The Turn of the Screw - Vol. 1 of the Ghastly gothic horror yarn club

The first volume of the Ghastly gothic horror yarn club was inspired by "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James. The colorway is a variegated and speckled one, reminiscent of ominous shadows and old paper.

Written in 1898, the tale follows an unnamed governess as she starts a new job at a sprawling countryside manor, Bly, to tend to two seemingly perfect children, Flora and Miles. After a few weeks, the governess experiences haunting sightings of former Bly staff - but nobody else claims to be able to see the ghosts. It’s a complex and dark tale that is intended to be up to reader interpretation, so I can’t tell you much else without ruining it!

The yarn itself has plenty of dark shadows over an old paper texture speckled with rust and more shadow. The club and colorway were inspired by three key themes in the book: light, mysteries of the past, and the tower and haunted manor itself. Included were a haunted tower stitch marker, a sticker of the illustrated first page of the story as it appeared in Collier’s Weekly, and a beeswax candle.

The story has been adapted to screen and stage and even opera, and there’s a Netflix adaptation floating around right now that's an interesting take on a classic tale.

The Ghastly Yarn Club was released during the first six months of 2021 and was inspired by six classic works of gothic horror. Each month from January-June, a new title was revealed with an inspiration photo that, in conjunction with the book, guided a mystery colorway.