‘E F Benson, Sunny Landscapes, Dark Visions: The Cornish Ghost Stories of E F Benson’

Heholt, Ruth ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6963-6427 (2014) ‘E F Benson, Sunny Landscapes, Dark Visions: The Cornish Ghost Stories of E F Benson’. In: Haunted Landscapes conference, March 2014, Falmouth University.

Abstract / Summary

‘There was the hum of bees and a whisper of wind in the trees and all round the soft enchanted Cornish air, laden with dream-stuff’ (E. F. Benson, ‘Pirates’).

This paper examines the wonderful Cornish ghost stories of E F Benson. Benson’s father was bishop of Truro and Benson has a distinctive view about the Cornish landscape and the possibilities of slippages, (particularly in time), that Cornwall offers. Benson’s Edwardian Cornwall evokes times gone by – ghosts of those long dead and vivid echoes of pre-history. There are wonders as well as horrors, light as well as darkness here. Benson’s landscapes are often drenched in sunlight, but peaceful and lush landscapes hide real terrors; witchcraft, violence, monsters and death. There may be peace to be had here but all too often older, darker stuff seeps up from the ancient granite.

View Record (staff only)