Paranormal Activity 6 : The Turn of the Screw


01:25 17th AUGUST 1895 : THE GOVERNESS’ BEDROOM



04:55 23RD AUGUST 1895 : FROM THE WINDOW OF THE MAIN STAIRCASE



Anyway, this is a great story. However, I must mention three STYLISTIC ISSUES that might bother the less patient reader.

1) In The Turn of the Screw, as in many of HJ’s works, people have a tendency to finish each other’s sentences. For example, “But aren’t they all – “ “Sent home? Yes.” (P33). This style can create a sense of anticipation and connection between the characters, but it might also seem a bit artificial to some readers.

2) People often answer questions with questions and avoid giving a straight answer. For instance, “Do you fear for them?” “Don’t you?” (P47). This can add an element of mystery and uncertainty to the story, but it might also frustrate readers who are looking for clear answers.

3) Being Henry James means using sentences of remarkable opacity when readers least expect it. For example, “He never wrote to them – that may have been selfish, but it was part of the flattery of his trust of myself; for the way in which a man pays his highest tribute to a woman is apt to be but by the more festal celebration of one of the sacred laws of his comfort.” (P82). These complex sentences can be challenging to understand, but they also add depth and nuance to the story.

Anyhow, whatever, this is a P Bryant Must Read.

Footnote :

For Screw fans, here's my follow-up review of all the lovely theories about it:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

What is real? Is it something you see but no one else does? Things that stare back at you and then vanish into the nothingness of oblivion? Images that cannot be solid.

ARE YOU GOING INSANE? Such is the plot of the famous Henry James novella, The Turn of the Screw. It is more a study of psychological turmoil than pure terror, yet it has that too.

A young unnamed woman takes a job as a governess to two small children in an old house called Bly, in rural England, set in the 1800s. She desperately needs the money. The boy, Miles, is 10, and his sister, Flora, is 8. Both are handsome, intelligent, and very mature for their age. They seem quite normal.

The siblings' guardian, a remote uncle living in the city (London), doesn't want to be bothered. There is no communication. Just take care of his burden and leave him in peace. He is not a loving person. The housekeeper, a friendly old lady named Mrs. Grove, and the governess become fast friends.

Nevertheless, there's a darkness brewing, unsaid but felt. The young lady starts to feel uncomfortable from the very beginning. There are too many mysteries, keeping the atmosphere thick with suspense. What happened to the previous governess? Slowly, she begins to discover the truth, a corrosive element bringing death to this estate.

A man or maybe not, she sees, but that is impossible. No strangers are here. Yet, the governess starts asking questions, too many to be answered properly. The late valet of the uncle's had an unfortunate accident. Peter Quint, a rascal romantically involved with the previous governess, also dead, and Miss Jessel, the ghosts of the estate, their ghoulish mists cause havoc.

How much do the children know? Or are they behind the apparitions? The present governess feels the stress and pain of the hopeless situation. The phantoms keep appearing and shockingly disappearing, with no relief in sight. The pond and Flora make for a frightening episode for everyone there. Will she be saved?

It is a fine mystery that may seem old-fashioned to some modern readers. Yet, it does have interesting characters trying to survive unknown factors and clear the air of the horror. If you have read the author's books before, you'll enjoy it better. Henry James may be long-winded, and you may not be too sure what he's "talking about" periodically. Still, the talent is obvious. The adventurous will be happy at finding this writer, as I did.

If I said that I went to bed with Henry James, would anyone believe it?

I would say no, for three undeniable reasons.

The first is that he has been dead for almost a hundred years. Ninety-six to be exact.

The second is that he was very probably homosexual.

The third is that this short but intense novel is extremely disturbing :-)

And yet I did it.

Last night I banished my ghosts and took him, in the silence of the night, among the sheets and the pillow, and I finished it.

"I see dead people", spoken by the child protagonist of the film "The Sixth Sense", is one of the phrases that has accompanied my night fears for the longest time. For weeks, after seeing the film, I had trouble going to sleep without thinking about it and without succumbing to the temptation to check if there was someone under the bed or in the wardrobe.

However, fortunately, I am accompanied by two slender certainties: the first is that I am no longer a child, privileged beings to have this kind of encounters both by James and in Shyamalan's film, the second is that I have two cats, which, as "Poltergeist" and abundant genre literature teach, fight evil spirits :-)

What I like about Henry James, once again, after this new and surely not last encounter, is his natural ability, exalted by a refined and at the same time colloquial writing, to put the reader at the center of the story, and to immediately drag him to Venice rather than, as in this case, to Bly in an old English countryside house, to the point that, after reading only a few pages, the reader is no longer able to understand if, as if by magic, he has become himself the narrator or the narrated.

