Suspense

[1] In a narrative work, suspense is the audience's excited anticipation about the plot or conflict (which may be heightened by a violent moment, stressful scene, puzzle, mystery, etc.

In literature, films, television, and plays, suspense is a major device for securing and maintaining interest.

[8] An adjunct to suspense is foreshadowing, as found in hints of national crisis or revolution in Isabel Allende's House of the Spirits (1982).

[9] Some authors have tried to explain the "paradox of suspense", namely: a narrative tension that remains effective even when uncertainty is neutralized, because repeat audiences know exactly how the story resolves.

Baroni proposes to name rappel this kind of suspense whose excitement relies on the ability of the audience to anticipate perfectly what is to come, a precognition that is particularly enjoyable for children dealing with well-known fairy tales.