What does "the turn of the s***w" mean?

Question

It's the title of a ghost book; I don't know how it'd be used in a sentence.

Answer 1

It means to turn up the tension little by little.  The site below has a more literal definition which explains the meaning.  You are supposed to slowly realize that there is a ghost and not a living child.

Answer 2

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Turn_of...

Answer 3

Is that a saying? It would help if you used it in a sentence.

I interpret it as "that which something is destined to do".

EDIT: Oh, ok. I did a search, and here is what I found:

I believe the "turn of the s***w" in fact refers to an old torture apparatus, where each turn of the s***w amplified the pain of the subject.  Here are a couple of examples from literature where this meaning seems clear:

1. "Just when it seemed to him that another turn of the s***w would kill him, little Stanislovas stopped."   from The Jungle by Upton Sinclair

2. "He perceived himself so extremely forlorn and lamentable, and was moved so deeply by the oppressive sorrow, that another turn of the s***w, he felt, would bring tears out of his eyes."   from  Tales of Unrest by Joseph Conrad

"'Turn of the s***w' is of course a metaphorical expression that signifies an unpleasant or disconcerting turn of events. However, the idiom derives from the torture chamber, where its meaning was all too literal. The "screws" were the grim instruments of torture that jailers (who also came to be known as "screws") applied to the limbs of their captives in order, usually, to extract the appropriate confession."

In James context, it is an image for the pressure of social standards. A common theme for James.