Once again, as had already happened to me with the reading of "Northanger Abbey" by Jane Austen, I find a reference to the Gothic Literature of Ann Radcliffe and her "The Mysteries of Udolpho" and this triangulation Austen-James-Radcliffe intrigues me a lot, especially regarding the evolution of the female figure: on the one hand there is Austen who tends to ridicule this type of novel in which the protagonists were all palpitations and terror ready to be saved by the hero of the moment (but in the end even Catherine Morland is very willing to capitulate and be saved by her hero, albeit accompanied by the great irony of Austen) and on the other hand there is James who instead describes a woman who is no longer a passive protagonist but capable of becoming an active player in the game herself; the governess of James is not only a pawn, but also a game strategy, she acts to provoke reactions, even if unpredictable.

In the middle, precisely, there is Ann Radcliffe with her Udolpho, which I really have to read, which has unwittingly triggered a chain reaction. Will the missing link be precisely "Jane Eyre" (I have to take cover, I read it at twenty, I'm afraid) and will the triangle finally become a square?

[1794 - Ann Radcliffe - The Mysteries of Udolpho
1803/1818 - Jane Austen - Northanger Abbey
1847 - Charlotte Bronte - Jane Eyre
1898 - The Turn of the Screw]

3.5 possession filled stars

I have had a profound longing to read this short novel, which was penned by James in 1898, for an incredibly long time.

Often categorized as a horror novella, The Turn of the Screw narrates the account of a young governess who is dispatched to look after two young children.

It doesn't take an extensive period for the governess to bear witness to the fact that ghostly presences also dwell on the grounds and have a desire for the children as their own.

Although the story has an eerie atmosphere, I wasn't cowering under the covers or anything of the sort.

So many times throughout the reading, I felt an urge to shout at the governess to seize those children and flee.

All in all, I became deeply invested in the story and was more than a little bewildered by that ending.

I still don't know precisely how to feel about it!

It left me with a sense of unease and a lingering curiosity, making me wonder about the true nature of the events and the characters' fates.

The novel's ability to evoke such strong emotions and leave me with unanswered questions is a testament to its power and the skill of its author.

I'm glad I finally got the chance to read it and experience its unique charm.

What I find truly captivating about this story is the eerie atmosphere that pervades it from start to finish. It's that sense of unease that keeps you on the edge of your seat, constantly wondering what's going to happen next. And then there's the ambiguity, which is simply masterful. Right up until the very end, the story remains delightfully ambiguous. James leaves the reader with a series of competing images in their mind, never quite resolving what exactly has happened to the children. Are they the victims of some unknown horror? And who exactly is the governess? Is she mad? Is she murderous? Or is she perhaps a witness to something far more supernatural, like the possession of the children? The beauty of this ambiguity is that it allows each reader to come to their own conclusion, making the story a truly personal and engaging experience.

3.5 Stars → Another Ambiguous Ending in This Gothic Fiction Classic

When a governess is hired to care for two children at a British country estate, she starts to sense an otherworldly presence around the grounds. Are they truly ghosts she's seeing? Or is there something far more sinister at play?

Has the governess fallen victim to madness? (If so, why?) Or are there really malevolent spirits out to harm her young charges? In the end, it's left to the reader to decide. I understand the reason why authors do this, but at times it feels like a cop-out. Are there ghosts or not?

The writing was beautiful and descriptive, and there was undoubtedly a strong creepy atmosphere throughout the story. I listened to this on audiobook, and Emma Thompson's performance was amazing. It was very passionate and entertaining.

The Turn of the Screw is a remarkable novel that holds a significant place in the literary world. It is one of those works that is read not only for the value of its story but also for the profound influence it has had on the genre. This well-known classic is a must-read for any horror enthusiast, as it is almost inevitable that they will pick it up at some point in their lives.

Of course, when compared to modern standards, it may not be as terrifying as it likely was when it was first written. There are two main reasons for this. Firstly, many of the elements it features have since become common clichés in the horror genre. Secondly, the characters' behaviors, ideas, and dialogues can seem undeniably outdated to a modern public. However, despite these factors, I still had an enjoyable experience listening to it as an audiobook.

Regardless of what has been said about it over the years and the fact that I was already familiar with the entire plot, the overall atmosphere of the novel, the creepy first-person narration, and the sense of a slow descent into madness all combined to keep me engaged until the very end. It left me constantly wondering what was actually going on, which is a testament to the fact that this short novel is a classic for a reason. I highly recommend it to all fans of the horror genre.

“—his indescribable little air of knowing nothing in the world but love.”





The Turn of the Screw

Welcome back to the newest edition of Tim has an unpopular opinion. I'll be your host today, and boy, do I have a show for you.

I really detest it when I don't have an affinity for a classic. People tend to immediately assume that you don't understand it or that you need to view it from the perspective of the readers during the time of its publication. I'm well aware of this. I've dedicated my time to reading classics in the past and still often do so for enjoyment.

