The Haunted House

A group of friends rent a rambling, reputedly haunted house for the winter — and, refusing to be frightened off, each claims a bedroom and a story to tell. What follows is vintage Dickens at his most playful and unsettling: comic asides sliding without warning into genuine dread, ghostly footsteps, and secrets no one quite wants to explain in daylight. Written as a Christmas number for his magazine and woven into Dickens's own frame narrative, The Haunted House is a masterclass in atmosphere from the man who invented the modern ghost story. Perfect for a night when you want to be pleasantly unsettled.