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 language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The Routledge Handbook to the Ghost Story |
| Editors | Scott Brewster, Luke Thurston |
| Place of Publication | New York and London |
| Publisher | Routledge |
| Chapter | 12 |
| Pages | 124-133 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| ISBN (Print) | 978-1-138-18476-3 |
| Publication status | Published - 10 Nov 2017 |
Keywords
- Conan Doyle
- ghost story
- spiritualism
- Sherlock Holmes
- supernatural
- implied reader
- science