On this course we will read some classic ghost stories from M.R. James, Rudyard Kipling, Edith Wharton and others. Ghost stories achieve some of their effects through the presence of the strange within the familiar, or the eruption of the past in the present (the return of the repressed), which Sigmund Freud termed the uncanny. We will explore Freud’s essay ‘The Uncanny’ and use this psychoanalytic concept to shed light
on the...
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In this in-person course we will explore Freud’s notion of the uncanny and how it relates to ghost stories. Freud theorised that an uncanny effect was produced by a number of factors, such as recurrence (the return of the repressed), the presence of the strange (the unheimlich or unhomely) in the familiar (the homely), and the ‘omnipotence of thoughts’ (a form of magical thinking where what one wishes appears to shape reality).
We will discuss how these psychoanalytic factors contribute to the uncanny in a diverse range of ghost stories. Motley gloves begin to appear in an isolated country house; a young Polish scholar working in an Italian archive becomes obsessed with a 16th-century woman named Medea da Carpi; an American couple buy a haunted house in Dorset whose ghost can only be apprehended ‘long afterward’; a Cambridge academic finds a bronze whistle in a ruined building belonging to the Knights Templar…
What will we cover?
We will read a wide range of Victorian and Edwardian ghost stories on this course, as well as ETA Hoffmann’s uncanny classic ‘The Sandman’, which Freud discusses in his essay.
Week 1. ETA Hoffmann, ‘The Sandman’ (short story, 1817) and excerpts from Sigmund Freud, ‘The Uncanny’ (essay, 1919).
Week 2. M.R. James: ‘Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad’ (1904) and ‘A Warning to the Curious’ (1925; short stories)
Week 3: Vernon Lee, ‘Amour Dure’ (novella, 1887)
Week 4. Rudyard Kipling: ‘They’ (1904) and ‘A Madonna of the Trenches’ (1924; short stories)
Week 5: Edith Wharton, ‘Afterward’ (1910) and ‘Kerfol’ (1916; short stories)
Week 6: Mary Butts, ‘With and Without Buttons’ (1938) and May Sinclair, ‘The Intercessor’ (1911)
What will I achieve? By the end of this course you should be able to...
Appreciate some of the key writers of ghost stories and their work
Understand Sigmund Freud’s notion of the uncanny and its role in ghost stories
Appreciate the historical context in which these ghost stories were written
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This course is open to anyone interested in ghost stories; you do not need to have read any of these writers before or have any prior knowledge of Freud’s work.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
In each session, there will be a short PowerPoint presentation, followed by a mixture of small- and whole-group work that focuses on specific issues and close reading.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
The tutor will provide pdf versions of all the texts.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Look for other Fiction courses in our Literature programme under History, Culture and Humanities/Literature/Fiction at www.citylit.ac.uk.
Dr Jake Poller has taught in the English department at Queen Mary University of London for over ten years. He has published many peer-reviewed articles and chapters in edited collections - most recently a chapter on Aldous Huxley for The British Novel of Ideas (CUP, 2024). He is the author of three books, including critical biographies of Aldous Huxley and Christopher Isherwood for Reaktion Books.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.
