The Turn of the Screw

One of the world's most famous ghost stories, this spine-chilling tale is told through the journal of a governess, depicting her struggle to save her two young charges from the demonic influence of two former household servants. Only the governess can see the ghosts; only she suspects that the previous governess and her lover are controlling the two orphaned children for some evil purpose. But are the children being deceptive, or is the governess being paranoid? The author called the tale a "fable," noting that he did not specify details of the ghosts' evil deeds because he wanted readers to supply their own vision of terror. This little tale is an exquisite gem of sexual and psychological ambiguity, a story that stays long in the mind.