Conan Doyle's Sceptical Reader: Ghost Stories, Science, and Spiritualism

    Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapterpeer-review

    Abstract

    This chapter explores the neglected supernatural fiction of Arthur Conan Doyle. It argues that there is a tension between Doyle's well-documented commitment to spiritualism and his creation of fictions that traffic in Gothic and sensational fictive tropes. But his ghost stories often represent their implied reader as a sceptic, in ways that suggest both his own will to investigate the paranormal, and his mission to convince doubters of the reality of mediumistic encounters.
    Original languageEnglish
    Title of host publicationThe Routledge Handbook to the Ghost Story
    EditorsScott Brewster, Luke Thurston
    Place of PublicationNew York and London
    PublisherRoutledge
    Chapter12
    Pages124-133
    Number of pages10
    ISBN (Print)978-1-138-18476-3
    Publication statusPublished - 10 Nov 2017

    Keywords

    • Conan Doyle
    • ghost story
    • spiritualism
    • Sherlock Holmes
    • supernatural
    • implied reader
    • science

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