Sometimes, you simply don't like a particular book.

To be honest, I should have adored this one. I have a passion for ghost stories. I love books where one can explore the psychology of the main character. I also like having the ability to have multiple interpretations of events. It seemed like a book that was注定 to be loved by me.

Yet, here I am, having completed it and absolutely loathing it. It was dull, overly written (and seemingly had a love/hate relationship with commas given the extreme overuse of them). While the ambiguity was somewhat appreciated, the vagueness of the narrative was not. Half the time, I felt like it was like a bad dream, using inaccurate data to reach an illogical conclusion, and rather than captivating me, it irritated me.

I know it's widely loved, but this is a case where the book is simply not for me. The psychological aspect is interesting, but the story itself isn't. I only finished it because it was extremely short. Honestly, though, I wish I hadn't bothered. 1/5 stars

Sinopsis

This is a classic horror story, a ghost novel. It narrates the experiences of a young governess who is in charge of two charming children and sees the condemned spirits of their predecessors. The protagonist struggles to help her pupils and rescue them from their murky past.

Opinion

I didn't know this book until it was recommended to me and now, after having read it, I think it is an essential story for lovers of the genre. It is true that, being a work from 1898, the language is not the same as it is now. At first, it is difficult to read, not because of the vocabulary used but because of the length and complexity of the sentences, which can take up to ten lines and contain commas, semicolons, dashes, etc. However, as difficult as it is at the beginning, as the story progresses, you get used to it.

What I liked most about the story is its ambiguity and its open ending. It keeps you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end, makes you question several times what is really happening and at the end gives you the freedom to interpret it as you wish.

My Interpretation of the Story

If you haven't read this novel and are interested in doing so, stop reading now. I'm not responsible for the spoilers that follow.

I finished this story last Tuesday, but I needed some time to digest it and be able to write the review. In addition, I have been looking for other opinions on blogs and it is difficult to get anything clear.

I'm going to tell you what I think about it, but my interpretation is very influenced by the following illustrations of Ana Juan. It is possible that without her work, I would have interpreted everything differently.

Henry James is the sort of individual who truly relishes the sound of his own voice. He is that person who will devote ten pages to pondering what he is going to say, express it over the next ten pages, and then spend yet another ten pages questioning whether perhaps there is something else that could be said.

The Turn of The Screw is a short story that potentially could have been completed within 20 pages. However, it was instead elongated to nearly 130 pages.

Regarding the story itself, to be honest, I didn't have much of an interest in it. It progresses in a slow and laborious manner, the so-called "screw" turns extremely gradually, and by the time the ambiguous climax finally arrives, many readers will find themselves asking: Do I really care?

I, for one, do not. On a different note, I would highly recommend the movie "The Others" which is based on this novella. It adopted a completely distinct approach and managed to maintain my attention throughout the entire viewing.

I was not as impressed as I think I should have been by James' prose.

Yet, I think I was left shaken by the shadows in the interstices between the narrator's words.

In fact, James' prose was often tedious and, at times, downright irritating.

It was irritating in the way a fern tickling your nose can be when you're trying to spy on someone from behind some plants.

Or tedious in the way that brick dust rubs against your whiskery half-shaven beard when you're trying to surreptitiously peek around a corner to observe someone caught in a lewd act.

The words don't so much get in the way as they serve as a foil to the real action.

Or, more properly, they are like the wisps of phantom air left by real action.

Reading this novella is truly a game of shadows.

At times, the shadows seem more mysterious because of their vagary.

At other times, they seem like they might come into sharp, dark focus, only to slip away, much to the reader's disappointment.

Then, there are those few moments of perfect frisson, where one shivers and asks "who just touched me?!?" only to turn and see nothing but an empty meadow or the waters of a still lake under a grey sky.

It's a strange and somewhat disconcerting experience, but one that keeps pulling the reader back in, eager to see what lies hidden in the next shadow.

I'm truly quite upset! Henry James has managed to scare the bejeezus out of me, and I firmly demand that he put it back! Oh, how I loved my bejeezus.

The Turn of the Screw is a classic example of old school horror. It is not so much about being horrid and ghastly but rather eerie and creepy. What makes it so effective is its remarkable ability to scare through the creation of a tense atmosphere and the power of suggestion. And what better setting to achieve this than the cold, damp, and lonesome English countryside?

In this desolate and mysterious landscape, the reader is drawn into a world of unknown terrors. The isolation of the setting adds to the sense of unease, making the story all the more spine-chilling. As the narrative unfolds, the atmosphere thickens, and the suggestions of something sinister lurking in the shadows become more and more palpable.

Henry James masterfully weaves a tale that keeps the reader on the edge of their seat, constantly on guard for the next scare. The Turn of the Screw is a testament to the enduring power of old school horror to haunt our imaginations and send shivers down our spines.