A Visit: A Ghost Story for Christmas

by Shirley Jackson, Seth (Illustrator)

World-renowned cartoonist Seth returns with three new ghost stories for 2022. Margaret visits the lavish home of her friend Carla Rhodes for the summer holidays. But when Carla's brother arrives with a mysterious friend, strange occurrences cause tensions to rise within the group, and secrets hidden within the house begin to emerge.

Genres: Horror, Short Stories, Christmas, Fiction, Classics, Gothic, Literary Fiction

80 pages, Paperback

Published November 1, 2022

About the author

Shirley Jackson was an influential American author. A popular writer in her time, her work has received increasing attention from literary critics in recent years. She has influenced such writers as Stephen King, Nigel Kneale, and Richard Matheson.

She is best known for her dystopian short story, "The Lottery" (1948), which suggests there is a deeply unsettling underside to bucolic, smalltown America. In her critical biography of Shirley Jackson, Lenemaja Friedman notes that when Shirley Jackson's story "The Lottery" was published in the June 28, 1948, issue of The New Yorker, it received a response that "no New Yorker story had ever received." Hundreds of letters poured in that were characterized by, as Jackson put it, "bewilderment, speculation and old-fashioned abuse."

Jackson's husband, the literary critic Stanley Edgar Hyman, wrote in his preface to a posthumous anthology of her work that "she consistently refused to be interviewed, to explain or promote her work in any fashion, or to take public stands and be the pundit of the Sunday supplements. She believed that her books would speak for her clearly enough over the years." Hyman insisted the darker aspects of Jackson's works were not, as some critics claimed, the product of "personal, even neurotic, fantasies", but that Jackson intended, as "a sensitive and faithful anatomy of our times, fitting symbols for our distressing world of the concentration camp and the Bomb", to mirror humanity's Cold War-era fears. Jackson may even have taken pleasure in the subversive impact of her work, as revealed by Hyman's statement that she "was always proud that the Union of South Africa banned The Lottery', and she felt that they at least understood the story".

In 1965, Jackson died of heart failure in her sleep, at her home in North Bennington Vermont, at the age of 48.

Reviews

[Teresa · Rating 5 out of 5]

After first encountering this story in Shirley Jackson’s Library of America volume, I’ve read it a few times over the years, and each time I am surprised at the way Jackson tricks me. I believe I’ve said somewhere on this site that after finishing the story the first time, I decided to read just the dialogue. It was then revealed to me how Jackson worked her magic, but only partially. Even knowing this “trick,” I was surprised once again.

[Zai Zai · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another day another slay for Miss Shirley Jackson.

[Cory · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall an enjoyable read. I was hoping for a little bit more story wise and also spookiness wise but was able to read it in an hour so can’t complain to much.

[Jeatherhane Reads · Rating 4 out of 5]

Nice and creepy.

[Kayleigh Wiebe · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strong entry on the "what did just read?" spectrum. Uncanny drips through these pages, filling me with dread. I just kept wondering when the other shoe would drop.

The descriptions of the house are rich, making it a character in itself. And I loved the ending, it gave me the feeling of being a doll trapped it a dollhouse, restricted to a life of domesticity. I just wish that more of the loose ends had been tied up. I’m leaving this short story with more questions than answers and I’m desperate to understand how everything ties together!

[Anne Logan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Last is A Visit by Shirley Jackson, who I’ve really enjoyed reading in the past, so was really looking forward to this little story of hers, originally published in 1968. Although it contains echoes of a ghost story, it was merely suggestive, as opposed to outright horrific. Our narrator Margaret is a young girl, visiting her friend Carla at her home. They presumably attend boarding school together, so Margaret is there for an extended visit. Carl’s home is huge, more like a castle, and it contains some mysterious things, including a tiled picture of Margaret titled ‘she died for love’, and a locked up tower where a great-aunt supposedly lives in exile.

