“Of course I was under the spell, and the wonderful part is that, even at the time, I perfectly knew I was. But I gave myself up to it; it was an antidote to any pain, and I had more pains than one.”

Ok, this is technically two books but seeing as they are both so good, I feel I can review them together.

I may be more inclined towards these stories that I would have been, due to the memories I connect to them. I read them for the first time on holiday in Barcelona. We had hired a flat in a beautiful area with the most picturesque balcony, which had rusted iron railings entwined by such pretty flowers. On that holiday, I woke up early each morning, made filter coffee and sat on that sunny balcony reading this book, the sounds, smells and sights of Barcelona battering my senses. Heaven. The book has a little suntan now.

Enough about me and back to the book. The Turn of the Screw is often credited with being one of the first proper horror stories, as we know them now. It is genuinely creepy. The scariest part for me was imagining Victorians sitting around their fireplaces in the long, cold winter evenings reading these stories to one another. They must have been terrified! Even sitting on my warm balcony in Barcelona, I found the hairs on my arms standing on end.

The main reason these stories are so good is the suspense and mystery. Will we ever find out what is haunting the children? (I won’t ruin it for you).

There are better Victorian novelists, but if you are interested in horror stories, I would recommend reading this to understand the inspiration behind many of them. If you’re just after an entertaining ghost story – again, look no further!

7.5/10

The Turn of the Screw & The Aspern Papers (only £1.99 here! A bargain for a great read!)

Do you have any suntanned books? Any books which remind you of a special place? Let me know in the comments!