The setting of a story is the time and place where the action occurs. “The Rats in the Walls” is set near the fictional village of Anchester in England. Exam Priory, with its deep underground grotto, is also fictional. Delapore and Norrys briefly visit London to find experts willing to help them. Although Delapore provides extensive background on his family, the actual action unfolds between July 16 and August 8 of 1923.

Many of Lovecraft’s stories are set in fictional towns, and some are set in impossible spaces like the underground city beneath Exham Priory. The grotto’s vast size contributes to the story’s horror. The characters do not even explore the whole space, as they decide “that such secrets are not good for mankind” (Paragraph 49). “The Rats in the Walls” is unusual in that it is set in England; most of Lovecraft’s corpus takes place in New England.

Foreshadowing is a crucial plot device in horror stories. Throughout “The Rats in the Walls,” Lovecraft hints at information that will be revealed later. In doing so, he builds tension, allowing audiences to guess at the story’s conclusion.