Final answer:
The phrase 'The hangman's horror clung around him' is likely from a literary work and relates to themes of death, fear, and psychological distress as reflected in provided excerpts from various texts dealing with similarly dark and intense subject matters.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student's question, 'The hangman's horror clung around him,' seems to be related to a literary analysis of a piece of text, likely from a story or novel that describes a character's experience with death or execution, possibly metaphorical or literal. This phrase could be dissecting a character's emotional state or the atmosphere of a particular scene.
The provided excerpts depict various intense scenarios, likely from different literary works, that touch upon themes of death, horror, and psychological torment. They serve to illustrate the breadth of human emotional experience in dire circumstances, and the complex relationship between thought and feeling under extreme stress or in the presence of death.
For example, the mention of a man falling into a stream with a noose around his neck, the description of a child's reaction to a gruesome scene, and the inner turmoil of characters who are confronting the dire consequences of their actions. Each of these reflects on the struggles of the human spirit in the face of overwhelming adversity, fear, and the imminence of death.