The Haunted Hotel: Sensation Fiction and Taboos Sid Ali Kercenna College

Sensation fiction emerged as a large bracket of literary genres that dominated the English market between the 1860s and the 1880s; two decades during which the sensation novel -which dealt with crime, horror, mystery, and forbidden love- came to break and alter the passive reception of the literary works of the day, and induce in the reader actual physical responses and sensations instead, whence the term “sensation fiction” is procured. The English novelist Wilkie Collins was one of the writers who showed an exceptional genius in the field. Although his most known and remembered works are The Moonstone, and The Woman in White, his 1878 thriller novel The Haunted Hotel is one of the finest specimens of sensation fiction, and one that incorporates almost all its characteristics.

Focusing on the dark side of destiny, presentiment and superstition, violent crime and horror, the book explores all the hallmarks of the genre. The story begins when a celebrated countess of the name Narona is ushered into Dr. Wybro’s office looking pale and ghastly. In a very troubled state, she discloses to him fragments of what is understood to be the source of her distress and anguish. While seeking thus his medical assistance, the countess also...