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Schalken the Painter
Joseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu (28 August 1814 – 7 February 1873) was an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was the premier ghost story writer of the nineteenth century and had a seminal influence on the development of this genre in the Victorian era.
37 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 1, 1839
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221 people want to read
About the author
J. Sheridan Le Fanu
1,364 books1,385 followersJoseph Thomas Sheridan Le Fanu was an Irish writer of Gothic tales and mystery novels. He was the leading ghost-story writer of the nineteenth century and was central to the development of the genre in the Victorian era. M.R. James described Le Fanu as "absolutely in the first rank as a writer of ghost stories". Three of his best-known works are Uncle Silas, Carmilla and The House by the Churchyard.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
September 13, 2025
Unsettling.
Godfried Schalken, a penniless painter, and Rose Douw, her beloved muse, are deeply in love; yet their happiness is short lived, as her hand in marriage is promised to Mr. Vanderhausen of Rotterdam, a powerful and very rich mysterious figure, with frightening looks, and a sinister presence.
Nice. Disturbing. A VERY rocky start. This felt like an interesting combination of the spookiness of one of MR James finest partly mixed with the tediousness of Lovecraft's labyrinthine vernacular. Not bad all in all, truth be told, but pretty far from an easy read. Still worth it. Looking forward to Carmilla. Soon.
*** Still remaining, the movie (1979).
It’s public domain. You can find it HERE.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1839] [37p] [Horror] [Conditional Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
???????? Carmilla.
★★★☆☆ Schalken the Painter.
★★☆☆☆ Green Tea. [2.5]
★★☆☆☆ Mr. Justice Harbottle.
★★☆☆☆ Green Tea & Mr. Justice Harbottle.
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Inquietante.
Godfried Schalken, un pobre pintor sin dinero, y Rose Dou, su amada musa, están profundamente enamorados; sin embargo, su felicidad dura poco, ya que su mano en matrimonio está prometida al Sr. Vanderhausen de Rotterdam, una misteriosa figura muy poderosa y rica, de una apariencia aterradora, y presencia siniestra.
Aceptable. Perturbador. Un comienzo MUY complicado. Esto se sintió como una interesante combinación del horror de uno de los mejores de MR James en parte mezclado con la tediosa y laberíntica lengua vernácula de Lovecraft. No está mal dentro de todo, a decir verdad, pero bastante lejos de ser una lectura fácil. Igual valió la pena. Deseando leer Carmilla. Pronto.
*** Queda pendiente la película (1979).
Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1839] [37p] [Horror] [Recomendable Condicional]
-----------------------------------------------
Godfried Schalken, a penniless painter, and Rose Douw, her beloved muse, are deeply in love; yet their happiness is short lived, as her hand in marriage is promised to Mr. Vanderhausen of Rotterdam, a powerful and very rich mysterious figure, with frightening looks, and a sinister presence.
Nice. Disturbing. A VERY rocky start. This felt like an interesting combination of the spookiness of one of MR James finest partly mixed with the tediousness of Lovecraft's labyrinthine vernacular. Not bad all in all, truth be told, but pretty far from an easy read. Still worth it. Looking forward to Carmilla. Soon.
*** Still remaining, the movie (1979).
It’s public domain. You can find it HERE.
-----------------------------------------------
PERSONAL NOTE :
[1839] [37p] [Horror] [Conditional Recommendable]
-----------------------------------------------
???????? Carmilla.
★★★☆☆ Schalken the Painter.
★★☆☆☆ Green Tea. [2.5]
★★☆☆☆ Mr. Justice Harbottle.
★★☆☆☆ Green Tea & Mr. Justice Harbottle.
-----------------------------------------------
Inquietante.
Godfried Schalken, un pobre pintor sin dinero, y Rose Dou, su amada musa, están profundamente enamorados; sin embargo, su felicidad dura poco, ya que su mano en matrimonio está prometida al Sr. Vanderhausen de Rotterdam, una misteriosa figura muy poderosa y rica, de una apariencia aterradora, y presencia siniestra.