product
https://www.citylit.ac.uk/ghost-stories-and-the-uncanny2744882Ghost Stories and the Uncannyhttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/category/fiction-1024.jpg179179GBPInStock/Courses/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Literature/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Literature/Fiction/Courses/Halloween Courses228511771187118817011228511771187<p>On this course we will read some classic ghost stories from M.R. James, Rudyard Kipling, Edith Wharton and others. Ghost stories achieve some of their effects through the presence of the strange within the familiar, or the eruption of the past in the present (the return of the repressed), which Sigmund Freud termed the uncanny. We will explore Freud’s essay ‘The Uncanny’ and use this psychoanalytic concept to shed light on the ghost stories we read. </p><p> </p><p> </p>002744774Ghost Stories and the Uncanny179179https://www.citylit.ac.uk/media/catalog/category/fiction-1024.jpgInStockDaytimeTueKeeley StreetNo longer available5-10 weeksWeekday2026-05-12T00:00:00+00:00Beginners, Some experience, Advanced, Suitable for allMay 2026Culture, history & humanitiesHLT121179179Ghost Stories and the Uncanny143116179Jake Pollerghost-stories-and-the-uncanny/hlt121-2526<p>On this course we will read some classic ghost stories from M.R. James, Rudyard Kipling, Edith Wharton and others. Ghost stories achieve some of their effects through the presence of the strange within the familiar, or the eruption of the past in the present (the return of the repressed), which Sigmund Freud termed the uncanny. We will explore Freud’s essay ‘The Uncanny’ and use this psychoanalytic concept to shed light on the ghost stories we read. </p><p> </p><p> </p>0015-FullStillOpen|2026-05-12 00:00:00<p>In this in-person course we will explore Freud’s notion of the uncanny and how it relates to ghost stories. Freud theorised that an uncanny effect was produced by a number of factors, such as recurrence (the return of the repressed), the presence of the strange (the <em>unheimlich</em> or unhomely) in the familiar (the homely), and the ‘omnipotence of thoughts’ (a form of magical thinking where what one wishes appears to shape reality).</p><p>We will discuss how these psychoanalytic factors contribute to the uncanny in a diverse range of ghost stories. Motley gloves begin to appear in an isolated country house; a young Polish scholar working in an Italian archive becomes obsessed with a 16th-century woman named Medea da Carpi; an American couple buy a haunted house in Dorset whose ghost can only be apprehended ‘long afterward’; a Cambridge academic finds a bronze whistle in a ruined building belonging to the Knights Templar…</p><p>On this course we will read some classic ghost stories from M.R. James, Rudyard Kipling, Edith Wharton and others. Ghost stories achieve some of their effects through the presence of the strange within the familiar, or the eruption of the past in the present (the return of the repressed), which Sigmund Freud termed the uncanny. We will explore Freud’s essay ‘The Uncanny’ and use this psychoanalytic concept to shed light on the ghost stories we read. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We will read a wide range of Victorian and Edwardian ghost stories on this course, as well as ETA Hoffmann’s uncanny classic ‘The Sandman’, which Freud discusses in his essay.</p><p>Week 1. ETA Hoffmann, ‘The Sandman’ (short story, 1817) and excerpts from Sigmund Freud, ‘The Uncanny’ (essay, 1919). </p><p>Week 2. M.R. James: ‘Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad’ (1904) and ‘A Warning to the Curious’ (1925; short stories)</p><p>Week 3: Vernon Lee, ‘Amour Dure’ (novella, 1887) </p><p>Week 4. Rudyard Kipling: ‘They’ (1904) and ‘A Madonna of the Trenches’ (1924; short stories) </p><p>Week 5: Edith Wharton, ‘Afterward’ (1910) and ‘Kerfol’ (1916; short stories)</p><p>Week 6: Mary Butts, ‘With and Without Buttons’ (1938) and May Sinclair, ‘The Intercessor’ (1911)</p><ul><li>Appreciate some of the key writers of ghost stories and their work</li><li>Understand Sigmund Freud’s notion of the uncanny and its role in ghost stories</li><li>Appreciate the historical context in which these ghost stories were written </li></ul><p> </p><p>This course is open to anyone interested in ghost stories; you do not need to have read any of these writers before or have any prior knowledge of Freud’s work. