Expansive Ectoplasms: Demystifying the Ghost Story in The Haunted House

This article analyses the dialogue between literary tradition and innovation which is established with the genre of the ghost story in the collection of short stories entitled The Haunted House coordinated by Charles Dickens. The collection crafts a frightening atmosphere through the omnipresence of...

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Main Author: Camille Rivoire
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Presses Universitaires du Midi 2025-05-01
Series:Caliban: French Journal of English Studies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/caliban/13916
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author Camille Rivoire
author_facet Camille Rivoire
author_sort Camille Rivoire
collection DOAJ
description This article analyses the dialogue between literary tradition and innovation which is established with the genre of the ghost story in the collection of short stories entitled The Haunted House coordinated by Charles Dickens. The collection crafts a frightening atmosphere through the omnipresence of spectres monopolising the conversation, whether directly or not. The fearsome aspect of the narratives is then twisted through the comical subversion of haunting and questioned via a confrontation with reason. The main interaction underlined in the short stories then becomes an interaction with specific issues haunting the Victorian era, particularly thanks to the exploration of psychological themes, such as trauma or the notion of identity. The authors toy with the codes of the ghost story to underline the evils of their time and therefore demystify the figure of the ghost and of the literary genre with which it is associated.
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publisher Presses Universitaires du Midi
record_format Article
series Caliban: French Journal of English Studies
spelling doaj-art-46072ca94f6745d288a6feaa97e19ef22025-08-20T03:44:28ZengPresses Universitaires du MidiCaliban: French Journal of English Studies2425-62502431-17662025-05-017310.4000/14bvzExpansive Ectoplasms: Demystifying the Ghost Story in The Haunted HouseCamille RivoireThis article analyses the dialogue between literary tradition and innovation which is established with the genre of the ghost story in the collection of short stories entitled The Haunted House coordinated by Charles Dickens. The collection crafts a frightening atmosphere through the omnipresence of spectres monopolising the conversation, whether directly or not. The fearsome aspect of the narratives is then twisted through the comical subversion of haunting and questioned via a confrontation with reason. The main interaction underlined in the short stories then becomes an interaction with specific issues haunting the Victorian era, particularly thanks to the exploration of psychological themes, such as trauma or the notion of identity. The authors toy with the codes of the ghost story to underline the evils of their time and therefore demystify the figure of the ghost and of the literary genre with which it is associated.https://journals.openedition.org/caliban/13916ghostparanormalspiritualisminteractionsubversioncomic
spellingShingle Camille Rivoire
Expansive Ectoplasms: Demystifying the Ghost Story in The Haunted House
Caliban: French Journal of English Studies
ghost
paranormal
spiritualism
interaction
subversion
comic
title Expansive Ectoplasms: Demystifying the Ghost Story in The Haunted House
title_full Expansive Ectoplasms: Demystifying the Ghost Story in The Haunted House
title_fullStr Expansive Ectoplasms: Demystifying the Ghost Story in The Haunted House
title_full_unstemmed Expansive Ectoplasms: Demystifying the Ghost Story in The Haunted House
title_short Expansive Ectoplasms: Demystifying the Ghost Story in The Haunted House
title_sort expansive ectoplasms demystifying the ghost story in the haunted house
topic ghost
paranormal
spiritualism
interaction
subversion
comic
url https://journals.openedition.org/caliban/13916
work_keys_str_mv AT camillerivoire expansiveectoplasmsdemystifyingtheghoststoryinthehauntedhouse