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Afterward
Afterward
Book Excerpt
the failure to find him produced such a look of relief? Mary could not say that any one of these considerations had occurred to her at the time, yet, from the promptness with which they now marshaled themselves at her summons, she had a sudden sense that they must all along have been there, waiting their hour.
II
Weary with her thoughts, she moved toward the window. The library was now completely dark, and she was surprised to see how much faint light the outer world still held.
As she peered out into it across the court, a figure shaped itself in the tapering perspective of bare lines: it looked a mere blot of deeper gray in the grayness, and for an instant, as it moved toward her, her heart thumped to the thought, "It's the ghost!"
She had time, in that long instant, to feel suddenly that the man of whom, two months earlier, she had a brief distant vision from the roof was now, at his predestined hour, about to reveal himself as not having been Peters; and her spirit sank u
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\" That there\'s a ghost, but that nobody knows it\'s a ghost?\"
\" Well -- not till afterward, at any rate.\"
\" Till afterward?\"
\" Not till long, long afterward.\"
The house may or may have had a ghost. But there is no reason one may not appear now and only be recognized as such, afterward.
">(1910) First published in the 1910 edition of \'The Century Magazine\'.
Ghost / Short Story
Plot bullets
An American man and wife take a house in the English countryside.
They are pleased at it\'s authenticity. After all it has no indoor water or electricity.
Quite a place for the man to write his book.
Authentic means it must have a ghost. Well, all the towns people feel that their must be one, but no one can really recall it.
From the book:
\"I can\'t say. But that\'s the story.\"
\" That there\'s a ghost, but that nobody knows it\'s a ghost?\"
\" Well -- not till afterward, at any rate.\"
\" Till afterward?\"
\" Not till long, long afterward.\"
The house may or may have had a ghost. But there is no reason one may not appear now and only be recognized as such, afterward.
\" Well -- not till afterward, at any rate.\"
\" Till afterward?\"
\" Not till long, long afterward.\"
The house may or may have had a ghost. But there is no reason one may not appear now and only be recognized as such, afterward.
">(1910) First published in the 1910 edition of \'The Century Magazine\'.
Ghost / Short Story
Plot bullets
An American man and wife take a house in the English countryside.
They are pleased at it\'s authenticity. After all it has no indoor water or electricity.
Quite a place for the man to write his book.
Authentic means it must have a ghost. Well, all the towns people feel that their must be one, but no one can really recall it.
From the book:
\"I can\'t say. But that\'s the story.\"
\" That there\'s a ghost, but that nobody knows it\'s a ghost?\"
\" Well -- not till afterward, at any rate.\"
\" Till afterward?\"
\" Not till long, long afterward.\"
The house may or may have had a ghost. But there is no reason one may not appear now and only be recognized as such, afterward.
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I have to agree with some of the other reviews. It is not even vaguely scary. The ghost is totally unrelated to the house; he might have appeared anywhere else. Somehow the author did not really do a good job with the story; it was difficult to believe and quite flat.
04/01/2012
Excellent novella, highly recommend. I got shivers reading this book. Beautifully written haunting tale.
09/27/2011
Highly recommended. Like the ghost in the story, you don't realize how psychologically thrilling it in until after you've ready it.
06/05/2009
I loved it .It's exactly the kind of ghost stories i like.
Its a tragic tale of husband and wife who dare to live in a haunted house where the horror reveals itself long afterwards.
Its a tragic tale of husband and wife who dare to live in a haunted house where the horror reveals itself long afterwards.
02/18/2008
This short story by Edith Wharton is more of a psychological ghost story than a fast-paced gore fest. It's more along the lines of Henry James' "The Turn of the Screw". A couple buy a country house in England said to be haunted. But they are told they won't realize they've seen the ghost until long afterward. Good story, but I'd classify it as a morality tale.
01/16/2008
I was totally disappointed by this story. Too vague and hard to understand. Not scary at all
01/15/2008