Ghost Story Review: "The Shadow in the Corner" by Mary Elizabeth Braddon

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Michael Bascom, the master of Wildheath Grange, is described thus: “At three-and-thirty [he] he seemed a middle-aged man; at fifty-six he looked and moved and spoke like an old man.” He’s spent his adult life quietly, secluded and devoted to scientific research. The house is the only thing the remains from a once extensive estate. Some years ago, Great-uncle Anthony Bascom lost everything but Wildheath. In despair, he (in the parlance of the time) is said to have destroyed himself in one of the bedrooms on the upper floor. He was refused Christian burial. Michael doesn’t bother with him much. One day while Michael is pondering the contents of a book, his butler Daniel Skegg approaches him. He’s not used to hearing him talk. But Skegg asks Michael to hire a girl for his wife who is getting on in years. More distracted than anything else, Michael agrees. A week after she arrives, Michael come across the girl, Maria for the first time. She is visibly upset. Grieving for her recently deceased father? Can’t take a little hard work? No, none of the above. At first she is reluctant to talk. The problem is she’s frightened of her room. Ostensibly a ghost story, this is more about the necessity of compassion and is a portrait of oppression built into the class system. This is incredibly sad, but it seems intended also to arouse anger. According to Wikipedia, author Mary Elizabeth Braddon was best known for her sensation novel Lady Audley’s Secret. She lived with the married publisher John Maxwell until the death of his wife who’d been confined to an insane asylum. In 1866, she founded Belgravia, a magazine dedicated to serializations of novels, travel pieces, poetry and among other types of works. The text of the short story is available at the link below: _____ Title: “The Shadow in the Corner” Author: Mary Elizabeth Braddon (1835-1915) First published: All Year Round Summer 1879 Source: ISFDB