A Haunted House - Virginia Woolf

I decided that I would read the shortest short story in the book this time, just to get the blog going. I found Virginia Woolf's short story A Haunted House in the book I'm reading 50 Great Short Stories. At first, I was a little confused. Even though haunted houses are suppose to be scary, I didn't get that notion when I was reading this piece. The story is about two ghosts who have gone back to a house that they used to live in and they basically just reminisce about the life they had together before they died. The piece is actually quite poetic even though it is written as a narrative.

They loved each other. You can tell when a couple really loves each other when they can find joy in reminiscing about the old days; remembering the beginning and hoping and praying that the present is just as joyous. The ghosts seemed to be nice as well, trying to make sure they didn't spook the current inhabitants of the home. According to some short story review websites, Woolf used a style called "Stream of Consciousness". By using this style, she was able to reveal the thoughts and feelings of the ghosts in the piece. It doesn't seem that the ghosts are sad about being dead or that they even miss being alive; but, it does seem like they can't let the past go. And for people who do believe in ghosts, I suppose that would be the reason why they haven't "moved on". Anyways, I thought the piece was interesting and long enough to get the point across. I will end with a favorite quote from Virginia Woolf:

 "I thought how unpleasant it is to be locked out; and I thought how it is worse, perhaps, to be locked in." - Virginia Woolf