Uncanny Tales

About this book

A room holds something that ought not to be there. A small disturbance upsets the household and leaves ordinary explanations feeling less secure. Mrs. Molesworth lets the uncanny enter without much warning.

The manners and assumptions of late Victorian life give the stories their familiar surroundings. Supernatural events emerge through domestic settings and careful narration, allowing uncertainty to linger after an incident has passed. The restraint gives the book a particular unease: a person may return to normal routine while remaining unable to forget one unexplained moment. Its quieter tales depend on that feeling more than on spectacular apparitions.