Ghost Story Review: “An Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House” by J. Sheridan Le Fanu

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True to form, this is offered as true ghost story, given to the narrator by a third party. The unnamed third party is sent with his family to the seaside for his health on the recommendation of his doctors. The family, which consists of husband, wife and three children ages nine and younger move in along with six servants. (Yeah, life is rough.) Both husband and wife are disabled to some degree, the wife nearly bedridden. They are pleased with the house, referring to it often as “cheerful” and “light.” On the first night there, the wife is heard screaming. She tells her husband she saw someone in her room. The butler and his adult son share a room. Lying awake one night while his son sleeps, the butler sees a pock-marked woman, who appears blind in one eye, enter the room. He assumes she’s attached to the people who recently owned the house and coughs to let her know the room is occupied. She doesn’t react, but does whatever she intended to do when she came in then leaves. An extended series of other apparitions and noises occurs—familiar to anyone who has watched ghost or horror movies. However, no severed heads turn up soup tureens and no walls drip with blood. A plausible explanation is offered for the haunting and the identity of the ghosts, but the author stops short of declaring these are definite. There are no surprises here, but it is perhaps, remarkable just how old the traditional poltergeist-ish story is and how many elements remain the same over time. This story is available from Project Gutenberg in the collection J. S. Le Fanu’s Ghostly Tales Vol. 2: ______ Title: “An Authentic Narrative of a Haunted House” Author: Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu (1814-1873) First published: Dublin University Magazine, October 1862. (First published anonymously) Source: ISFDB