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The Possibility of Evil
"The Possibility of Evil" is about an old lady named Miss Strangeworth. She treasures her roses, passed down from her grandmother, and those roses are her pride. In order to keep a town, which she thinks is hers, she tries to keep the town from becoming evil by sending letters with messages based on gossip to the townspeople about events in their lives that may be troubling.
11 pages
First published December 18, 1965
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1280 people want to read
About the author
Shirley Jackson
334 books10.8k followersShirley Jackson was an influential American author. A popular writer in her time, her work has received increasing attention from literary critics in recent years. She has influenced such writers as Stephen King, Nigel Kneale, and Richard Matheson.
She is best known for her dystopian short story, "The Lottery" (1948), which suggests there is a deeply unsettling underside to bucolic, smalltown America. In her critical biography of Shirley Jackson, Lenemaja Friedman notes that when Shirley Jackson's story "The Lottery" was published in the June 28, 1948, issue of The New Yorker, it received a response that "no New Yorker story had ever received." Hundreds of letters poured in that were characterized by, as Jackson put it, "bewilderment, speculation and old-fashioned abuse."
Jackson's husband, the literary critic Stanley Edgar Hyman, wrote in his preface to a posthumous anthology of her work that "she consistently refused to be interviewed, to explain or promote her work in any fashion, or to take public stands and be the pundit of the Sunday supplements. She believed that her books would speak for her clearly enough over the years." Hyman insisted the darker aspects of Jackson's works were not, as some critics claimed, the product of "personal, even neurotic, fantasies", but that Jackson intended, as "a sensitive and faithful anatomy of our times, fitting symbols for our distressing world of the concentration camp and the Bomb", to mirror humanity's Cold War-era fears. Jackson may even have taken pleasure in the subversive impact of her work, as revealed by Hyman's statement that she "was always proud that the Union of South Africa banned The Lottery', and she felt that they at least understood the story".
In 1965, Jackson died of heart failure in her sleep, at her home in North Bennington Vermont, at the age of 48.
She is best known for her dystopian short story, "The Lottery" (1948), which suggests there is a deeply unsettling underside to bucolic, smalltown America. In her critical biography of Shirley Jackson, Lenemaja Friedman notes that when Shirley Jackson's story "The Lottery" was published in the June 28, 1948, issue of The New Yorker, it received a response that "no New Yorker story had ever received." Hundreds of letters poured in that were characterized by, as Jackson put it, "bewilderment, speculation and old-fashioned abuse."
Jackson's husband, the literary critic Stanley Edgar Hyman, wrote in his preface to a posthumous anthology of her work that "she consistently refused to be interviewed, to explain or promote her work in any fashion, or to take public stands and be the pundit of the Sunday supplements. She believed that her books would speak for her clearly enough over the years." Hyman insisted the darker aspects of Jackson's works were not, as some critics claimed, the product of "personal, even neurotic, fantasies", but that Jackson intended, as "a sensitive and faithful anatomy of our times, fitting symbols for our distressing world of the concentration camp and the Bomb", to mirror humanity's Cold War-era fears. Jackson may even have taken pleasure in the subversive impact of her work, as revealed by Hyman's statement that she "was always proud that the Union of South Africa banned The Lottery', and she felt that they at least understood the story".
In 1965, Jackson died of heart failure in her sleep, at her home in North Bennington Vermont, at the age of 48.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews
January 5, 2024
3.5 stars
October 7, 2018
What can I say? Shirley Jackson always hits them out of the ballpark, and she definitely did with this one. I love how all her stories are set in some podunk town, full of simple people with boring lives. Mrs. Strangeworth is just some old lady who’s always lived in this town; her life is this town, so she wants to control it. She does so by writing anonymous letters that manipulate people to do her will. I feel like this story may have been an influence on Stephen King's Needful Things, which has a similar theme. But I found Jackson's story to be much creepier; I had some major chills while listening to the audiobook. It was narrated by Edward E. French and his voice added to the creepiness of it.
What I love about Jackson's writing is that she never tries to be edgy or overly gory. Sometimes I feel like "horror" writing can be the equivalent of the boogeyman jumping out from behind the shower curtain in a horror movie; it's more startling or shocking than it is scary. But Jackson's writing is subtler and more gradual. It's straight-up horror.
What I love about Jackson's writing is that she never tries to be edgy or overly gory. Sometimes I feel like "horror" writing can be the equivalent of the boogeyman jumping out from behind the shower curtain in a horror movie; it's more startling or shocking than it is scary. But Jackson's writing is subtler and more gradual. It's straight-up horror.
March 14, 2023
I need more Psychopathic things like this, any suggestions?!
January 7, 2018
Leave it to the master of the twisted tale to come up with this one.
Someone has been writing letters to the townsfolk to help to "clean up" some of the evil within this community. Mrs.Strangeworth (great name, by the way) feels it is her duty to help out with this, and there is a bit of creepy irony in the contents of these letters she feels compelled to sent off. As usual with Jackson there is a high dose of irony, and, in this tale, we not only have one surprise, but another in the story's final sentence. Also, one thing that Jackson captures so well is that there is a lot going on under the surface level of the story.
"The Possibility of Evil" is worth the time to read this quick little tale, and if you've read Shirley Jackson before, you probably already know what you are getting yourself into.
Someone has been writing letters to the townsfolk to help to "clean up" some of the evil within this community. Mrs.Strangeworth (great name, by the way) feels it is her duty to help out with this, and there is a bit of creepy irony in the contents of these letters she feels compelled to sent off. As usual with Jackson there is a high dose of irony, and, in this tale, we not only have one surprise, but another in the story's final sentence. Also, one thing that Jackson captures so well is that there is a lot going on under the surface level of the story.
"The Possibility of Evil" is worth the time to read this quick little tale, and if you've read Shirley Jackson before, you probably already know what you are getting yourself into.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 20, 2019
COUNTDOWN: Mid-20th Century North American Crime
BOOK/Short 69 (of 250)
There really is only one crime: taking something from someone else. Their pocketbook, their lover, their dignity, their self-respect, or even their life. And here, Jackson's character, Miss Adela Strangeworth, takes anything from anyone.
HOOK=3 stars: Miss Adela Strangeworth walks 'daintily' along Main Street. Strangeworth? And in Jackson's world, 'dainty'? You know things are going to be unpleasant.
PACE=3: Steadily upward to a justifiable climax.
PLOT=5: Imagine pointing your finger at every crime your mind can possibly imagine during wild flights of fancy. That's Miss Strangeworth and the author Jackson at her most astonishingly evil.
People=4: The author is the star here: Jackson has an unusual way of seeing the world through Adela.
Place=3: Any small town.
Summary: 3.6. Jackson is an original. I don't think I would have enjoyed her real world surroundings at all.
BOOK/Short 69 (of 250)
There really is only one crime: taking something from someone else. Their pocketbook, their lover, their dignity, their self-respect, or even their life. And here, Jackson's character, Miss Adela Strangeworth, takes anything from anyone.
HOOK=3 stars: Miss Adela Strangeworth walks 'daintily' along Main Street. Strangeworth? And in Jackson's world, 'dainty'? You know things are going to be unpleasant.
PACE=3: Steadily upward to a justifiable climax.
PLOT=5: Imagine pointing your finger at every crime your mind can possibly imagine during wild flights of fancy. That's Miss Strangeworth and the author Jackson at her most astonishingly evil.
People=4: The author is the star here: Jackson has an unusual way of seeing the world through Adela.
Place=3: Any small town.
Summary: 3.6. Jackson is an original. I don't think I would have enjoyed her real world surroundings at all.
December 16, 2020
Miss Strangeworth is seventy-one years old and is proud to admit she has never spent more than one day outside her little hometown. Her grandfather built the very first house there and her grandmother planted the roses which are still the highlight of her street. Tourists come along and ask for some of the beauties, but Miss Strangeworth refuses to allow anyone to carry any away. They belong on Pleasant Street.
But the town was proud of Miss Strangeworth and her roses and her house. They had all grown together.
Miss Strangeworth lives alone but is always busy. She loves to walk through the town to complete her errands, such as picking up strawberries at the local grocer. But Mr. Lewis, who runs the store, looks worried. So does his customer, Mrs. Harper. And the young Mrs. Crane, so thrilled with her little girl, walks away from a conversation with Miss Strangeworth a bit less thrilled about her little girl. What could be the matter with everyone?
Miss Strangeworth likes to write letters using her special cream-colored stationery. But it's the other letters which really get her attention. For those, she only uses the colored paper from the local newstand. She must write another letter to the worried Mrs. Harper.
HAVE YOU FOUND OUT YET WHAT THEY WERE ALL LAUGHING ABOUT AFTER YOU LEFT THE BRIDGE CLUB ON THURSDAY? OR IS THE WIFE REALLY ALWAYS THE LAST ONE TO KNOW?
Miss Strangeworth likes to write in caps. She is the only one who knows the author of these letters, as she likes to mail them, discreetly, without a return address or name. After all, there are so many wicked people in the world. But sometimes, things don't always go as planned.
Shirley Jackson is one of my fave authors and this short story has her mischievous imprint, but as a mystery rather than a spooky story. I enjoyed it but I do not consider it to be her "masterpiece" as some critics have claimed. Sly, with a lead-up to the finale, this is a very good short story.
Oh, karma.
Book Season = Autumn (beware of thorns)
But the town was proud of Miss Strangeworth and her roses and her house. They had all grown together.
Miss Strangeworth lives alone but is always busy. She loves to walk through the town to complete her errands, such as picking up strawberries at the local grocer. But Mr. Lewis, who runs the store, looks worried. So does his customer, Mrs. Harper. And the young Mrs. Crane, so thrilled with her little girl, walks away from a conversation with Miss Strangeworth a bit less thrilled about her little girl. What could be the matter with everyone?
Miss Strangeworth likes to write letters using her special cream-colored stationery. But it's the other letters which really get her attention. For those, she only uses the colored paper from the local newstand. She must write another letter to the worried Mrs. Harper.
HAVE YOU FOUND OUT YET WHAT THEY WERE ALL LAUGHING ABOUT AFTER YOU LEFT THE BRIDGE CLUB ON THURSDAY? OR IS THE WIFE REALLY ALWAYS THE LAST ONE TO KNOW?
Miss Strangeworth likes to write in caps. She is the only one who knows the author of these letters, as she likes to mail them, discreetly, without a return address or name. After all, there are so many wicked people in the world. But sometimes, things don't always go as planned.
Shirley Jackson is one of my fave authors and this short story has her mischievous imprint, but as a mystery rather than a spooky story. I enjoyed it but I do not consider it to be her "masterpiece" as some critics have claimed. Sly, with a lead-up to the finale, this is a very good short story.
Oh, karma.
Book Season = Autumn (beware of thorns)
July 14, 2018
Published in 1965, the year of Jackson's death, this is a quietly bitter evisceration of small town conservative morality in the face of change, an example of the 'biter bit' as the unpleasant anti-heroine of the tale gets her come-uppance in an act of petty cruelty that matches her own.
June 17, 2024
I really need to catch up when it comes to Shirley Jackson, every short story that I read is masterful - she really knew how to keep the tension and how to subvert the expectations. I love her take on domestic horror.
I read it for an event in a discord server hosted by Rosie and Matty of Books and Cats fame (funnily enough I joined the discord because of a video of theirs about Shirley Jackson) that I sadly couldn't attend in the end, so I don't know what the group at large thought about this particular short story, but I know that I enjoyed it.
I read it for an event in a discord server hosted by Rosie and Matty of Books and Cats fame (funnily enough I joined the discord because of a video of theirs about Shirley Jackson) that I sadly couldn't attend in the end, so I don't know what the group at large thought about this particular short story, but I know that I enjoyed it.
October 15, 2018
I just re-read this short story in order to plan a short story unit for my kids in the Spring and it is still one of my favorites. This story is perfect for my psychological-thriller-loving brain; it's spooky in a realistic way and actually ends up creeping me out more each time I read it, so I guess Jackson has done her job well. I feel like this story is seen as "The Lottery's" less popular sister, and while "The Lottery" is a great story (another realistically spooky one as well), "The Possibility of Evil" has my heart. The symbolism, while blatantly obvious for any English major (I remember reading this story for the first time in my freshman year of high school and our first in-depth lessons on symbolism and theme...nerdy 14-year-old me was so excited), is so strong and powerful that even though it is pretty explicit, it still makes me think whenever I read the text again.
I highly recommend this story, especially since it's only 8 pages or so, so it's the perfect text to read when you need a break from working on classwork!
I highly recommend this story, especially since it's only 8 pages or so, so it's the perfect text to read when you need a break from working on classwork!
February 24, 2021
Rep: none
TW: bullying
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My Rating: 4 stars
- One of the best short stories I've read in school, methinks. Very nice, I liked the pacing, the vibe and it was just my style. I actually had a lot of fun doing the assignment on this one, too. I enjoyed it from the start to the end. I'd read it again!
TW: bullying
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My Rating: 4 stars
- One of the best short stories I've read in school, methinks. Very nice, I liked the pacing, the vibe and it was just my style. I actually had a lot of fun doing the assignment on this one, too. I enjoyed it from the start to the end. I'd read it again!
July 24, 2011
Cute short story about a little old lady and town gossip. It is supposed to be one of the best examples of a short story; but in my opinion doesn't hold a candle to "The Lottery", one of my favorites. The ending was funny, though.
May 7, 2021
Love Shirley Jackson. Enjoy short stories. Wouldn’t put this one up there though.
May 21, 2021
One might say Miss Strangeworth is a sweet old lady at the beginning. But since this is a Shirley Jackson short story the usual theme of ordinary humans being capable of great evil is loud and clear. A good read.
3.5 stars.
3.5 stars.
May 9, 2014
Throughout the story, the author hints at Mrs. Strangeworth's narcissistic attitude. As the story continues, the author begins writing hateful suggestive letters to the people in her district. Daily, the lady witnesses the effect of her suggestive letters. Mrs. Strange worth thinks very highly of herself, her home, her heritage, and her town. In fact, she believes the the town is hers. In the end, she is busted by children who were directly effected by Mrs. Strangeworth.
August 27, 2023
Underwhelmed by this short story. It did not do anything for me, plot got messy, characters were boring and not developed, uninteresting storyline. Two stars because the quality of the writing was outstanding.
May 26, 2018
I absolutely love this short story, even more than The Lottery.
It's unexpected and perfectly written.
It's unexpected and perfectly written.
October 5, 2018
Creepy story about a snitch, a prudish old woman seeking to expose a small town's secrets and moral weaknesses.
August 30, 2024
Mind your own business, Miss Strangeworth. And remember, what goes around, comes around.
May 5, 2014
The Possibility of Evil is a short story about a lady who lives in a house handed down her family, with one of a kind roses that her great-grandmother planted herself. She takes great pride in her house and her roses, and actually believes that the town she lives in is her own to keep. She feels as if she's responsible to keep the town in order, however she's got a strange way of doing so. This is a good little story that teaches us to treat others well and that if we don't, karma may not be far behind.
September 30, 2016
I read this story in middle or high school I believe it was. It stuck with me. I couldn't remember the name for the longest time. I'm giving this story a 4 out of 5 for a couple reasons:
1. It was a quick short story
2. I enjoyed the implicit and explicit message of the story
3. I love stories that has a "revealing" aspect to them
4. It's one I would read again.. Hence I gave it 4 instead of 3 stars.
1. It was a quick short story
2. I enjoyed the implicit and explicit message of the story
3. I love stories that has a "revealing" aspect to them
4. It's one I would read again.. Hence I gave it 4 instead of 3 stars.
March 2, 2018
Mrs. Strange worth was actually a mean, self-righteous little old woman. Her letters were hurtful and very demeaning—not simply gossip. I did not care for her at all but I loved the story—“do unto others......”
December 19, 2017
Pretty deep short story, had to read it for English last year. Shirley Jackson is actually a great writer.
October 2, 2017
Not dreadful. Kinda interesting.
December 27, 2022
it’s been years since i read this and it’d forgotten to shelve it
it was very interesting and unsettling
it was very interesting and unsettling
July 5, 2024
All my homies hate Miss. Strangeworth 🙏🙏
January 24, 2024
She writes such intense and interesting characters in such weird and disturbing circumstances
September 10, 2024
this woman is such a nasty writer i love her
October 12, 2024
anything of hers is gonna be a yes from me!
February 15, 2025
Average
Displaying 1 - 30 of 113 reviews