Aceptable. Perturbador. Un comienzo MUY complicado. Esto se sintió como una interesante combinación del horror de uno de los mejores de MR James en parte mezclado con la tediosa y laberíntica lengua vernácula de Lovecraft. No está mal dentro de todo, a decir verdad, pero bastante lejos de ser una lectura fácil. Igual valió la pena. Deseando leer Carmilla. Pronto.
*** Queda pendiente la película (1979).
Es dominio público, lo pueden encontrar ACA.
-----------------------------------------------
NOTA PERSONAL :
[1839] [37p] [Horror] [Recomendable Condicional]
-----------------------------------------------
June 10, 2021
Rose is married to a repulsive richman named Vanderhausen. Douw and Schalken try to find her after getting no news from her. Where has she gone? What about her husband? Excellent eerie tale with plausible characters and a nice frame story (the painting). This classic story has lost nothing of the fascination over the years and still is a massive uncanny creeper. Loved the work and how it got under your skin. Highly recommended classic masterpiece!
September 3, 2025
A quaint horror story with vampiric undertones. Published 1851. Same author as Carmilla. Dark dwelling, creepy late-night arrival, an offer too good to be true and a twisted fate. The characters were close to the action, making for good reading. The ending had all the elements of a fun read: mystery, a quick build up, urgency, action and all the while serving the jitters. A short book and easy to read.
August 6, 2018
For a short story written in 1839, "Schalken the Painter" must have surely been on the majority of banned books lists for its subject matter. It's a story of undead bridegrooms, ghostly brides, and necrophilia. Even worse, it's about selling your niece off into marriage to a complete stranger who happens to be disgustingly rich. And also distustingly, rottingly decomposing, but of course, that's a trivial matter compared to the gold ingots that the mysterious suitor flings around.
I really liked this one. I found the picture below from a 1970's BBC production of the story.
I really liked this one. I found the picture below from a 1970's BBC production of the story.
May 11, 2017
This story was a major creeper. Perfect for a gloomy and dark evening.
December 15, 2015
'There are some pictures,' said I to my friend, 'which impress one, I know not how, with a conviction that they represent not the mere shapes and combinations which have floated through the imagination of the artist, but scenes, faces, and situations which have actually existed. When I look upon that picture, something assures me that I behold the representation of a reality.'
January 24, 2021
En el verdadero terror, lo terrorífico se sugiere, se insinúa, se asoma. El evento, la cosa o la persona que produce miedo ha de estar implícito en la narración. Es por eso que la historia de Le Fanu cumple con las condiciones necesarias para ser un cuento de terror efectivo. ¿Qué es lo que pasa, al final, con la hija del maestro de pintura? No lo sé. Y, a decir verdad, NO quiero saberlo.
June 16, 2024
This short story was originally published as Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter. Being a Seventh Extract from the Legacy of the Late Francis Purcell, P.P. of Drumcoolagh in Dublin University Magazine (May 1839). Le Fanu revised the tale and retitled it simply Schalken the Painter for his collection Ghost Stories and Tales of Mystery (1851).
May 17, 2020
Listened to this horror story on Classic Tales Podcast
November 14, 2016
Another superbly chilling tale from Fanu, who I am quickly becoming a big fan of. I found that several volumes of his short stories are available from Project Gutenberg, so am aiming to read one every night before bed (possibly ill advised due to the potential occurence of strange dreams or even nightmares) but they aren't quite the sort of tales that drive you utterly hair ripping insane - more of a hair standing on end style of thing.
This tale concerns a young painter who is hopelessly in love with his master's niece, who is his ward. A ghastly visitation from a mysterious and shrouded stranger who also seems to be incredibly rich (he carries around gold ingots of immense value) begins the downfall of the poor young lady and Schalken's dreams of marital bliss are snatched away from beneath his eyes.
The mysterious stranger is tall, dark, but not conventionally handsome - having a blue and blackened face which is quite literally rotting, and a horrible malodorous presence. He spirits away the niece and marries her, she then returns in a ghastly state and then dies under strange and spectral circumstances. It is later discovered that he was a reanimated corpse, Schalken being led to his vault by none other than the ghost of the gorgeous and delightful young female who he had hoped to ensnare. He then paints a picture of this occurrence, which is that which is described in the opening paragraphs.
