Book Review: The Turn of the Screw by Henry James

I’m not a big fan of ghost stories. The mental images conjured by words don’t even begin to match the fear I feel when watching scary movies. I do, however, feel frightened when reading psychologically twisted stories, like The Invisible Man by H.G. Wells. Maybe it’s that aspect that made The Turn of the Screw the first “ghost story” that has held my attention and even scared me some.

It's been so gloriously gloomy the last few days that I just had to pick up a ghost story in hopes that I would finally find a creepy one. I think it says a lot for the book that I picked it up around midnight and kept reading until 2, and when I finally did go to bed I prayed I wouldn't have to get up in the middle of the night to pee or anything because I would be freaked out.

The story is about a governess taking care of two young children. She's there at the house alone because her "master", whom she is infatuated with, doesn't want to be involved in the care of the children at all. Without spoiling the story, she starts seeing what appear to be demonic apparitions. James is tantalizingly ambiguous about much of what happens which, in my opinion, makes for a scarier ghost. Leaving things to the reader's own imagination ensures that the reader will think of the scariest thing he or she can.

Scarier than the ghosts, however, is the psychological aspect of it. Fairly early on in the novel the reader is troubled with doubts about what the governess is seeing, and about her own sanity. This adds more layers to the story by making the reader think about things just as frightening, or perhaps more frightening, than ghosts.

It's autumn. The air is cold, the skies are grey, the leaves and blowing around making a sound like rattling bones. Pick up a ghost story. I'd recommend this one.