Opera and Psychological Horror
A Personal Perspective: I was terrified watching the opera "The Turn of the Screw."
Updated August 15, 2025 | Reviewed by Abigail Fagan
"It wasn’t scary," my friend Bee said after she saw a production of The Turn of the Screw. "The movie was much scarier."
So, I wasn’t expecting white knuckles and sweaty palms, but, to my surprise, I became quite frightened in a different way. The Turn of the Screw, composed as an opera by Benjamin Britten with libretto by Myfanwy Piper that premiered in 1954, is performed as a psychological horror show at the Santa Fe Opera.
Psychological horror films, for example, focus on the mental, emotional, and psychological states of characters—like paranoia , unhealthy ideation, madness, and the fragility of the human mind. It deals with the inner life of the characters, where the lines between reality and illusion are often blurred. A few famous examples are Psycho, The Shining, and the TV series Midsommer.
Based on a 1898 novella by Henry James, the opera version tells the story of a young, inexperienced governess who accepted a job caring for two orphan children in a remote country house in England. There is one stipulation: she is never to contact the children’s busy uncle in London, who is the children’s guardian. The only other person at the house is Mrs. Grose, the housekeeper.
One thing that is unusual about the opera is that it is preceded by a prologue where a male narrator reports that it is entirely based on the writings of the governess; in other words, it is her version of the story. And there is a hint of the governess being attractive to the narrator.
At the onset, the governess asks herself why she took the job and wonders what the children are like. She reveals that she has two young children she left behind. Why would she leave them to take a remote job caring for other children? Where is the children’s father? Is she married? Who is watching her own children? My reaction is that we are entering into a world that is largely inside her head, her imagination , her perception. And I begin to think she is having a progressive breakdown, which is frightening to watch.
The housekeeper, Mrs. Grose, is the opposite of the governess; she’s down-to-earth and pragmatic, but sees nothing of what the governess observes. She says the children are angelic. The governess starts hearing steps in the house at night. She wishes she could write to the guardian. She feels attracted to him in some oblique way. Then the governess sees a strange man on the ground and says he is handsome.
The housekeeper speculates, very matter-of-factly, that it must be the ghost of Peter Quint, who was the valet of the children’s guardian. He died, and so did Miss Jessel, the former governess. And Quint’s behavior was “free” with Miss Jessel as well as with Miles, the little boy. There are hints of predatory sexual behavior, which horrifies the governess and she vows that she will protect the children. When she is alone with Flora, the girl, she sees the deceased Miss Jessel, but Flora doesn’t say anything. Miles sings a song about “malo” or bad, and pointedly asks the governess if she likes it. Then he asks, “I am bad, aren’t I?” while the housekeeper reiterates how good the children are. In my opinion, we are getting deeper into the governess’s point of view: increasing paranoia, savior complex , and repressed sexuality .
In an odd moment, the governess is playing with the kids. In a mock duel, she pretends to kill Miles, who pretends that he dies. This is a foreshadowing of what happens when Miles dies in her arms at the end of the opera. Or is that death delusional, too? She increasingly feels the children are lost, in danger, and that she can’t protect them. Then she sees the manifested ghosts of Peter Quint and Miss Jessel and passes out.
Now it is no longer possible to know what is real and what is imagined. Peter Quint sings about his power and secret desires. Miss Jessel sings to Peter Quint with lust and desire. The children appear masked and in a trance. The living and the dead (ghosts) meet. Miss Jessel accuses Quint about his behavior. He says it’s all in her mind (which may be in the governess’s mind). The ghosts sing that the “ceremony of innocence is drowned.”
The governess sings that the wall of evil is closing in on her. She feels lost in her labyrinth. The children dress for church and they praise the Lord. The housekeeper says they are such sweet children and tells the governess to come to church. Is this real? Is it real that Miles wants to go back to school and be with “his own kind?” He touches the governess’s face lovingly and yet she trembles. She says no one would believe her story. Is this an accurate statement? Is her story believable? She feels alone and that she must flee. The music underscores the drama and the mounting tension. It pounds, flutters, screams, whispers, and is playful and threatening.
Miss Jessel appears and tells the governess she suffered terribly in the house and has come to seek her peace there. Is this how the governess really feels? Why did she leave her own house and children? Though forbidden, she writes a letter to the guardian, and Peter Quint tells Miles to steal it and burn it. So, it is gone. Was it ever really written? Miles plays the piano with the governess (this may be real). And the housekeeper says she’s never known a boy as good as Miles. And she praises Flora as being neat, nimble and clever. Are those accurate depictions of the kids? They appear possessed and bewitched in the eyes of the governess. Things get more complex. Flora pretends she is walking in the Dead Sea. Then she puts a baby (doll) into the water, “drowning” it. Is any part of this real? Is this the governess’s guilt at leaving her own children? Was she herself abused or abandoned as a child?
The housekeeper is awakened by the governess, who says that Flora is gone. The girl has removed her shoes and is walking in the Dead Sea. The housekeeper merely says Flora is being naughty, like it’s nothing dramatic. The governess tells Flora to look at Miss Jessel. But Flora and the housekeeper say there is no one there. The governess says she has lost Flora. Flora has forsaken her. She feels like a horrible failure and also struggles with fear of abandonment.
The housekeeper says she must take Flora away (Is this reality? Is she reacting to the governess’ mounting hysteria?) The governess says Miles must be saved, and she will do so. She tells Miles she loves to be with him. She would do anything for him. Quint and the governess battle for Miles’ soul and Miles calls Quint the devil. Apparently defeated, Quint bids Miles farewell. Then Miles dies in the governess’s arms. She calls him “malo, a naughty boy.” Then she walks into the Dead Sea. Is this a suicide fantasy ? Or has losing her mind driven her to self-harm and self-destruction?
I left the theatre quite shaken.
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Judith Fein is an award-winning international travel journalist who has contributed to 130 publications, the author of three books about transformative travel, an inspirational speaker, and an opera librettist.
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This article is part of the Bringwise Psychology Journal — daily insights on human behavior, mental health, and personal growth.