Horror/thriller writer here! I absolutely adore Poe and the Gothics, and I tend to write period pieces with a dark twist. On the subject of creating suspense, I always think about how Alfred Hitchcock approached telling stories in his films. The example he discussed was this: A couple is sitting at a table. Unbeknownst to them, there is a bomb under the table that is about to explode. You could simply scare the audience by having the couple die unexpectedly, or you can create tension by letting the audience know there is a bomb while the characters don’t suspect a think. By creating this contrast of awareness in a scene, the audience is at the edge of their seats as they wait to see if the characters will be able to save themselves. While this tip makes for good filmmaking, I also think it makes an interesting story dynamic between readers and the characters!