Irving's "The Legend
of Sleepy Hollow," and Wilkins' "A Gentle Ghost." It requires art
chiefly to render it plausible; particularly in the latter case, when
the mystery must be carefully kept up until the denouement.

(_b_) The _Fantastic Tale_ treats of the lighter phases of the
supernatural. Its style might be well described as whimsical, its
purpose is to amuse by means of playful fancies, and it usually exhibits
a delicate humor. The plot is slight and subordinate. Examples:
Hawthorne's "A Select Party," "The Hall of Fantasy," and "Monsieur du
Miroir;" and most of our modern fairy tales.

(_c_) The _Study in Horror_ was first made popular by Poe, and he has
had almost no successful imitators. It is unhealthy and morbid, full of
a terrible charm if well done, but tawdry and disgusting if bungled. It
requires a daring imagination, a full and facile vocabulary, and a keen
sense of the ludicrous to hold these two in check. The plot is used only
to give the setting to the story. Most any of Poe's tales would serve as
an illustration, but "The Pit and the Pendulum," and "The Fall of the
House of Usher" are particularly apt. Doyle has done some work
approaching Poe's, but his are better classed as _Stories of Ingenuity_.
(See Class VIII.)

IV. THE CHARACTER STUDY is a short story in which the chief interest
rests in the development and exposition of human character. It may treat
of either a type or an individual. Good character delineation is one of
the surest proofs of a writer's literary ability.

(_a_) When the character depicted is inactive the resultant work is not
really a story. It usually has no plot, and is properly a _Sketch_, in
which the author makes a psychological analysis of his subject. It
inclines to superficiality and is liable to degenerate into a mere
detailed description of the person. It demands of the writer the ability
to catch striking details and to present them vividly and interestingly.
Examples: Hawthorne's "Sylph Etherege" and "Old Esther Dudley;" Poe's
"The Man of the Crowd;" James' "Greville Fane" and "Sir Edmund Orme;"
Stevenson's "Will o' the Mill;" Wilkins' "The Scent of the Roses" and "A
Village Lear."

(_b_) When the character described is active we have a _Character Study_
proper, built upon a plot which gives the character opportunity to work
out his own personality before us by means of speech and action. The
plot is subordinated to the character sketching. The psychological