Genre
Supernatural, horror, thriller
Setting and Context
The novel is set in modern-day London but incorporates supernatural elements
Narrator and Point of View
The novel is told from a third-person perspective.
Tone and Mood
The novel is tense, suspicious, mysterious, intense, energetic, and empathetic.
Protagonist and Antagonist
Lucy Carlyle and Lockwood & Co are the protagonists of the novel and "the problem" is the antagonist of the novel.
Major Conflict
The conflict between Lucy Carlyle and Lockwood & Co (which is a ghost fighting company) and their struggles against the ghosts of "the problem."
Climax
When Lucy Carlyle and Lockwood & Co come face-to-face with the namesake screaming staircase.
Foreshadowing
The ultimate defeat of the screaming staircase and the red room is foreshadowed early in the book when Stroud describes the children's psychic abilities.
Understatement
The sheer power the children wield despite their age is understated frequently in the novel.
Allusions
There are allusions to other supernatural novels (particularly those written by Stephen King), to other popular culture, to the history, culture, and geography of the United Kingdom and London, to mythology (Roman, Greek, and Egyptian), and to religion (mainly Catholicism and Anglicanism).
Imagery
As the group approaches the screaming staircase and the red room, imagery surrounding ghosts and spirits becomes more and more prevalent.
Paradox
Lucy Carlyle and Lockwood & Co are children yet have tremendous power.
Parallelism
N/A.
Metonymy and Synecdoche
N/A.
Personification
The staircase is given human characteristics such as screaming.
