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

Is Henry James The turn of the Screw a conventional ghost story?Ghost stories are found course back in history, some dating back to the overnice times. The Victorians were known to be greatly wagered inghosts and the supernatural and showed this fascination through presentment ghost stories.The telling of ghost stories was used as a way of entertainmentespecially around Christmas time and it was also very common for top(prenominal)class Victorians to participate in seances where they would try tomake contact with the ghosts/spirits of their dead loved ones. Howeverthis was not the only reason, in the later Victorian age, with manypeople having a great mixture of beliefs there was a disaffection withorganised religion and more towards scientific influences anddiscoveries. Therefore this could mean that Victorians societiesinterest in the supernatural was just a move away from religion andthe idea that God provides all the answers.In this essay I will scene at Henry James The Turn of the Screwwhich was written in the Victorian era. The question I will be lookingto answer is, does James The Turn of the Screw fit into thetraditional mode of a ghost story or does he do something differentand more sinister?The story is initially about a lone(prenominal) governess and her new joblooking after two young children. The story is set in a large housenamed Bly which is isolated in the countryside. The governess startsto skeleton a strange relationship with the children and in many waysbecomes too attached, finding it hard to separate herself from them,enchanted by their surposide innocence.Life at Bly runs smoothly until the governess receives a letter fromMiles school informing her that he has been exp... ...e contaminatingand corrupting 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 state of thegoverness. She seems to have developed delusions , resulting in theobsession with the ghosts and their relationship with the children.This climaxes in Floras exit to London with Mrs Grose and Milesdeath. The office staff of the governess in Miles death is not clear, was hesmothered by his affection? Or did he die of another cause?This story twists the truth to the termination that the true answer to whatis going on is never actually revealed. All traditional aspects ofthis story are contorted, making it seem far more untraditional, theplot line is designed to make the reader think and ask themselvesquestions to which there is no clear answers.