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The Turn of the Screw was a classic I hadn't read yet, but had been on my radar for years. It was recommended to me by my mum because it's the archetype for the 'spooky country house' horror novels I've been enjoying so much over the past few years. I was absolutely blown away by this fabulous novella and have been kicking myself for not reading it sooner!

I haven't really read any classic ghost stories (the one exception being A Christmas Carol, which is not my favourite), so I was sure that the haunting in The Turn of the Screw would be downplayed somehow -- I didn't expect any ghosts to actually make an appearance in the novella. Oh, how wrong I was! The Turn of the Screw is obviously the foundation on which the modern horror genre is based on. It contains so many of the delicious tropes I love:

- A isolated house in the countryside
- Creepy children
- Watchful figures at a distance
- Faces peeking in windows
- An unreliable narrator
- The sense of being watched when you are alone

This is not a book in which you get too attached to the characters, but they absolutely play up that unsettled feeling for the reader -- whether they are the cause or the victim, you can decide. The descent of the unnamed governess's descent into terror and possible madness is so well done, and I loved the way the book ended. There is a lot of reading between the lines that must be done -- as with many classics -- so a deeper look is required to really get the most out of this story.

Rating: 4.5 out of 5 stars