the room. The room is haunted by fear itself.

Red Room (White House)

The Red Room is one of three state parlors on the State Floor in the White House, the home of the President of the United States. The room has served as a parlor and music room, and recent presidents have held small dinner parties in it. It has been traditionally decorated in shades of red.

The room is approximately 28 feet by 22.5 feet. It has six doors, which open into the Cross Hall, Blue Room, South Portico, and State Dining Room.

Furnishings

Through most of the nineteenth century the Red Room saw a fast changing series of styles from American Empire, Renaissance Revival, Rococo Revival, and the Aesthetic Movement. Furnishings from earlier administrations were sold at auction to fund the acquisition of newer, more fashionable furniture.

The 1819 Italian marble mantel, with caryatid supports, is one of a pair ordered by President James Monroe and originally installed in the State Dining Room. In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt selected Charles Follen McKim of the New York architectural firm McKim, Mead & White to renovate the White House. Among McKim's changes were moving the mantels from the State Dining Room to the Red Room and Green Room, and removing the assortment of mismatched furniture that had accumulated over the years.