Setting

The short story “Enoch” by Robert Bloch is set somewhere in a swamp area in the US as indicated by the reference to the sheriff (a typical American local authority). The time setting is imprecise, but we can assume the author intended for the story to be read as contemporary to the time of publishing, as suggested by the presence of cars and a psychiatrist doctor.…

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Physical setting

The physical setting includes places like Seth’s “old shack on the edge of the swamp” (p. 29, ll. 10-11), the swamp where he dumps the bodies of his victims, and the town jail. None of these places are descr…

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Social setting

The social setting illustrates aspects related to small town society, mental illness, the supernatural, and law-enforcement.

When Seth is taken into custody by the sheriff we find out that an angry mob gathers, near his house and the jail. This indicates the potential for violence in small-town society, where people are shocked and angry that Seth has been revealed as a serial killer. This points to the way that people are sometimes tempted to take social justice into their own hands, although in this case, the sheriff stops them from lynching Seth. Also, the story mentions that most of the people in town consider Seth crazy because his mother was seen as a wi…