Setting is a key element in creating the mood of a story. Without the setting the reader doesn't have the "feel" or the "involvement" of the story. The setting is the backbone of any interesting story. It lets the readers know a number of different things about whats going on in a story. A few of these things being time, place and plot of the story.

In Dracula Bram Stoker uses the setting of the book to highlight the gothic elements of the story. Using settings such as "dark and gloomy atmosphere", and "dark clouds" helps the reader to visualize the atmosphere of the story. It gives the reader a "feeling". It lets them know what is or could take place in the story. The author uses certain words in his literature to make the reader feel a certain way about the story.

The Black Cat, by Edgar Allan Poe, also has settings that sets a mood in his short stories. In this particular story the setting is always dark and mysterious. There is always a feeling of death in the way the author describes the atmosphere. The actual deaths in the story takes place in a basement cellar. The cellar was described as being a dark place, with hard brick walls. There was no light except for that coming from the fire that was set on the corner fireplace. This particular setting lets the readers know that something is about to happen or has happened that is concerning death. Since the story was about the murder of a woman and the brutality of annimals the basement cellar was the perfect location for a mysterious, or evil setting.

Whether or not setting in a story is detailed or vague can make literature good or bad. The reader can either visualize the atmosphere with perfect acuteness or be absolutle clueless to the whereabouts of the story. Setting is a very important factor in a story because of that. It helps the reader to be affected by the situations in the book, and if the situation is understood by the reader then the book is understood by the reader.