The article discusses A. Northcote‟s interpretation of historical themes in his ghost story „The Picture‟with the help of comparative analysis. It is very typical for ghost stories to make use of folklore and history (the so-called antiquarian gothic), and such material becomes a background for the meeting of common people with different modes of the supernatural. Classic host stories are very traditional in many respects, including not only this type of plot but also a set of characteristic devices. „The Picture‟ demonstrates these features but is also a very characteristic example of dissociation between the two levels: historical and gothic. As a result the revolution of 1848 is shown through the prism of literary conventions borrowed partly from the pre-romantic gothic. The story is of comparatively little artistic merit but gives an interesting insight into the author‟s ideas and his readers‟ tastes.