Ghosts of the modern age
Ah, the ghost story. When you say the very words it conjures up a sense of ancient ruins, abandoned castles, lonely moors, roaring flames set in ornate fireplaces… and not surprisingly so. The ghost story arguably enjoyed its heyday in what is widely known as the ‘golden age’ of the genre, which kicked off with the likes of Poe and Sheridan Le Fanu and taking us through the acclaimed works of MR James, Charles Dickens, Henry James and many more besides. And this idea of the ghost story as oldfashioned, as ‘antiquarian’ (a term MR James himself often used) has never really died out.
With that said, we are starting to see a definitive renaissance in the ghost story – and while that does take in new takes on the classics (Netflix’s The Haunting of Hill House and The Haunting of Bly spring to mind as recent examples) we’re also seeing more and more authors looking to bring ghosts into the 20th and even 21st century.