Delightfully creepy and unsettling stuff.
This tale concerns a young painter who is hopelessly in love with his master's niece, who is his ward. A ghastly visitation from a mysterious and shrouded stranger who also seems to be incredibly rich (he carries around gold ingots of immense value) begins the downfall of the poor young lady and Schalken's dreams of marital bliss are snatched away from beneath his eyes.
The mysterious stranger is tall, dark, but not conventionally handsome - having a blue and blackened face which is quite literally rotting, and a horrible malodorous presence. He spirits away the niece and marries her, she then returns in a ghastly state and then dies under strange and spectral circumstances. It is later discovered that he was a reanimated corpse, Schalken being led to his vault by none other than the ghost of the gorgeous and delightful young female who he had hoped to ensnare. He then paints a picture of this occurrence, which is that which is described in the opening paragraphs.
Delightfully creepy and unsettling stuff.
March 6, 2014
6 30 r4x sat 2 03 13Some things do not travel well down the years to modern ears, although I can see the allure this must have had, holding captive the audience of those times.
April 11, 2009
This is a good story but the read seemed to be rather slow in the way of the earlier English writers. It is a ghost story and a short read so is worth the investment of an hour or two.
August 4, 2012
From BBC Radio 4 Extra:
Classic supernatural tale by Sheridan Le Fanu.
Classic supernatural tale by Sheridan Le Fanu.
December 21, 2025
“No es una creación de la imaginación, sino una leyenda relativa y perteneciente a la biografía de un artista reconocido”
Es un libro interesante, seguimos la historia de Schalken cuando era un joven pintor y el amor que tenía con la sobrina de su tutor, quién fue víctima de un vampiro. No tengo mucho más que agregar, me enojé bastante por todas las decisiones tontas que tomaba el tutor, nada de esto hubiera pasado si él pensaba un poquito y no se dejaba llevar por su avaricia.
Pero en fin, de resto me recordó un poco a El Vampiro de John Polidori, así que no me sorprendió mucho. Carmilla sigue siendo su mejor obra.
Es un libro interesante, seguimos la historia de Schalken cuando era un joven pintor y el amor que tenía con la sobrina de su tutor, quién fue víctima de un vampiro. No tengo mucho más que agregar, me enojé bastante por todas las decisiones tontas que tomaba el tutor, nada de esto hubiera pasado si él pensaba un poquito y no se dejaba llevar por su avaricia.
Pero en fin, de resto me recordó un poco a El Vampiro de John Polidori, así que no me sorprendió mucho. Carmilla sigue siendo su mejor obra.
May 5, 2023
A very old ghost story from 19th century. A very good scary one.
February 22, 2022
A spooky little story that was entertaining enough for a chilly night. But I don't think it's something that will stick with me or that I'll be returning to.
April 9, 2020
Many years ago, so long ago in fact that there were only three television stations and computer games had just about reached the level of lines playing ping pong, I watched a programme on one of those TV channels (BBC2 actually) that remained with me ever since. In it, a young man becomes the apprentice to a master painter in 17th century Holland. His name is Schalken and he is ambitious and avaricious. He falls in love with his master's daughter but, being penniless, he can offer little in the way of prospects. Despite his penury, the girl still looks kindly on young Schalken but then his hopes are dashed when a suitor, a strange, stiff-faced but obviously rich man comes calling, offering his master a huge sum if he will agree to his daughter's marriage. Schalken, faced with a choice between a mad dash for love and a long lifetime of shared poverty, does nothing to stop the match and the girl goes, reluctantly, with her bridegroom to be - and is not heard of for a number of years.
But then, she appears at the door, in a fever of panic and fear. She has escaped, but she is sure her husband is after her. She asks for a priest and begs never to be left alone. But, as is the way, for a moment she is left alone in her room, the wind blows the door shut, it jams and when they finally open it, she has gone.
Schalken, many years later, now a successful painter himself, attends the funeral of his old master and remains in the church for a while after all the mourners leave. Then, as he is about to leave. He sees - her. The young woman he had loved, the daughter of his old master. She leads him down into the crypt and there the horrified Schalken sees the marriage bed that she has been condemned to, the bride of a dead man. In horror, he flees.
