How does the very appearance of the moor help establish an atmosphere of dread in The Hound of the Baskervilles?

In this story, the moor is part of what is frightening, and not just because of the hound.

First of all, the moor is empty and wild.  We are told early on, when Holmes is looking at the map, that hardly anyone lives there.  That lets our imagination roam and we can believe that there could be a hellhound out there.

Then, in Chapter 6, Conan Doyle starts to describe the moor itself.  He uses words like "melancholy," "strange,"  "fantastic,"  "jagged" and even "forbidding."  It is a "huge expanse" with cold winds blowing off it causing its trees to be stunted and twisted and bent.

This kind of description helps to make us feel that nothing good can be associated with the moor.