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In each session, there will be a short PowerPoint presentation, followed by a mixture of small- and whole-group work that focuses on specific issues and close reading. </p><p> </p><p>The tutor will provide pdf versions of all the texts.</p><p>Look for other Fiction courses in our Literature programme under History, Culture and Humanities/Literature/Fiction at www.citylit.ac.uk.</p>LiteratureFictionvirtual143179116HLT121NONETue12/05/26 - 16/06/2612:45 - 14:4512:4514:456 sessions (over 6 weeks)65-10 weeksDaytimeWeekdayKSKeeley StreetJake PollerBeginners, Some experience, Advanced, Suitable for allNo longer available2026-05-12T00:00:00+00:00May 2026Culture, history & humanities179179Ghost Stories and the Uncannyghost-stories-and-the-uncanny/hlt121-2526<p>On this course we will read some classic ghost stories from M.R. James, Rudyard Kipling, Edith Wharton and others. Ghost stories achieve some of their effects through the presence of the strange within the familiar, or the eruption of the past in the present (the return of the repressed), which Sigmund Freud termed the uncanny. We will explore Freud’s essay ‘The Uncanny’ and use this psychoanalytic concept to shed light on the ghost stories we read. </p><p> </p><p> </p>0015-FullStillOpen|2026-05-12 00:00:00<p>In this in-person course we will explore Freud’s notion of the uncanny and how it relates to ghost stories. Freud theorised that an uncanny effect was produced by a number of factors, such as recurrence (the return of the repressed), the presence of the strange (the <em>unheimlich</em> or unhomely) in the familiar (the homely), and the ‘omnipotence of thoughts’ (a form of magical thinking where what one wishes appears to shape reality).</p><p>We will discuss how these psychoanalytic factors contribute to the uncanny in a diverse range of ghost stories. Motley gloves begin to appear in an isolated country house; a young Polish scholar working in an Italian archive becomes obsessed with a 16th-century woman named Medea da Carpi; an American couple buy a haunted house in Dorset whose ghost can only be apprehended ‘long afterward’; a Cambridge academic finds a bronze whistle in a ruined building belonging to the Knights Templar…</p><p>On this course we will read some classic ghost stories from M.R. James, Rudyard Kipling, Edith Wharton and others. Ghost stories achieve some of their effects through the presence of the strange within the familiar, or the eruption of the past in the present (the return of the repressed), which Sigmund Freud termed the uncanny. We will explore Freud’s essay ‘The Uncanny’ and use this psychoanalytic concept to shed light on the ghost stories we read. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>We will read a wide range of Victorian and Edwardian ghost stories on this course, as well as ETA Hoffmann’s uncanny classic ‘The Sandman’, which Freud discusses in his essay.</p><p>Week 1. ETA Hoffmann, ‘The Sandman’ (short story, 1817) and excerpts from Sigmund Freud, ‘The Uncanny’ (essay, 1919). </p><p>Week 2. M.R. James: ‘Oh, Whistle, and I'll Come to You, My Lad’ (1904) and ‘A Warning to the Curious’ (1925; short stories)</p><p>Week 3: Vernon Lee, ‘Amour Dure’ (novella, 1887) </p><p>Week 4. Rudyard Kipling: ‘They’ (1904) and ‘A Madonna of the Trenches’ (1924; short stories) </p><p>Week 5: Edith Wharton, ‘Afterward’ (1910) and ‘Kerfol’ (1916; short stories)</p><p>Week 6: Mary Butts, ‘With and Without Buttons’ (1938) and May Sinclair, ‘The Intercessor’ (1911)</p><ul><li>Appreciate some of the key writers of ghost stories and their work</li><li>Understand Sigmund Freud’s notion of the uncanny and its role in ghost stories</li><li>Appreciate the historical context in which these ghost stories were written </li></ul><p> </p><p>This course is open to anyone interested in ghost stories; you do not need to have read any of these writers before or have any prior knowledge of Freud’s work. </p><p> </p><p> </p><p>In each session, there will be a short PowerPoint presentation, followed by a mixture of small- and whole-group work that focuses on specific issues and close reading. </p><p> </p><p>The tutor will provide pdf versions of all the texts.</p><p>Look for other Fiction courses in our Literature programme under History, Culture and Humanities/Literature/Fiction at www.citylit.ac.uk.</p>LiteratureFictionconfigurable
11881187Fictionhttps://www.citylit.ac.uk/courses/humanities/literature/fiction1/2/285/1177/1187/11881/Courses/Culture, history & humanities/Literature/Fiction
