The Turn of the Screw Study Guide

The introduction to The Turn of the Screw introduces us to the un-named author and the storyteller-to-be, known only as Douglas. A group has gathered by the fire in an old house to tell stories on Christmas Eve, and an unknown participant has just finished a gruesome story, deemed by the narrator to be fitting to the time and setting. The story just told involves a child, a contributing factor to its grotesque description, and the group quietly ponders the tale, until Douglas offers the possibility of a story even more horrible involving not one, but two children. (read more)