
PROLOGUE
I. An Early Fright
II. A Guest
III. We Compare Notes
IV. Her Habits—A Saunter
V. A Wonderful Likeness
VI. A Very Strange Agony
VII. Descending
VIII. Search
IX. The Doctor
Set in a remote Austrian castle, a young woman recounts her solitary life amid towering spires, a mist‑shrouded forest, and a crumbling chapel. Her father, a retired officer, lives with her and a handful of devoted governesses, their days marked by quiet routines and the echo of distant legends about the extinct Karnstein family. The narrator’s voice is intimate, blending the charm of her multilingual household with the eerie stillness of the surrounding woods.
When a striking, enigmatic guest arrives—inviting, yet oddly unsettling—the calm of the castle begins to fray. Whispers of ancient curses and strange maladies surface, prompting the narrator to turn to the scholarly Doctor Hesselius for insight. As the newcomer’s presence deepens the sense of unease, the young heroine finds herself drawn into a web of mystery that hints at forces far older than the stones of her home.
Language
en
Duration
~2 hours (154K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2003-11-01
Rights
Public domain in the USA.

1814–1873
A master of Victorian unease, this Irish writer helped shape the modern ghost story with tales that feel both elegant and deeply unsettling. His fiction includes the vampire classic Carmilla and other darkly atmospheric mysteries that still influence horror today.
View all books
by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu

by Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu