The Invisible Girl

The narrator tells the story of how he became lost during a walk along the coast of Wales and sought shelter in what looked like a ruined tower, thanks to the hospitality of its housekeeper. He is surprised at the comfortable furnishings within the tower, and is intrigued by a painting of a lovely young woman hung above the fireplace, entitled The Invisible Girl. The housekeeper tells him the following story. Many years before, a distraught man had arrived in the area looking for sailors to take him to a town about 15 miles away. The villagers recognized him as Henry Vernon, the son of Sir Peter Vernon, whose family owned an estate not far from the town Henry was headed to. The weather was uncertain, but two sailors accepted Henry's generous terms and agreed to take him to his destination. On the way, they were caught in a storm, and barely made it to shore before their boat crashed on some rocks, thanks to the guidance of a faint light in a nearby tower. They sought shelter in the tower, but it was uninhabited. The sailors tell Henry that the tower is the home of a ghost named the Invisible Girl, who is often seen at night wandering the shore in search of her lost lover. The three men spend the night in the tower, but Henry is too miserable to sleep, consumed by grief for his own lost love.