The Victorian Ghost Story



Overview

The Victorian Era may be said to be haunted. In spite, or perhaps because of the trappings of modernity, the public eagerly and indefatigably sought ghosts and phantoms in fiction, in ‘real life’ accounts, on the stage, in photographs, and at seances. Comic or tragic, good-natured or malevolent, spirits abounded and the appetite for them seemed unfailing. But why?

We will attempt to answer this by reading and discussing a range of blood curdling tales from the period, by writers including Dickens, Stoker, Gaskell, Le Fanu, and Conan Doyle, discovering what they can tell us about the people who wrote and read them and what they can tell us about ourselves and our continued interest. Why did the Victorians flock to drawing room seances and why did they, like us, enjoy being scared? Why tell ghost stories at Christmas? What is the difference between terror and horror? And what do modern ghost writers have to learn from their Victorian forebears? These are some of the questions we will address — all while enjoying what poet Anna Laetitia Barbauld described as 'the pleasure derived from…terror'. 

This course is part of The Oxford Experience summer school, held at Christ Church.

Programme details

Daily schedule

Seminars meet each weekday morning after breakfast.

After lunch, afternoons are free for individual study or exploring the many places of interest in and around the city. Optional plenary excursions and social activities including walking tours will also be available.

The course fee includes breakfasts Monday-Saturday (residential guests only), lunches Sunday-Friday, and three-course dinners Sunday-Thursday. All meals are taken in Christ Church’s spectacular dining hall. 

On Friday, there will be a special four-course gala dinner to celebrate the closing of the week.

Seminars and field trip

Monday seminars

Introduction and historical/literary backgrounds; how the Victorians viewed ghosts and why there was such interest in this phenomenon; discussion of the Crisis of Faith, scientific discovery, increasing urbanisation; examination of some ‘real life’ accounts of ghostly sightings and stories that took inspiration from real events (Stevenson); the rise of seances and spiritualism; stories by Dickens (a curious sceptic) and Arthur Conan Doyle (a believer and evangelical for the movement).

Tuesday seminars

The rise in literacy in mid-Victorian Britain and the accompanying surge of circulating libraries needing to stock fiction for the lower and middle-class reader; though originally part of an oral tradition, the addition of ghost stories to the printed page in the many weekly literary magazines that needed a constant supply of content; stories by the so-called grandfather of the genre, Sheridan Le Fanu.

Wednesday seminars

Ghost stories written by women or featuring female characters and how these tales were used to comment on issues affecting women; stories by Gaskell, Braddon, Galbraith, and Nesbit.

Thursday seminars

Class from 9:30-10:30 (the unaware ghost and haunted house sub-genre: stories by Kipling and Blackwood); field trip to Strawberry Hill, Twickenham: gothic revival ‘villa’ and home to Horace Walpole, author of the first gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto. 

Friday seminars

The benevolent and redemptive versus the vengeful and malignant ghost; late-Victorian contribution by Wilde; looking to the future with the Edwardian writers E.F. Benson and the master of the genre, M.R. James; overview and conclusions.

Field Trip

Destination: Strawberry Hill House and Garden, Twickenham, London

Duration: All day 

Excursion Rating: Easy - up to an hour’s walk on even ground or less than half an hour’s walk on uneven/unpaved ground

Certification

Certificate of Attendance

At the end of the course you will receive a Certificate of Attendance.

Digital badge

You will also be issued with an official digital badge of attendance. After the course, you will receive an email with a link and instructions on how to download this. You will be able to share this on social media and add to your email signature if you wish to do so.

Fees

Description Costs
Fee option 1 (single en suite accom and meals per person) £2475.00
Fee option 2 (single standard accom and meals per person) £2365.00
Fee option 3 (double en suite accom and meals per person) £2355.00
Fee option 4 (twin en suite accom and meals per person) £2355.00
Fee option 5 (twin set standard accom and meals per person) £2355.00
Fee option 6 (no accom; incl lunch and dinner per person) £1755.00

Funding

Please note there are no sources of funding (scholarships, bursaries, etc) available for the Oxford Experience programme.

Payment

All fees are charged on a per week, per person basis.

Please be aware that all payments made via non-UK credit/debit cards and bank accounts are subject to the exchange rate on the day they are processed.

Course change administration fee: Please note that course transfers may be permitted in exceptional circumstances at the discretion of the programme administrator, up to the 1 May 2026. In accordance with our Terms and Conditions, an administration fee of £50 will be charged.

Supplementary costs

  • Any excursions listed in the 'programme details' above are included in the course fees and do not require a separate payment.
  • If your course includes a day-long excursion, you may need to make your own lunch arrangements.
  • Any optional, plenary excursions/social activities not detailed in the 'programme details' above may incur an additional cost. A social programme outlining these options will be sent to you in advance of the course start date.

Payment terms

  • If enrolling online: full payment by credit/debit card at the time of booking.
  • If submitting an enrolment form: full payment online by credit/debit card or via bank transfer within 30 days of invoice date.