See - it stuck. So, many years later, seeing the original story, I thought I would read it. The BBC film stuck close to the Le Fanu's original story, and the text is as unsettling as the film but without the rich, painterly light that the film makers lavished on their project. Hard to imagine the BBC making anything like that today: too slow, too wordy, too weird. But two stories, on film and page, that have lingered long in the morbid mind.
But then, she appears at the door, in a fever of panic and fear. She has escaped, but she is sure her husband is after her. She asks for a priest and begs never to be left alone. But, as is the way, for a moment she is left alone in her room, the wind blows the door shut, it jams and when they finally open it, she has gone.
Schalken, many years later, now a successful painter himself, attends the funeral of his old master and remains in the church for a while after all the mourners leave. Then, as he is about to leave. He sees - her. The young woman he had loved, the daughter of his old master. She leads him down into the crypt and there the horrified Schalken sees the marriage bed that she has been condemned to, the bride of a dead man. In horror, he flees.
See - it stuck. So, many years later, seeing the original story, I thought I would read it. The BBC film stuck close to the Le Fanu's original story, and the text is as unsettling as the film but without the rich, painterly light that the film makers lavished on their project. Hard to imagine the BBC making anything like that today: too slow, too wordy, too weird. But two stories, on film and page, that have lingered long in the morbid mind.
October 14, 2022
This feels like a fairy tale, for better or for worse; the characters are admittedly pretty flat, and the portrayal and treatment of its female lead Rose reeks of patriarchy. But, if anything, that adds to its uncanniness. Despite her pleas, Rose’s uncle practically sells her to a stranger (who, unbeknownst the protagonists, is a demon/vampire). He forced his niece into an unknown yet terrible fate, just for money. I can’t imagine how many actual 19th century young women suffered the same fate (albeit with a non-supernatural twist). Rose escapes from her new husband, physically and mentally ravaged by terrors the reader never learns about. Her uncle, remorseful of his greed, carries her into her bedroom so she can recover. But Rose's demon husband has followed her back. He locks the protagonists out of her bedroom. They hear Rose screaming; then they hear the bedroom window open, and then the screaming stops. They finally barge in, only to discover that she’s vanished.
Decades later, her lover, the titular Schalken, returns home for his father’s funeral, only to discover Rose within the church— unchanged since he last saw her. She beckons him into some catacomb, which turns out to be a beautifully decorated bedroom. And who else sits upon the bed but her husband. Schalken passes out, only to awaken alone in an ordinary, barren tomb. Who, or what is the man that had married Rose? What the hell happened to Rose during her marriage and after she “died”? We’re never told. The uncertainty of what exactly happened is, I think, the strongest aspect of this story.
Decades later, her lover, the titular Schalken, returns home for his father’s funeral, only to discover Rose within the church— unchanged since he last saw her. She beckons him into some catacomb, which turns out to be a beautifully decorated bedroom. And who else sits upon the bed but her husband. Schalken passes out, only to awaken alone in an ordinary, barren tomb. Who, or what is the man that had married Rose? What the hell happened to Rose during her marriage and after she “died”? We’re never told. The uncertainty of what exactly happened is, I think, the strongest aspect of this story.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
October 28, 2019
Sheridan Le Fanu nailed it with this novella like Assad nailed it in Aleppo.
Atmospheric and vivid language, with a fast paste in building sentences.
Dinamic, thrilling and mighty language.
Sheridan Le Fanu is not well known in my homeland, People's Republic of Udbaland, probably because we have that closed minded socialist mentality that can not accept new things. And Croats read very little.
This is a shout to the outter world, save me from Croatia's democratic socialism, please send me some money or marry me so I can get foreign citizenship. I would prefer to be a citizen of France, Spain, Chile or Argentina
The content of this novella is really earie. It's fantastic and thus horrorlike because you stumble upon a some sort of vampire or another form of the undead.
I like that there are no stupid scientific answers to the creature of the night. No scoobydooing in this novella.
