Other editions of book The Haunted House

Compiled by Charles Dickens, and counting Elizabeth Gaskell and Wilkie Collins among its contributors, this rediscovered work is an ingenious collaborative tale of the supernatural with indelible touches of pure Dickensian comedy. When the narrator spies a deserted house from his railway carriage, he determines to take up residence. But local legend has it that this is a haunted house, and no servant will dare enter employment. Refusing to be thwarted, he instead invites a number of acquaintances to join him, commissioning each with the task of routing out any supernatural inhabitants. As they gather together on twelfth night, each recounts his version of the ghostly activities.

First published in 1859 for the weekly periodical “All the Year Round”, “The Haunted House" is a collection of short stories by Charles Dickens and others, with Dickens writing the opening and closing stories. They include: "The Mortals in the House" (Charles Dickens), "The Ghost in the Clock Room" (Hesba Stretton), "The Ghost in the Double Room" (George Augustus Sala), "The Ghost in the Picture Room" (Adelaide Anne Procter), "The Ghost in the Cupboard Room" (Wilkie Collins), "The Ghost in Master B's Room" (Charles Dickens), "The Ghost in the Garden Room" (Elizabeth Gaskell), and "The Ghost in the Corner Room" (Charles Dickens). Charles John Huffam Dickens (1812–1870) was an English writer and social critic famous for having created some of the world's most well-known fictional characters. His works became unprecedentedly popular during his life, and today he is commonly regarded as the greatest Victorian-era novelist. Although perhaps better known for such works as “Great Expectations” or “A Christmas Carol”, Dickens first gained success with the 1836 serial publication of “The Pickwick Papers”, which turned him almost overnight into an international literary celebrity thanks to his humour, satire, and astute observations concerning society and character. This classic work is being republished now in a new edition complete with a specially-commissioned new biography of the author.

The Haunted House is an ingenious tale of the supernatural with touches of pure Dickensian comedy. When the narrator espies a deserted house from his railway carriage, he cannot resist the challenge of taking up residence in a place no one else will inhabit. Local legend has terrified the nearby villagers, and they, in turn, convince his servants to abandon ship. Undaunted, he and his sister invite a group of friends to join them. Having shared out the household tasks, the guests are then commissioned to rout out the supernatural from their respective rooms. On Twelfth Night they meet to share their ghostly tales. The result is a feast of lively and bizarre storytelling, uniting the finest in Victorian literary talent. "As a document of self-revelation, The Haunted House is of the utmost significance for anyone interested in exploring the genius of Charles Dickens.

Having moved into an abandoned haunted house, the narrator—undaunted by the warnings of the locals—sets before a group of friends the task of driving the ghosts out of the house’s various rooms before reconvening on Twelfth Night. The resulting ghost stories form the basis of a thrilling narrative. Initially commissioned for his periodical All the Year Round, Dickens enlisted some of the period’s most famous writers—including Elizabeth Gaskell and Wilkie Collins—to collaborate with him on this Victorian supernatural classic.

The Haunted House is a story published in 1859 for the weekly periodical All the Year Round. It was "Conducted by Charles Dickens", with contributions from others. It is a "portmanteau" story, with Dickens writing the opening and closing stories, framing stories by Dickens himself and five other authors: "The Mortals in the House" (Charles Dickens) "The Ghost in the Clock Room" (Hesba Stretton) "The Ghost in the Double Room" (George Augustus Sala) "The Ghost in the Picture Room" (Adelaide Anne Procter) "The Ghost in the Cupboard Room" (Wilkie Collins) "The Ghost in Master B's Room" (Charles Dickens) "The Ghost in the Garden Room" (Elizabeth Gaskell) "The Ghost in the Corner Room" (Charles Dickens)

Dickens's opening story, The Mortals in the House, is the strongest of the collection and demonstrates his mastery of storytelling and characterisation. When the narrator sees a deserted house from his railway carriage he becomes determined to take up residence there. However, the house is said to be haunted and the servants gradually become agitated. The narrator sends them away and invites a group of his friends to stay with him and fend for themselves. On Christmas Eve the friends arrive with the aim of discovering evidence of the supernatural. Secluded in their rooms for the holiday, the friends agree to keep silent about any ghostly experiences until they gather on Twelfth Night. The ghosts the characters see have no connection with the house, and are not even really ghosts; the stories are of injustice, terror, or regret. The tales are all very different, but each has an element of the strange and scary. Some of the house guests have heard stories from ghosts while others have had out-of-body experiences. Wilkie Collins tells a seafaring story of Spanish pirates and the torment of a candle that, as it burns, takes the narrator ever closer to explosion and death. Dickens himself contributes The Ghost in Master B's Room, a very peculiar tale of the ghost of innocence that hints at the author’s own feelings of melancholy. Elizabeth Gaskell contributes a strong story of working people in the north of England. The stories by the other authors are adequate. The closing story, The Ghost in the Corner Room, is again by Dickens.

The story appeared in the Extra Christmas Number on 13 December 1859. Dickens began a tradition of Christmas publications with A Christmas Carol in 1843 and his Christmas stories soon became a national institution. The Haunted House was his 1859 offering. Dickens's opening story, The Mortals in the House, is the strongest of the collection and demonstrates his mastery of storytelling and characterisation. The narrator's ("John") health "required a temporary residence in the country." Knowing this, a friend of the narrator had chanced to drive by the house--situated close to a railroad stop mid-way between Northern England and London--and had written to the narrator suggesting he travel down from the North and look the place over. It was a large mid-eighteenth-century manor house on two square acres with a "sadly neglected garden," recently cheaply repaired, and "much too closely and heavily shadowed by trees." The house itself is "stiff . . . cold . . . [and] formal" and "in as bad taste, as could possibly be desired by the most loyal admirer of the whole quartet of [King] Georges." It was "ill-placed, ill-built, ill-planned, and ill-fitted." It was "damp . . . not free from dry rot" and redolent with the "flavour of rats."