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

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Conan Doyle's Sceptical Reader: Ghost Stories, Science, and Spiritualism'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this