I only finally read this short story this week, and I’m so glad I didn’t read it before, because I have a few disturbing happenings with wallpaper in Touched, and I wouldn’t have wanted to be influenced.īut this is a fantastically haunting story of a woman trapped in a room that also says so much about women’s oppression within marriage and society – all in 6,000 words. THE YELLOW WALLPAPER BY CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN (1892) The story of a young couple who move into a flat next to a strange older couple quickly escalates from hope to horror.ĥ.

It’s the only depiction of devil worship I’ve ever read, and it manages to make it look very possible. Yet the novel is notably well-written, tight, and manages to be really very scary. The edition I have features a trashy cover, and the film is so famous, it has somewhat overshadowed the novel. I didn’t imagine the novel would be quite this good. It’s a great story of a governess and two small children who seem to be in the grip of evil influences, all the more haunting for its ambiguities. The script was partly written by Truman Capote, and the eerie lighting is masterly. Unusually - and it feels terribly low-brow saying this - I prefer the film (The Innocents) to the novel. This is a classic of ghost literature and has to be chosen.

THE TURN OF THE SCREW BY HENRY JAMES (1898)

Touched by Joanna Briscoe