"The Turn of the Screw" is a novella written by Henry James. It is ostensibly a ghost story in the stream of Gothic Fiction.
An unnamed narrator listens to a male friend reading a manuscript written by a former governess whom the friend claims to have known and who is now dead. The manuscript tells the story of how the young governess is hired by a man who has become responsible for his nephew and niece after the death of their grandparents who were raising the children after their father died.
The imagery of "The Turn of the Screw" is reminiscent of the gothic genre. The emphasis on old and mysterious buildings throughout the novella reinforces this motif. Many critics have tried to determine the exact nature of the evil hinted at by the story.