Spiteful Spirits: A Top “Five” List of Spiteful Characters in Austen

What would Jane Austen have thought of our modern obsession with Halloween? Would she have ditched her Twinings tea for a pumpkin spice latte? Would she have given out unhealthy quantities of candy to trick-or-treaters—or would she have sent them home with nothing more than a witty insult?

Somehow, I don’t think she’d be in love with the commercialism of Halloween, but I do believe she’d have enjoyed our celebration of spiteful spirits. While Austen didn’t include zombies or sea monsters in her ...