# The Confession of Charles Linkworth explained — Ghost Stories > Chapter companion for Ghost Stories by E. F. Benson. ## What happens Dr. Teesdale attends condemned murderer Charles Linkworth before his execution, observing his shift from desperate clinging to life to resigned acceptance. After the hanging, the doctor experiences supernatural phenomena suggesting Linkworth's spirit lingers in the prison, attempting to communicate via telephone and manifesting as a faint apparition in the execution shed. Warder Draycott confirms similar eerie sensations. The chapter explores the psychological and occult dimensions of the execution and the earthbound spirit's restless presence. ## Themes in this chapter ### Guilt and Retribution Linkworth's crime and execution are central; the lingering spirit suggests unresolved guilt and the failure of earthly justice to bring closure. ### Supernatural and Occult The ghostly presence, telephone communication from beyond, and apparition in the execution shed embody supernatural elements and occult investigation. ### Death and the Afterlife Exploration of the soul's persistence after death, the concept of earthbound spirits, and the boundary between life and death. ## Character check-ins ### Charles Linkworth Condemned murderer who killed his mother for money; initially desperate for life, then resigned; his spirit appears to haunt the prison after execution. ### The Doctor Dr. Teesdale, the prison doctor who attends Linkworth before execution and experiences supernatural phenomena afterward, including a telephone call from the spirit. ### Warder Draycott Prison warder who confirms feeling an invisible presence in the telephone room the night after the execution, with cold drafts and rustling sounds. ## Key lines > The bitterness of death appeared to be over for him: it was done with when he was told that his appeal was refused. But for those days while hope was not yet quite abandoned, the wretched man had drank of death daily. Linkworth's fear of death ended once his appeal was denied; during the earlier period of uncertainty, he experienced daily terror of dying. _Describes the psychological shift from desperate hope to resigned acceptance._ > The spirit of Linkworth was there. He passed into the infirmary, and for a couple of hours busied himself with his work. But all the time he was aware that the same invisible presence was near him, though its force was manifestly less here than in those places which had been more intimately associated with the man. Dr. Teesdale sensed Linkworth's spirit following him through the prison, though it was weaker in areas less connected to the condemned man. _Highlights the doctor's perception of a supernatural presence tied to specific locations._ > At the top of the steps stood a figure hooded and pinioned, but hazy of outline and only faintly visible. But it was visible, there was no mistake about it. In the execution shed, Dr. Teesdale saw a faint, hooded apparition resembling the executed man. _The first direct visual manifestation of Linkworth's ghost._ > It rustled the leaves of the telephone book, and it ruffled my hair when it came close to me. And it was bitter cold, sir. Warder Draycott described the invisible presence moving objects and causing a chilling cold. _Corroborates the supernatural activity with sensory details._ ## Links - HTML: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ghost_stories_se/chapters/the-confession-of-charles-linkworth - Book: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ghost_stories_se - All chapters: https://www.betterreads.online/discover/ghost_stories_se/chapters