This collection is a masterclass in psychological ghost stories: elegant, unbeatable in premise, and full of that Jamesian ambiguity.
🔩The Turn of the Screw (1898)

A young governess takes a job caring for two angelic children at a lonely country estate… until she starts seeing ghosts. Or does she? This is a great classic of the trope “creepy children” or “young woman going mad in isolated country house.”
James blurs the line between the supernatural and the psychological so that you’ll find yourself re-reading passages just to be sure you really saw what you think you saw. Loved the themes of innocence and knowingness.
The prose is a bit dense, adding to the body of analysis that’s cropped up around this story.
đź‘—The Romance of Certain Old Clothes (1868)

Two sisters, one man who they both love… and a locked chest. This is a very satisfying fairy-tale-esque story. An early Jamesian story that leans into melodrama, but it’s deliciously eerie and shows the beginnings of his fascination with lineage and obsession. Some very strong moments here.
đź‘»The Friends of the Friends (1896)

Two people who claim to have seen a ghost seem destined to meet, until tragedy, and something stranger, intervenes. This is a great premise and I love the central mystery. Quiet, psychological, and ironic: classic James and classic ghost story!
🏠The Jolly Corner (1908)

Spencer Brydon returns to his old New York home and encounters the ghost of the man he could have been. He walks around the dark house and sees ghosts everywhere. This one feels more metaphorical and elegiac in mood. Almost a sketch.
I loved these Jamesian ghost stories in all their glory: eccentric, psychological, and very satisfying.
One word: creepy.
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