What Are The Ghosts In Henry James's The Turn Of The Screw

The Turn of the Screw by Henry James was published in 1898. The book begins with a governess being hired to finish raising two children who have recently lost their father and are living with the maid. Throughout the early story the governess begins to see ghosts, who are in fact, that of the father and the previous governess who are both dead. The new governess fears that the ghosts have come for the children and begins planning a way to have the children to live with their uncle. The children are reluctant to leave and the governess is sure that this is part of the ghosts’ plot, yet no one else has actually seen the ghosts. Flora, the youngest child, is taken to her uncle’s, but they keep the older boy, Miles, home due to his reluctance to leave. The book ends with the governess and miles at home when the governess sees the father’s ghost last,
This book takes place in Bly which is the children’s home in Essex, most likely around the time the book was written in 1898. Their home is a castle of a mansion on a large estate that belonged to their late father, that is presumed to be haunted. The story is told by the newly hired governess who speaks in first person, retelling an event in her past.

The three most central characters are the governess, Miles, and Flora. The governess, is the narrator of the story, and the witness of the ghosts at Bly. She is young, caring, and unusually embracing to the bereaved children. It is also possible, that she is either crazy or deceived, due to the lack of other witnesses to the ghosts that she claims to see. The other main characters are the children, Miles and Flora. The older of the two is Miles. He is a young boy who has just come home after being kicked out of school for concealed reasons.