Gothic & Horror · Free digital edition
The Turn of the Screw by Henry James – Free Gothic Fiction with Read-Aloud and Reading Support Tools
By Henry James · 1898
A governess at an isolated estate becomes convinced that two children are threatened by figures no one else will acknowledge.
About this free edition
Read The Turn of the Screw online
Henry James published The Turn of the Screw in 1898, and it has unsettled readers ever since. A governess arrives at an isolated country estate to care for two children and gradually becomes convinced that threatening figures – visible to her alone – are drawing the children toward something dangerous. James never resolves what is real and what is imagined, leaving that question entirely to the reader. The story opens around a fire with a group trading ghost stories, and its atmosphere of creeping dread builds through restraint rather than spectacle. This free edition in the Vocalini Open Library lets you read and listen at your own pace, with no account or checkout required.
- Read and listen free with no account, subscription, or checkout required.
- Synchronized word and sentence highlighting supports focus during read-aloud playback.
- Select any passage to simplify wording, get key points, or ask an AI a question about the text.
Source: Project Gutenberg illustrated HTML edition. Not restricted by U.S. copyright law; readers outside the United States should check their local laws.
Accessible reading tools
Read in the way that works best for you
Free text-to-speech
Listen to the visible book text at your pace without buying an audiobook or creating an account.
Synchronized highlighting
Sentence and word highlighting move with the voice, helping you follow the page and keep your place.
Built-in AI reading help
Select a passage to get key points, simplify difficult wording, request an explanation, or ask a question.
This edition is designed to make reading more comfortable for a range of needs. Text-to-speech reads the text aloud while sentence and word highlighting follows along in real time, which can help readers who benefit from tracking words as they are spoken. If a passage feels dense or unfamiliar, built-in AI tools let you select any section to get key points, simplify the wording, or ask a question about what you just read. These features may be especially useful for readers with dyslexia, ADHD, visual-tracking challenges, or anyone reading in a second language. No special setup is required.
From the opening pages
Begin reading
“The story had held us, round the fire, sufficiently breathless.”
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