Reading more like a dream, this story always seemed on the verge of something terrifying, but never really coming out and saying it; similar to the lead-up in a haunted house story. Still, the lack of details and concrete evidence also adds to the general unsettling feeling one has while reading it, and when I reviewed other people’s thoughts on the story (a nice perk of reading a ‘classic’), it’s obvious it could do with another re-read to really get what Jackson was trying to impart here. The subtlety of this ghost story won’t appeal to everyone, but I’m excited to read more of Jackson’s stories now that I’ve been introduced to one of her nuanced but less popular works.

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[Juli Jackson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A spooky delight and newest edition to my favorite collection of ghost stories for Christmas by Biblioasis. Read in one sitting on a rainy December night. Makes me want to re-watch Last Year at Marienbad.

[Brenna Donahue · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fun first read of 2023! A gothic horror short story, my first taste of Shirley Jackson and I will definitely be reading more this year. It was chilling, creepy, ambiguous, haunting, everything you could want from a story like this. And the edition is so cute!

[Barbara · Rating 4 out of 5]

This story kept me guessing even after finishing it. Jackson mastered the horror and ghost story forms and this is another example of her talents.

[E G Melby · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ooooh! Shivers…. Shirley doesn’t disappoint

[Adam Carson · Rating 4 out of 5]

Creepy psychological horror by Shirley Jackson. Slow building, keeps you guessing. Great spooky read

[Ron Kerrigan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Atmospheric but ultimately confusing. Probably a reread would clear up what was really going on, but so many other books to read... And as in most of these mini-books illustrated by Seth, I found the drawing uninspired (although his caricatures of the authors are well thought out and done.)

[Dave Schaafsma · Rating 5 out of 5]

“Here’s Margaret, who died for love.”

"This is a lovely house."

Of course I love Shirley Jackson, a master of classical mystery and horror. And I was delighted to find, in all of the Seth-illustrated little book ghost short stories (for Christmas, in the Brit tradition) I have been collecting, that there was a story I had not read from her. And spoiler alert, as it says so on the cover, it is a ghost story, but as with some ghost stories it is not obvious who the ghosts are.

Also known as "The Lovely House," Jackson's "A Visit" was published in her collection Dark Tales, and in Come Along With Me; it is the story of Margaret, who visits her friend Clara’s “home” which is a typical magnificent set of buildings; there’s even a tower! Okay, gothic house: see The Haunting of Hill House, We Have Always Lived in the Castle, and all the spooky houses in that long gothic tradition.

I think this subtle story is technically amazing. In the house Margaret finds many tapestries, and that is Jackson's approach, to lay out a tapestry of the history of the house and its inhabitants. Carla's brother Paul is to arrive with his friend "the Captain," but then things get strange and stranger, as Margaret goes up the tower to visit another Margaret, an old lady with a black cat. Who lives there? Who among the people we meet are ghosts?

Some themes of note: the physical decay of the mansion (ala "The Fall of the House of Usher"?; mirrors, artistic representations of the past, especially of the house; repetition (as in reliving sequences of the past); doubling.

The pace seems slow and steady, but pay attention; it leads to Margaret's true nightmare, though the ending of the story seems ambiguous about the relationship between Paul, Margaret, and the elderly Margaret. But I have some guesses! I loved this story, because I read it slowly, looking for clues!

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a surreal, atmospheric horror story that makes effective use of setting and gothic architecture. The plot itself leaves much to the reader’s imagination – a bit too much so, in my humble opinion. I wanted more answers by the end. Then again, maybe I just haven’t developed enough of an appreciation for surrealism. Literary critics such as S.T. Joshi have described A Visit as the “‘quiet weird tale' at its pinnacle" because of how it depicts "the manner in which a house can subsume its occupants" (Jackson et al, 2013). Shirley Jackson originally published it under the title “The Lovely House” in 1950. Tony Walker provides a good narration of the short story in his podcast Classic Ghost Stories .

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[Image: Book Cover]

Citations:
Jackson, S. (2022). A visit: A ghost story for Christmas. Biblioasis. (Original work published 1950)

Jackson, S., Hyman, S. E., & Miller, L. (2013). Come along with me: Classic short stories and an unfinished novel. Penguin Books.

