The story is set at the turn of the twentieth century and
begins and ends in London where Holmes and Watson normally live. For the most part,
though, the narrative takes place in Sir Henry's ancestral home of Baskerville Hall in
the bleak, lonely Devonshire moors and close to the grim Grimpen Mire. This time and
place is perfect for fostering a sense of the supernatural which is such a powerful
element of the story. In this time and place, old superstitious beliefs die hard, and
the people who live in this lonely countryside are all too quick to believe in the
existence of a fearsome spectral hound. These kind of surroundings are quite different
from Holmes and Watson's more usual haunts in the heart of the huge, sprawling
metropolis and centre of the modern world, London. This contrast lends a greater
piquancy to the story. Watson admits he has to struggle not to give way to supernatural
fears in this kind of unfamiliar and forbidding
environment.
True, the hound is exposed at the end as
being a flesh-and-blood creature rather than a supernatural entity, but the supernatural
aura of the story is not entirely dispelled, for all that. It is worth remembering that
Doyle did write the story based on an actual legend of a hell-hound in those parts. He
certainly succeeded in creating a darkly rich and atmospheric setting for his story
which more than anything has helped make this the most memorable of the Sherlock Holmes
novels.
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