The article analyzes the poetical features of creating an alarming atmosphere and depicting the terrible in the novel by the famous British author of ghost stories M. R. James "You whistle ...". The purpose of the work: to trace the mixing of traditional Gothic and special author's methods. Special attention is paid to symbolism and the so-called "children's" mythology. The transformation of the main character's views from scientific skepticism to superstitious fear of the infernal, through overcoming the boundaries of his consciousness, is traced. The features of chronotope, spatiopoetics and sonosphere are investigated. The special functioning of the found artifact – the whistle – as a guide to a parallel oneiric space is noted. The concept of vision and blindness as the most important components of cognition of the world is actualized. Attention is paid to M. R. James' invariable "punishment" of the hero for excessive curiosity. Noteworthy is the motive of the "call", stated in the title of the novel, which is a reinterpreted quote from Robert Burns' verse "Song". The methodological base involves the synthesis of both philological and philosophical, as well as culturological approaches. An important result is the conclusion about the mixing of the traditional Gothic landscape orchestration of events and modern location, as well as the use of folk superstitions as a key to understanding transcendental phenomena. The aspects of scientific novelty include the use by the author of the article of modern psychological and philosophical concepts for a deeper and more detailed analysis. In particular, the works of Heidegger, Trigg, Harman and others are studied. Through this, "fear" - as the main element of Gothic novels, is explored comprehensively. Resorting to such an analysis, it becomes possible to give an answer to the question about the continuing popularity of the genre of "ghost stories". The paradoxical position of the author of the novel M. R. James is noted, who, being a man of science, demonstrates how strong the influence of irrational forces and subconscious fears on a rational person can be. This explains the choice of the title of the article.