The Turn of the Screw

First published in 1898, The Turn of the Screw is Henry James's masterpiece of psychological horror and one of the great ghost stories in the English language. A young governess arrives at the isolated country house of Bly to care for two unusually beautiful and well-behaved children, Miles and Flora. But soon she begins seeing two shadowy figures on the grounds — figures she comes to believe are the ghosts of the former governess and her lover, both dead under suspicious circumstances, and both intent on corrupting the children. James never tells you whether the ghosts are real or imagined — and that ambiguity is exactly what makes it so deeply unsettling.

Narrated in a distinct natural voice — because every story on this site deserves its own narrator, not a one-size-fits-all voice. Stream free, no account required.