J. S. Le Fanu's Ghostly Tales, Volume 2

A respectable physician orders a frail narrator to move to a seaside house for health, and he brings his wife, three children, and a staff to a newly‑fitted, bright home overlooking the ocean. The introduction frames the tale as a rigorously witnessed account, with the editor of a university magazine vouching for the credibility of the many witnesses. The narrator describes the house’s cheerful rooms, well‑tended gardens, and the promise of fresh sea air that should have eased his ailments.

Yet the first night shatters that calm. A sudden, blood‑curdling scream awakens the family, and the narrator’s wife confronts a towering, translucent figure standing at the foot of her bed. The description of the apparition is stark and vague—only a dark outline in the dim light—leaving the household rattled and the reader poised on the edge of the unknown. Le Fanu’s careful, almost legalistic narration invites listeners to wonder whether the house is haunted or merely the mind of an invalid seeking relief.