The narrator tells how the group have been told a ghost story, but then the narrator notices that one character, Douglas, has not been paying much attention. He suspects that Douglas has an even more shocking story to tell. Later on Douglas confirms this by saying “If the child gives the effect another turn of the screw, what do you say to two children -?” Not finishing his sentence makes the listeners reach their own conclusion that it must be even scarier. The story he is going to tell takes place in a house similar to the one they are in now, this makes the audience feel insecure in the house and scared that this may happen to them. Nothing more about the story is revealed to create tension. Douglas has kept this story secret for a long time (forty years we find out later) because “it’s quite too horrible”. Douglas keeps on building the tension by saying it is more than scary. He says “For dreadful-dreadfulness!” The audience are very excited about hearing the story but suddenly Douglas announces that he needs the manuscript from his home. The audience are left wanting more but have to wait a long time before they can hear it, this creates massive suspense. It is not made clear why Douglas doesn’t just tell the story, because it made a big impression on him. He taps his heart as he says “I took that here, I’ve never lost it” meaning the story. The author is delaying telling the story to build atmosphere and anticipation. This links the audience in the story and the reader of the book.
Douglas tells how he came by the story. He tells us he was given it by his sisters’ governess whom he had walked and talked with when he was back at home one summer. He tells how she had only told him and no-one else the story and he says “you’ll easily judge why when you hear.” The narrator says “Because the thing had been such a scare?” and Douglas replies “You’ll easily judge, you will.” Again, the audience is left on a cliff-hanger wanting to know more.
The story of the governess builds the suspense even more. She is young and poor and seems vulnerable so the reader feels empathy for her. The bachelor appears rich, handsome and nice and has taken on his dead brothers’ children but then leaves them alone in a large country house with only servants to look after them. This makes the situation seem mysterious, why is the man not married? Why does he not live with the children? There had been a previous governess who had died and this make the listeners wonder if there is something strange about her death. Douglas tells them that they will find out. The governesses instinct makes her have doubts about taking the job making the reader feel uneasy for her. She takes it anyway because she likes the man and the pay is good, even though the man has said that she must never contact or trouble him. This is another mystery and hints that something is not right about the situation.
When the governess arrives from London her first impressions are good, “the summer sweetness seemed to offer me a friendly welcome” though she had been dreading starting the job because of the strange way that she had been taken on. Everything seems perfect but the housekeeper, who, although she seems glad that the governess is there, also seems nervous about it, which makes the governess feel uneasy.
At first everything seems to be too good to be true. The governess gushes about how perfect the little girl, Flora, is but then, it is revealed that the boy, Miles, was expelled from school because he was an “injury to others”. This comes as a shock because she has only heard that the boy is marvellous. This makes the reader think that the boy is something to do with the evil in the story. When the Governess discovers that the ex-governess was not taken ill, but had just disappeared into thin air, the story becomes more foreboding. These cliff-hangers at the end of chapters make the reader want to read on and reveal more information.
When the Governess meets Miles, she straight away feels the same as she does about his sister - “the same positive fragrance of purity in which I had, from the first moment seen his little sister.” This creates some dramatic irony because the reader has probably picked up that Miles is evil and the Governess is fooled by him. We read on because we want to find out if the Governess discovers this information.
One day as the governess is out walking, she sees a mysterious figure on one of the towers, just as she was fantasising about the master standing before her. This is a big mystery. Who is this man and why is he watching her? Suddenly the atmosphere changes, now it is becoming more scary and like a ghost story. After this, the Governess frets about the man and her sentences become very long and complex. Could she be going mad because of the child?
Later, the Governess seems to be getting obsessed about the mysterious figure she saw while she was out walking. She starts to think there may be a secret at Bly, or is she going mad? She persuades herself of the “loveliness” of the children and starts not to believe the headmasters letter that was sent to her about Miles. This makes the reader begin to wonder if the governess is being sent mad.
Then, on a grey day late in the afternoon, the strangers’ face she had seen on the walk appears, staring at her through the window. She runs to see if he is still there but he has mysteriously vanished. Her language becomes less rambling and more urgent as she describes this scene. The suspense is great now as we want to know who this man is.
As the Governess describes the man to Mrs Grose, some features sound almost ghost like - “A pale face, long in shape.” All of a sudden Mrs Grose recognises who he is, “Quint, Peter Quint” a former estate worker who is dead! So, at last we have a real ghost in our story. The reader realises that Mrs Grose knows more than she has admitted to and begins to feel scared at the situation the governess has got into.
The governess cannot understand why the children have never mentioned Quint even though they spent much time with him. Suddenly, they realise that Quint is after Miles. The governess describes emotionally and hysterically how she will protect the children, “They had nothing but me, and I – well, I had them.” The reader feels her emotions and fear.
Finally, the governess is outside with Flora when she feels a presence. She daren’t look, but when she does there is a ghostly woman watching them. The shocking thing is that Flora has seen too but seems unconcerned. This eeriness adds to the unease the reader feels about the supposedly angelic children leading to a feeling that something bad is about to happen.
This essay sums up how James creates tension in the opening chapters of The Turn of the Screw. Atmosphere and tension are created by the use of mysterious figures appearing to the young, vulnerable governess. The scenes are set in an old house and things happen when it is nearly dark. The information is revealed bit by bit, creating cliff-hangers. The innocence of children is doubted and although it is a difficult book for the modern reader to understand, it is modern in the way the atmosphere is created.
