Name: The Turn of the Screw
Author: Henry James
ISBN: 9781731295293

The Turn of the Screw

Henry James

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Author Description

THE TURN OF THE SCREWThe story had held us, round the fire, sufficiently breathless, butexcept the obvious remark that it was gruesome, as, on Christmas Eve inan old house, a strange tale should essentially be, I remember nocomment uttered till somebody happened to say that it was the only casehe had met in which such a visitation had fallen on a child. The case, I may mention, was that of an apparition in just such an old house ashad gathered us for the occasion-an appearance, of a dreadful kind, toa little boy sleeping in the room with his mother and waking her up inthe terror of it; waking her not to dissipate his dread and soothe himto sleep again, but to encounter also, herself, before she hadsucceeded in doing so, the same sight that had shaken him. It was thisobservation that drew from Douglas-not immediately, but later in theevening-a reply that had the interesting consequence to which I callattention. Someone else told a story not particularly effective, whichI saw he was not following. This I took for a sign that he had himselfsomething to produce and that we should only have to wait. We waited infact till two nights later; but that same evening, before we scattered, he brought out what was in his mind."I quite agree-in regard to Griffin's ghost, or whatever it was-thatits appearing first to the little boy, at so tender an age, adds aparticular touch. But it's not the first occurrence of its charmingkind that I know to have involved a child. If the child gives theeffect another turn of the screw, what do you say to _two_ children-?""We say, of course," somebody exclaimed, "that they give two turns!Also that we want to hear about them."I can see Douglas there before the fire, to which he had got up topresent his back, looking down at his interlocutor with his hands inhis pockets. "Nobody but me, till now, has ever heard. It's quite toohorrible." This, naturally, was declared by several voices to give thething the utmost price, and our friend, with quiet art

Page Count:
80

Publication Date:
2018-11-13

Publisher:
Amazon Digital Services LLC - KDP Print US

ISBN-10:
1731295294

ISBN-13:
9781731295293