Advertisements
Advertisements
Question
Ghosts and haunting have fascinated the public for centuries. Although many doubt the existence of ghosts or other paranormal entities, many people dedicate their lives to searching and recording paranormal activity. Ghost tours, support groups and research societies, to name just a few, permeate our society and seek to answer questions about paranormal activity. Interview your friends, relatives and people in your neighbourhood about whether they believe in the existence of ghosts. Ask them to tell you of any specific experiences they might have had in this context. In your groups, identify the most fascinating anecdote you have gathered on the basis of your interactions. Narrate it to the class
Solution
Ghosts, paranormal entities all these sound spooky and give me goosebumps. I interviewed some of imy friends and came to know about their most eerie experiences. However, some of the stories were really scary and I want to share one such story with you. It so happened that one of the my friends was visiting his grandparents’ place by train. It was night-time and there was no one in the compartment except my friend. He took out his sleeping bag and making himself comfortable started reading a book. While reading, he fell asleep. He woke up suddenly on hearing a knock at the door of his compartment that was bolted from inside, the train had halted at a platform. He got down from his berth and opened the door. But there was nobody outside. After bolting the door, he turned and again came a knock, this time louder than before. Suddenly, he recoiled in horror as he saw a small, white icy cold hand coming out of the closed door of the compartment. A strange scraping sound could also be hared that frightened him out of his wits. He shrieked loudly and was about to faint when the train began to move and he came back to his senses. When the T.T. arrived he shared this strange experience with him and was shocked to hear that many people had claimed to have seen the hand. For the rest of the journey, my friend just sat and prayed to God and felt relieved only when he reached his grandparents’ home safely. I also shuddered to hear his account.
APPEARS IN
RELATED QUESTIONS
I only waved denial and gurgled in my throat. She went on “It’s bad enough to have you flirt over the Ouija board with that hussy ----.”
(a) What was John denying?
(b) What does the word ‘hussy’ mean?
(c) Why did Lavinia think that John was flirting?
The title of the story is A Shady Plot. The dictionary defines the words as:
shady adjective
Based on your reading of the story answer the following question by ticking the correct option.
The writer was overconfident about his ability to write ghost stories because ……
Answer the following question briefly.
How does the ghost undermine the narrator's faith in his ability to write ghost stories?
Answer the following question briefly.
Why does John want the ghost to disappear before his wife appears on the scene? What impression of his wife's character do you form from his words?
Answer the following question briefly.
Why does the narrator hesitate to be a partner to Laura Hinkle during the Ouija Board Party?
Answer the following question briefly.
Why is John's wife angry? What does she decide to do?
Do you think a story has an atmosphere? Complete the following blanks to make
up your ghost story by choosing the correct options.
A Ghost Story She opened the _________________ (secret door/ spaceship's hatch/ door of the cottage/ cemetery gate/ door of the castle/ cockpit) _________________ (brashly/ loudly/ silently/ stupidly/ fearfully/ joyously). Standing in front of her was a ________________ (terrifying/ handsome/ smelly/ anonymous/ tiny/ huge/ bossy) ___________ (policeman/ spy/ apparition/ witch/ prince/ wizard) with a _________________ (wand/ rose/ rod/ knife/ scythe/ coded message) in his/ her (its) _________________ (ghoulish/ bony/ beautiful/ fair/ manly/ gloved/ magical) hand. |
Now that you have shared a ghost story/anecdote as well as completed a guided story in the class, create your own ghost story on the basis of the starters given below:
a) Stephen knew he would never sleep. The noises, those horrid sounds, would keep him awake...
b) Tap, tap, tap. Was it the branches of the nearby tree, or fingernails against the window?
c) People often say, 'There's no such thing as ghosts....
You are familiar with the key elements of a short story viz setting, plot, conflict, character and point of view. Given below are specifics to be kept in mind while writing a ghost story. Also make use of the vocabulary that you have learnt from the story ‘A
Shady Plot’.
• Colours, sounds, feeling words
• Strong definite characters
• Creating suspense
• Setting the scene and the atmosphere
• Describing the weather
• Clear opening line
• Personal feelings
• Clear ending
• Describing the sounds
• Adding a dramatic element
• Mystery
Write two striking qualities of the Ghost as revealed in this extract.
a) _____________________
b) _____________________