7 h 2 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What if the stranger following you through Dublin makes even your own home feel unsafe?
In Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu’s The Watcher, and Other Weird Stories, fear begins with small signs in familiar places. The title story follows Captain Barton, a practical naval officer living in Dublin. A stranger follows him, and as that presence draws nearer, the comfort of home begins to fall away.
Another tale follows Godfrey Schalken, a gifted young Dutch painter who loves Rose Velderkaust, his teacher Gerard Douw’s niece. Then Vanderhausen, a cold and wealthy stranger, seeks her hand. Around these stories gather tales of old houses, guilt, dreams and warnings, where family histories and Irish country life hold the fear that the past may not stay buried.
What you’ll discover
- A stranger drawing nearer Follow Barton through a Dublin where familiar streets no longer promise safety.
- Love under threat Meet Schalken and Rose as a wealthy suitor casts unease over their hopes.
- Fear in quiet details Discover how ordinary rooms and small signs become the seeds of growing dread.
- The past presses close Enter tales where old houses, family histories and guilt carry a lingering threat.
- A calm, unsettling voice Experience ghostly fiction whose quiet telling lets each troubling detail take hold.
Is it for you?
This is for readers who like slow, atmospheric horror, old houses and haunted conscience, and for anyone curious about the roots of the modern ghost story. If you want fast action or blood, the quiet pace may feel too restrained.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Le Fanu builds fear from quiet details
- The Watcher begins with a stranger who follows
- Dread in The Watcher grows from isolation
- Schalken the painter loves a girl and fears a suitor
- Other tales turn on guilt, dreams and old houses
- How Le Fanu tells it and what it means
Who’s who
- Captain BartonA sober naval officer living in Dublin who becomes aware of a stranger following him and cannot shake the feeling.
- Godfrey SchalkenA young, gifted Dutch painter, poor but patient, who hopes to win the woman he loves.
- Gerard DouwThe master painter who teaches Schalken and guards the future of his niece.
- Rose VelderkaustDouw's niece, who loves Schalken and whose fate is threatened by the arrival of a wealthy stranger.
- VanderhausenA cold, wealthy stranger who seeks Rose's hand and unsettles everyone he meets.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet, computer or Kindle, with the type as large as you like.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, from the first page.
- Audiobook
- 7 h 2 min, complete, read by Lucas Linden.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 7 minutes, to read or to hear.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
eBooks and audiobooks open right away. Download EPUB or PDF, or send the book to your Kindle. Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout.
How it works · 60-day guarantee
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, for the whole household.
- We remind you first. We email you 7 days before your first payment. Then your first year is 50% off: 0,14 USD a day, then 0,27 USD a day, never raised. Or 0,66 USD a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
60-day money-back guarantee. If the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
25 languages, side by side
Read and hear Le Guetteur et autres récits fantastiques in 25 languages and switch at any time. Or read two side by side, paragraph by paragraph: the way to learn a language with a book you love.
Read it side by side
Le Guetteur et autres récits fantastiques
Ghostly encounters disturb daily life and stir buried fears.
Excellent
- Read or listen
- 25 languages, side by side
- Print and large print at cost
- The whole household
Starts right away, on any device
Read free60-day money-back guaranteeRenews every yearCancel anytimeHow it works
Language: Français
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 6
Le Fanu builds fear from quiet details
J. Sheridan Le Fanu was born in Dublin and wrote in the middle of the nineteenth century, when readers bought magazines and serial fiction in great numbers. He worked as a journalist and editor as well as a storyteller. His ghost tales do not rely on loud shocks. They rely on a growing sense that something is wrong, and that the person at the center cannot explain it to anyone else.
This habit is clear from the first pages of the best tales here. A man notices a stranger in a crowd, and then notices him again. A girl hears something at a door, and a household pretends it heard nothing. The reader is told little, and the little is chosen with care.
Renews every year · Cancel anytime
The author
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu
1814–1873 · Irish Gothic novelist
Joseph Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer born in Dublin in 1814. He lived in Ireland and died in Dublin in 1873. He wrote Gothic tales, mystery novels, and ghost stories. His novels include Uncle Silas, published in 1864, and The Wyvern Mystery, published in 1869.
Free gifts
580 USD in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, for the whole household. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
170 USDFREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
120 USDFREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
60 USDFREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
60 USDFREE - The whole householdUp to 5 readers
170 USDFREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
More by J. Sheridan Le Fanu
All 7 books
More like this
Free
Free
Free
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
Questions about Le Guetteur et autres récits fantastiques
Can I read it free?
Yes. The beginning, from the first page to the end of chapter 1, and the first 5 minutes of the audiobook are free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 90 days, with the eBook to keep. After that, your first year is 50% off. You also get 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
Can my family read too?
Yes. The whole household reads and listens: up to 5 readers, each with their own shelf and their own place in every book.
What if it is not for me?
Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. If you have paid and the library is not for you, ask within 60 days of your first payment and we refund it in full.
What is The Watcher by Le Fanu about?
It follows a naval captain in Dublin who becomes aware of a stranger shadowing him. The tale builds fear through repetition and isolation, and leaves open whether the figure is a ghost or the product of a guilty mind.
Who is the Master of Irish Horror?
The title usually refers to J. Sheridan Le Fanu, a nineteenth century Dublin writer whose ghost stories and Gothic novels shaped later horror. Writers such as M. R. James praised his skill at building dread.
Is The Watcher a true story?
No, it is fiction. Le Fanu wrote it for a Victorian magazine audience, drawing on Irish settings and the common belief in ghosts and warnings. Its realistic Dublin streets make it feel close to real life.
Popular in horror and gothic
See all
Free
Free
Free
Free