This novella through its lower levels of language actualisation, structuring without a manuscript that serves as a story inside of a story belongs to early modernism.
But it's good because it follows the romantistic heritage of Hoffmann and Poe.
Greetings from wonderful Timisoara!
P.S.
Isn't it sad that I apparently can not leave the Balkans so do send me some money!
Atmospheric and vivid language, with a fast paste in building sentences.
Dinamic, thrilling and mighty language.
Sheridan Le Fanu is not well known in my homeland, People's Republic of Udbaland, probably because we have that closed minded socialist mentality that can not accept new things. And Croats read very little.
This is a shout to the outter world, save me from Croatia's democratic socialism, please send me some money or marry me so I can get foreign citizenship. I would prefer to be a citizen of France, Spain, Chile or Argentina
The content of this novella is really earie. It's fantastic and thus horrorlike because you stumble upon a some sort of vampire or another form of the undead.
I like that there are no stupid scientific answers to the creature of the night. No scoobydooing in this novella.
This novella through its lower levels of language actualisation, structuring without a manuscript that serves as a story inside of a story belongs to early modernism.
But it's good because it follows the romantistic heritage of Hoffmann and Poe.
Greetings from wonderful Timisoara!
P.S.
Isn't it sad that I apparently can not leave the Balkans so do send me some money!
December 5, 2019
Another classic gothic tale. I am going to make a recommendation, if you are not prepared for classic gothic wordiness you may not enjoy gothic works. It's not that the older books don't age well, but that modern readers just aren't prepared. I LOVE stories like this and find them quite chilling. I enjoy them far more than modern horror because you have to use your brain.
September 4, 2018
We are editing this short story for my scholarly editing class so I have transcribed one version of it line by line and in a few months I will know it inside out. When you consider when it was written, it is frankly pretty creepy and has some good surprises.
September 26, 2012
A man returns from the dead for his bride...
May 24, 2019
Slow for the modern taste but he develops the scene and mood very well.
September 3, 2025
#Binge Reviewing my previous Reads #Horror Short Stories #Anthologies # Gothic & Classic Horror (1800s–early 1900s)
This is an early gem of gothic horror, rooted in the painterly imagination and drenched in chiaroscuro atmospherics.
Written in the tradition of the “found manuscript” and inspired by the real-life Dutch artist Godfried Schalcken, the tale combines art, obsession, and supernatural dread with a restraint that would influence later ghost-story masters like M. R. James.
At its heart, the story is about an artist’s pupil who becomes entangled in his master’s household drama—a tale of betrothal, greed, and eerie visitation. Unlike the visceral immediacy of Stephen King’s Night Shift stories, or the philosophical unease of Thomas Ligotti’s Dream of a Manikin, Le Fanu’s horror emerges through atmosphere and suggestion. Shadows, candlelight, and silence do the heavy lifting. The supernatural is glimpsed obliquely, through texture and tone, leaving the reader suspended between gothic dread and psychological interpretation.
Compared with the contemporary horror short story, Schalken feels like an ancestor that still haunts the genre. Its painterly framing—scenes lit like Dutch interiors—anticipates the cinematic stylings of films like The Others or The Woman in Black. Where King focuses on ordinary spaces corrupted and Ligotti on existential collapse, Le Fanu lingers on the aesthetic of unease: horror as something seen in half-light, captured forever in a canvas.
A gothic precursor with quiet resonance, “Schalken the Painter” shows how early supernatural fiction carved out a space where art, history, and terror overlap—an influence still felt in postmodern horror today.
This is an early gem of gothic horror, rooted in the painterly imagination and drenched in chiaroscuro atmospherics.
Written in the tradition of the “found manuscript” and inspired by the real-life Dutch artist Godfried Schalcken, the tale combines art, obsession, and supernatural dread with a restraint that would influence later ghost-story masters like M. R. James.
