The Beckoning Fair One (Version 2)

"The Beckoning Fair One (Version 2)" is a renowned novella written by Oliver Onions, a British author. It was published in 1911 as part of the collection called Widdershins, which contains a total of nine stories. This particular story gained significant recognition and has been widely anthologized. According to a contemporary review in The Athenaeum, a London literary magazine, the ability to craft a good ghost story requires several qualities, such as imagination, a sense of horror, elusiveness, and a certain vagueness rather than providing explicit explanations. The reviewer praised Onions for possessing all these qualities and creating a compelling ghost story. In "The Beckoning Fair One," the protagonist named Oleron finds himself questioning reality as he becomes entangled with a mysterious entity known as the "Fair One." It remains uncertain whether the Fair One is a real supernatural presence or a product of Oleron's deteriorating mental state. The story takes place in a