Cancellations and refunds

Please see the terms and conditions for our open-access courses.

The Department cannot be held responsible for any costs you may incur in relation to travel or accommodation bookings as a result of a course cancellation, or if you are unable to attend the course for any other reason. You are advised to check the terms and conditions carefully and to purchase travel insurance.

Tutor

Dr Emma Plaskitt

Dr Emma Plaskitt is a graduate of Merton College, Oxford, where she wrote her doctoral thesis on eighteenth-century women’s fiction. She has taught English literature 1640-1901 for various Oxford colleges as well as Oxford University Department for Continuing Education programmes, The Oxford Experience, MSSU, Berkeley, MSU, and Duke/UNC. Having worked for the Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, where she wrote many articles on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century women writers, she now focuses on teaching for the SCIO Study Abroad Programme in Oxford and for Stanford University at Oxford, for whom she is an Overseas Lecturer. A specialist in the literature of the long eighteenth century, her research interests include the Victorian novel—particularly the gothic novel and novel of sensation.

Teaching methods

Participants will be taught in seminar groups of up to 12 people. The teaching methods used during this course may include:

  • Short lectures/presentations
  • Physical handouts
  • Seminars/group discussions
  • Video recordings
  • Tutor-led field trip

Application

Enrolment deadline: registration closes at midnight on 1 May 2026. 

Most courses fill quickly so early registration is strongly recommended. If your preferred course is fully booked, you may wish to add yourself to the waiting list and the Programme Administrator will contact you should a place become available.

Please note, the programme is only open to those over the age of 18.

Online enrolment (single person accommodation and non-residential)

Single accommodation and non-residential places should be booked online by clicking on the 'Book now' button at the top of this page.

Online enrolments require payment in full at the time of registering.

Single bedroom options:

  • Single en suite (private bathroom facilities – shower, washbasin and toilet)

  • Single standard rooms (includes a washbasin and shaver point only, with bathroom facilities shared with other rooms)

Enrolment form (multi-occupancy or accessible accommodation)

Double and twin bedrooms

Double and twin bedrooms are only available for two participants that apply to the programme together. They are charged per person and cannot be booked by individuals. If you wish to book a twin or double room for two people, each person should complete an enrolment form.

Shared bedroom options:

  • Double en suite (private bathroom facilities – shower, washbasin and toilet)
  • Twin en suite (private bathroom facilities – shower, washbasin and toilet)
  • ‘Twin set’ standard (comprising two separate single standard rooms, each with a washbasin and shaver point only, opening onto a private sitting room, with bathroom facilities shared with other rooms)

Ground/lower floor accommodation

Christ Church rooms do not have lift access, and the higher rooms can be located up a few flights of stairs. If you need a room on a ground or lower floor please complete an enrolment form indicate your requirements, or contact the programme administrator directly at oxfordexperience@conted.ox.ac.uk as soon as possible before 1 June 2026. 

Enrolment form

The enrolment form is an editable PDF and can be competed electronically, so you should not need to print and scan it. 

Completed forms should be sent:

  • by email to oxfordexperience@conted.ox.ac.uk, or

  • by post to The Oxford Experience, Oxford Lifelong Journey, University of Oxford Department for Continuing Education, 1 Wellington Square, OXFORD, OX1 2JA, UK.

Level and demands

The Oxford Experience is aimed at non-specialists: no prior knowledge is required, and classes are pitched at an introductory level. The courses are designed for an international audience aged 18 and over.

There are no assessments for this course.

Accommodation

During your course you can stay in typical Oxford student accommodation at Christ Church, in buildings which range from the 18th to the 20th century. Please note that bedrooms are modestly-furnished and do not have air-conditioning.

The course fee includes breakfasts Monday-Saturday (residential guests only), lunches Sunday-Friday, and three-course dinners Sunday-Thursday. On Friday, there will be a special four-course gala dinner to celebrate the closing of the week. All meals are taken in Christ Church’s spectacular dining hall. 

Residential options are outlined below.

Please see the 'application' section above for guidance on how to book or request the right accommodation for you, including how to request a lower/ground floor room.

Accommodation options at Christ Church

Single, twin and double bedrooms are available. 

We welcome participants who want to attend multiple courses over the summer. Resident participants staying in Christ Church for consecutive weeks will have bed and breakfast accommodation arranged for the Saturday night between their courses at no extra cost.

Non-residential option

We also offer places on a non-residential basis whereby participants can take classes and have lunch and dinner at Christ Church, having arranged their own accommodation elsewhere. 

Accommodation before/after your course

We are unable to arrange accommodation at Christ Church prior to or following your course. Please contact Christ Church directly if you require additional nights of bed and breakfast accommodation, and they may be able to assist.

Additionally, family or friends who are not enrolled in the programme cannot be accommodated in college. 

Terms & conditions for applicants and students

Information on financial support