The Turn of the Screw
A governess takes charge of two children in a country house and becomes convinced that the previous servant and his lover are still present. James tells the story entirely from her point of view, and never confirms whether the ghosts are real.
The ambiguity is not a trick; it is the structure. Every detail can be read as evidence of the supernatural or of a young woman's breakdown, and the prose is designed to keep both readings alive. It is short, and it is one of the most discussed ghost stories ever written. Read it at night, then read the criticism.
Public-domain status
First published in 1898. In the United States, works published before 1930 are in the public domain. In the European Union the general term is the life of the author plus 70 years; Henry James died in 1916, so this work has been free to republish there since 1987.
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Keep reading
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