The Haunted House was published in an 1894 collection of three short stories by Charles Dickens, under the title Christmas Stories, which is where I stumbled upon it. But as I researched further, I found that the tale was first published in 1859 in All Year Round, a publication for which Dickens served as editor. This grouping contained a unique collection of stories under the same title, with Dickens writing the introductory and closing texts. The other stories were penned by writers of the time whom Dickens invited to contribute a tale of their own set within one of the many haunted rooms of his house.
In his introduction, Dickens sets the stage for the paranormal parlor games that the protagonist invites his friends to join in. An abandoned house with rooms featuring names such as The Picture Room and The Clock Room is inhabited by a skeptical man who invites each of his dearest friends and relatives to visit over the magical Twelfth Night of Christmas. It was often believed that the Twelfth Night of Christmas had a supernatural power—not unlike our current feeling for Halloween being a good time to communicate with those who have shuffled off this mortal coil.
He writes:
The understanding was established, that anyone who heard unusual noises in the night, and who wished to trace them, should knock at my door; lastly, that on Twelfth Night, the last night of holy Christmas, all our individual experiences since that then present hour of our coming together in the haunted house, should be brought to light for the good of all; and that we would hold our peace on the subject till then, unless on some remarkable provocation to break silence.
George Augustus Henry Sala was a Londoner by birth (1792), of whose early writing Charles Dickens became a fan. Dickens published both articles and stories by him, including this selection from The Haunted House. Sala later became a regular contributor to the Daily Telegraph, and his bombastic style helped set the tone of one of the most prestigious newspapers in the world. He was famous for having the most impressive library in London, having amassed a large collection of books so that he could write on virtually every subject. He died in 1828.
The Ghost in the Double Room is the third of eight tales covering the various rooms of the haunted house. Here you will meet the pathetic Ghost of the Ague. The ague (pronounced aygyoo) was a feverish disease (as well as the early term for malaria) that often claimed lives. It was hard to shake, just as this house cannot shake its ghosts.
Join me, once again, as we step into the paranormal parlor of Charles Dickens and George Sala, where we will dance with ghosts both literary and loved.
IN FREAKITUDE,
VARLA VENTURA
SAN FRANCISCO, 2012