Is Henry James The turn of the Screw a traditional ghost story? Essay

Is Henry James The turn of the Screw a traditional phantasma story?Ghost stories are found way back in history, some dating back to theVictorian times. The Victorians were known to be greatly interested in nuances and the supernatural and showed this fascination throughtelling creep stories.The telling of ghost stories was used as a way of funespecially around Christmas time and it was also very common for pep pillclass Victorians to participate in seances where they would try tomake contact with the ghosts/ liven up of their dead loved ones. Howeverthis was not the only reason, in the posterior Victorian age, with manypeople having a great mixture of beliefs at that place was a disaffection withorganised religion and more towards scientific influences anddiscoveries. hence this could mean that Victorians societiesinterest in the supernatural was just a drive away from religion andthe idea that God provides all the answers.In this test I will look at Henry James The Turn of t he Screwwhich was scripted in the Victorian era. The question I will be expressionto answer is, does James The Turn of the Screw fit into thetraditional mode of a ghost story or does he do something differentand more heavy?The story is initially about a lonely governess and her new bloodlooking after two young children. The story is set in a large housenamed Bly which is isolated in the countryside. The governess startsto form a strange relationship with the children and in many waysbecomes too attached, decision it hard to separate herself from them,enchanted by their surposide innocence.Life at Bly runs swimmingly until the governess receives a letter fromMiles school informing her that he has been exp... ...e contaminatingand alter of the idea of innocence by the governess and not bythe apparitions. There seems to be answers for the happenings at Blyhowever these answers appear to lie in the mental defer of thegoverness. She seems to have developed delusions, resulting in t heobsession with the ghosts and their relationship with the children.This climaxes in Floras occur to London with Mrs Grose and Milesdeath. The role of the governess in Miles death is not clear, was he smothered by his affection? Or did he die of another constitute?This story twists the truth to the extent that the true answer to whatis going on is never actually revealed. All traditional aspects ofthis story are contorted, fashioning it seem far more untraditional, thestoryline is designed to make the reader think and ask themselvesquestions to which there is no clear answers.