One message to the reader of "The Open Window" is that it is often difficult to decipher the truth in a person's narrative about an incident. Moreover, those who possess such talent of being able to weave cleverly deceptive tales can easily manipulate others.
Vera, whose name suggests truth, possesses the "specialty" to create "[R]omance at short notice." Her talent lies in her ability to identify susceptibilities in her audience and then blur the lines between reality and creativity in order to weave her tale so that it will have disturbing effects upon her listener(s).
When she is sent to entertain Mrs. Sappleton's guest, Framton Nuttel, Vera first ascertains whether he is acquainted with the area or anyone living there. When Nuttel replies that he knows "[H]ardly a soul," Vera immediately recognizes that she can unleash her spectacular imagination and weave a gothic tale of her uncle and cousins' having been lost in a bog with such verve that it will both captivate and, then, as its denouement becomes reality, terrify the neurotic guest.
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