At its heart, the story is about an artist’s pupil who becomes entangled in his master’s household drama—a tale of betrothal, greed, and eerie visitation. Unlike the visceral immediacy of Stephen King’s Night Shift stories, or the philosophical unease of Thomas Ligotti’s Dream of a Manikin, Le Fanu’s horror emerges through atmosphere and suggestion. Shadows, candlelight, and silence do the heavy lifting. The supernatural is glimpsed obliquely, through texture and tone, leaving the reader suspended between gothic dread and psychological interpretation.
Compared with the contemporary horror short story, Schalken feels like an ancestor that still haunts the genre. Its painterly framing—scenes lit like Dutch interiors—anticipates the cinematic stylings of films like The Others or The Woman in Black. Where King focuses on ordinary spaces corrupted and Ligotti on existential collapse, Le Fanu lingers on the aesthetic of unease: horror as something seen in half-light, captured forever in a canvas.
A gothic precursor with quiet resonance, “Schalken the Painter” shows how early supernatural fiction carved out a space where art, history, and terror overlap—an influence still felt in postmodern horror today.
June 28, 2021
https://www.gutenberg.org/files/11699...
Schalcken the Painter [...] a British television horror film based on the 1839 story "Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter" [...] aired on the BBC as an episode of Omnibus on 23 December 1979 and is available here: https://youtu.be/eN1IGA37muE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schalck...
For he is not a man as I am that we should come together; neither is there any that might lay his hand upon us both. Let him, therefore, take his rod away from me, and let not his fear terrify me.
-- Job 9:32-34
Schalcken the Painter [...] a British television horror film based on the 1839 story "Strange Event in the Life of Schalken the Painter" [...] aired on the BBC as an episode of Omnibus on 23 December 1979 and is available here: https://youtu.be/eN1IGA37muE
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schalck...
January 16, 2022
Since we seem to be in a period of 'scream' remakes based on 1990s and 1970s original movies, I thought I might go back to the roots with Victorian tales of terror. And where better than one of the original masters of Gothic horror, Sheridan Le Fanu. This short tale doesn't make you scream with fright but it does leave a cold tingle in the spine as you fear for the fate of Rose, damn her uncle Douw and wonder why Schalken didn't do more to counter the satanic Vanderhausen. No happy ending here as you wonder why Douw and Schalken didn't remember the tale of Persephone! You don't need Hollywood celluloid to make a scary tale: pen and paper still do the trick.
February 12, 2025
A hilarious - I can't get enough of Gerard Douw, one of the most hilariously clueless guardians in literature - and genuinely eerie Gothic tale that's also an interesting precursor to Dracula. Stoker's work is so similar to that of Le Fanu that I almost suspect plagiarism. Schalken and Carmilla, taken together, bear a striking resemblance to Dracula. Yet in many ways Le Fanu is superior. There are several striking moments in Schalken, for instance, that are more powerful than anything in Stoker. And even though his stories are older, they have aged better than Stoker's. Recommended.
April 5, 2023
After reading Carmilla and Uncle Silas I felt the need to jump straight into the authors short stories. Im not impressed. It was ok.
Le Fanu is the best at giving you an eerie feeling and that really deep gothic mystery. But maybe shorter stories dont work as well for it. It felt very straight to the point and unimpactful.
Or maybe i, as a reader, just dont go well with short stories cuz i dont think i ever like shorter stories.
Le Fanu is the best at giving you an eerie feeling and that really deep gothic mystery. But maybe shorter stories dont work as well for it. It felt very straight to the point and unimpactful.
Or maybe i, as a reader, just dont go well with short stories cuz i dont think i ever like shorter stories.
January 3, 2018
This short story starts our with some detailed descriptions of a painting and then delves into the lost love of the artist. This story has some creepy and eerie moments. It will not make someone jump out of fright as they read it, instead it presents an uneasy atmosphere.
October 8, 2021
RATING: 2.5
I read Le Fanu's CARMILLA last year and thought it was pretty great, so I downloaded a collection of stories for some fun, fast October spookiness.
This one is fine. The "twist" isn't all that compelling, but there is some nice imagery mixed in there.
I read Le Fanu's CARMILLA last year and thought it was pretty great, so I downloaded a collection of stories for some fun, fast October spookiness.
This one is fine. The "twist" isn't all that compelling, but there is some nice imagery mixed in there.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews