midnight
Ghostly legends would always appeal to her , and she probably amassed a hoard of traditions when she visited English castles during her tours with her husband . The background of _ Gaston de Blondeville _ is Kenilworth Castle . That ancient ruins stirred her imagination profoundly is clear from passages in her notes on the journeys . In Furness Abbey she sees in her mind 's eye `` a midnight procession of monks , '' and at Brougham Castle : `` One almost saw the surly keeper descending through this door-case and heard him rattle the keys of the chamber above , listening with indifference to the clank of chains and to the echo of that groan below which seemed to rend the heart it burst from , '' or again : `` Slender saplings of ash waved over the deserted door cases , where at the transforming hour of twilight , the superstitious eye might mistake them for spectres of some early possessor of the castle , restless from guilt , or of some sufferer persevering for vengeance . '' Mrs. Radcliffe 's style compares favourably with that of many of her contemporaries , with that of Mrs. Roche , for instance , who wrote _ The Children of the Abbey _ and an array of other forgotten romances , but she is too fond of long , imperfectly balanced sentences , with as many awkward twists and turns as the winding stairways of her ancient turrets . Nobody in the novels , except the talkative , comic servant , who is meant to be vulgar and ridiculous , ever condescends to use colloquial speech . Even in moments of extreme peril the heroines are very choice in their diction .