Title: A Visit - original title “The Lovely House”
Author(s): Shirley Jackson
Year: 1950
Genre: Fiction - Short story: gothic horror
Page count: 80 pages
Date(s) read: 12/3/24 - 12/4/24
Book # 219 in 2024
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[Kristen Haaksma · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this story, as I do all of Shirley Jackson’s writing that I’ve read. I wish I could give 4.5 stars because it’s really better than 4, but I can’t quite give it 5. My brain was non stop trying to be in detective mode which was very fun and I liked to see how the little hints and comments said throughout the book took my thought process different ways to try and figure out what was going on. Overall, very easy read, and very cute honestly. Not at all sinister which I was waiting for someone to die and some big grand plan to reveal itself. I think a lot is open to interpretation which is fine and fun and fresh, but I would’ve maybe liked some answers to some of my questions. I really liked Paul and Margaret (the alive one?) and I thought this was a cute little ghost story, but it really doesn’t explicitly talk about ghosts or tell you at the end who were the real ghosts. Also not about Christmas at all… I waited until the Christmas season to read it thinking it would be about Christmas but it was about summer break? lol

[Richard Dominguez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Also known as "The Lovely House", Jackson's "A Visit" is a short fiction story written by Jackson at the height of her powers. It is the story of the haunting of a large, ancient house in the country and so it is a obviously haunted house story, but who is the ghost and who is haunted? What is the meaning of all the details and symbols? Who are the odd family that inhabit the house, and what are they doing?

Another great story from a true master of the art, with enough detail to make everything seem perfectly normal and then slowly she reveals the horror intended for the story.

[Donald · Rating 2 out of 5]

To begin, this short story has nothing, I repeat nothing to do with Christmas. I have no idea why that word is on the cover, or why it was on display with other Christmas books at our local bookstore this past December. Totally strange.

Secondly, as well written as it is, it has a vague, frustrating ending. I'm not even sure what it was. During the story they are waiting for the brother, then he's there, and then he leaves. There is also a grand dance, and a trip up the tower. Interesting and well written but lacking for an ending.

And any connection at all to Christmas.

[Stefanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love ghost stories. (A Christmas Carol is my favorite tradition over the Holidays.) This is a spooky delight. The ending gives a needed little twist but then it all sinks in and becomes clear and you realize how perfectly crafted this story was. Seth provides bold illustrations to add the eerie graphics without giving anything away. Even though these are marketed as a series of tales for Christmas, don't let that slow you down. I'm planning to collect every single one!

[Paige Richards · Rating 2 out of 5]

I love Shirley Jackson, and I typically understand what I'm getting into when I got into an "American classic horror" but this one was a little too open ended for me to be happy with where we landed. The ideas, the questions, the tapestries, double women named Margaret and mystery of Paul is intriguing and I guess I would have wanted more than vague endings.

[Kirstie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Palpable vibes that only Shirley Jackson can provide but not a lot of substance with little to no conclusion. Gothic and reminiscent of Haunting of Hill House, certainly has a spooky factor that I would love to get more of out of this story. It does suffer from being too short with too many descriptors.

[Cynthia Egbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

I just adore Shirley Jackson. This one is not so much creepy as it is one that makes you think and you have to read carefully to catch where she is going with this one. I did manage to figure out the twist before the end but just barely. So clever!

[Ashley T · Rating 5 out of 5]

She is a master at building a subtly creepy atmosphere, and in such a short story too!

[Mary Claire Reynolds · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short and strange! Might need to give it another read, there were many creepy and unsettling things but I never caught on to what was going on. But perhaps that is the point and I missed it!

[Kylie Combs · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wish I had read this in one sitting, but hopefully I can the next time I visit. I really want to start a tradition of reading ghost stories for Christmas and this was a super fun place to start!

[Ana · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'll have to read it again I think

[Amber Hathaway · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love all the quirky rooms in the house. The descriptions are so fun and enchanting. The twist at the end of took me by surprise. If you're a Shirley Jackson fan, you won't want to miss this one.

[Cristine Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Puzzling?

[Ingrid · Rating 2 out of 5]

No more than marginally atmospheric, and a bit too slight to make for a satisfying ghost story.

[John Gilbert · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is why you don't go visit people for the summer.

[Kris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Shirley Jackson never disappoints. Read it twice!