Supernatural short story written especially for the young Anne (Nannie) Wynne. It was originally published as The Ghostâs Touch in The Irish Fireside, 30 September â 14 October 1885; Harperâs Weekly, 23 October 1885; and in The Ghostâs Touch and Other Stories (with My Ladyâs Money and Percy and the Prophet, Harperâs Handy Series, no 30, 1885).
Mr Rayburn, a widower, and his young daughter, Lucy, meet Mrs Zant in Kensington Gardens while she is experiencing a vision of her dead husband. The ghost warns her against his brother, who aims to force her into an illegal marriage. Rayburn rescues Mrs Zant, hoping to marry her himself, while the supernatural force returns to strike her brother-in-law with fatal paralysis.