To create an eerie atmosphere in the story “A Face in the Dark” the author has used his description of the surroundings and the boy, clever narrative of the story and even the title.

Some of the words that help him create an atmosphere of eeriness, suspense and mystery are —

• returning to his school late one night
• strong wind
• sad, eerie sounds that kept most people to the main road
• the batteries were running down
• moved fitfully down the narrow forest path
• flickering light fell in the figure of a boy
• sitting alone on a rock
• sensed that something was wrong
• head hung down
• body shook convulsively
• strange soundless weeping
• racked with silent sobbing
• a round smooth head
• torch fell from his trembling hand
• running blindly through the trees
• lantern swinging in the middle of the path
• wind blew the lamp out etc.

To come to the clever narrative technique, the author first introduces the boy and even the watchman as if it was a normal happening and then starts to unfold the mystery by giving us a hint  — ‘Mr. Oliver sensed that something was wrong’ — and finally gives the jerks bringing forth the faces without features.

Even the title of the story evokes suspense in the readers’ minds, thereby creating an eerie atmosphere even before the story begins. All these techniques are employed deliberately by the author to make “A Face in the Dark” a great supernatural story.