A SHADY PLOT..

Introduction

‘A Shady Plot’ by Elsie brown is a comic ghost story. It does not depict the element of horror like other ghost stories. Rather it is an amusing story about an author John Hallock. His supernatural stories about ghosts are quite popular with the public. He is asked to write another such story for a magazine. When he is thinking hard about the plot of the story, a ghost Helen appeared. She told him that the ghosts were on strike because too many people use Ouija Boards. John’s wife Lavinia buys an Ouija board and arranges an Ouija board party with her friends. She persuades John to be a partner of Miss Laura Hinkle. There is created misunderstanding when on the Ouija board ‘traitor’ for John is written by the Helen. In the end Lavinia sees Helen, who is a ghost. Her misunderstanding is removed.

About the AuthorElsie Brown was born on January 2, 1870. She died in Oklahoma on November 11, 1965. She is buried at Fort Coffee Cemetery in Spiro, Oklahoma.

CharactersThe characters of The Shady Plot are :-

(1) John Hallock (Narrator)(2) Lavinia Hallock (John's wife) (3) Jenkins (John’s Boss)(4) Helen (Lady Ghost), (5) Laura Hinkle (Lavinia's Friend) & (6) Gladolia (Maid)

John Hallock is a free lance author. He also works as an accountant in an office. A ghost story was the first fiction he had written. It was liked be the readers. So whenever Jenkins wanted a ghost story, he would contact John. Jenkins asked him to write another ghost story. So he sat down to write a ghost story.John was not able to think about the plot of the ghost story he wished to write. It was twilight by this time. He had forgotten to turn on the lamp. The other end of the room was full of shadows and furniture. Suddenly the ghost of Helen appeared from that part of the room.She was long and angular. She had large fishy eyes. She came over and stood in front of John. He asked her about her purpose of coming. She told John that he had been calling on heaven and earth all afternoon to help him write a story.Helen while in human form was an unsuccessful writer. As a ghost she found others who were like her. They would look for writers in search of ideas. Then the case was brought to the attention of the main office.

Summary of the chapter

One of them is deputed to help that writer. She claimed that previously she had been inspiring John with ideas to write but now the ghosts has decided to go on strike. They would not come to inspire the writers now. The ghost of Helen told John that the cause of strike was the Ouija board fanatics. The ghosts of have to sit at a desk and answer question of the Ouija board owners. They have become so busy now that they can hardly go to haunt now. She told John to use his good influence and help her. He should get all of his friends and acquaintances to stop using the Ouija board, and then the ghosts will start helping him again. Thereafter the ghost of Helen disappeared.Just then John’s wife entered the room. She asked him why he was sitting in the dark. She told John that she had bought a fancy Ouija board. He was stunned to hear it. He tells his wife Lavinia to get rid of the Ouija board and buy something else. But she refuses to do so.John tried to write a ghost story; however, he was unable to do so. The next Saturday, here remained extremely busy till evening . When he reached home the maid Gladolia informed that Lavinia was arranging Ouija board party in the home.

In the little parlour of the home women were sitting in couples. Between each couple was an Ouija board, Lavinia came to John and persuaded him to be a partner of Miss Laura Hinkle. A lady at the last moment had shown her inability to come.Unwillingly, John had to be Laura’s partner. She held his hands and held them in the desired position. The little board began to slide around .Laura asked the board to tell them something. On the board the word ‘traitor’ appeared. The board continued to spell.

It indicated that the Traitor was John and her name was Helen. Five Ouija boards started calling John by name. Lavinia looked at John as if he was an insect. John got up and fled from there. He did not know how that party ended. He came to his room and went to sleep at three O’clock.Next morning Lavinia was not present at the breakfast table. John went to the library for another try at a ghost story. There he got a slip of paper Lavinia had written to John that she was going back to her grandmother. She wrote that her lawyer would communicate with John later.John cried, “O, I wish I was dead!” He again heard that horrible voice of Helen’s ghost. John asked her why she had appeared like that in his room. She told him that she was sent to ask when his wife was going to get rid of that Ouija board. John told her that it was because of her he had lost his wife. Then from outside Gladolia, their servant announced that she was going to quither job. She did not like hoodoos. John told Helen’s ghost that she had lost him his cook.

Then the door opened and Lavinia entered. She was carrying a suitcase. She set down the suit-case on the floor. John leapt from his chair and sprang in front of her. She did not look at him or behind him. Lavinia told him that she had come to tell him that she was leaving. He said that it was fine .She said that he was behaving in a strange manner. She told John that he was concealing something from her. Then Gladolia told Lavinia that she was going to leave that place because of the Ouija board .The maid said that she would never touch it. John volunteers to burn it.Lavinia insisted that John was concealing or hiding somebody there. She said that she would see. Who was behind him? She asked where that Helen was. The ghost of Helen appeared and said she was Helen. The Ghost of Helen disappeared. Lavinia fell into her husband’s arms. John felt a sudden desire to write. He cried that he got an excellent plot for a ghost story.

The story is about a man who starts getting cocky about his ability to bring forth ghost stories at his will and how he copes with the situation when he realises that he gets (the unwilling) help from a real ghost. the ghost demands a favour from him which he is unable to fulfill. The ghost then plays havoc with his married life leading to various comic situations.

ANALYSIS

QUE : The title of the story is a Shady Plot. The dictionary defines the words as:ANS: Shady adjective1) Full of shade ; shaded.2) Casting shade : a shady grove.3) Quiet , dark , or concealed ; hidden .4) Of dubious character or of questionable

honesty. Plot nounI ) a small piece of ground , generally used for a specific purpose : a garden plot. ii) A measured area of land .2) A ground plan, as for a building; a diagram.3) Storyline – the plan , scheme , or a main story of a literature or dramatic work , as a play , novel ,or short story.4) A secret plan to accomplish a hostile or illegal purpose ; a scheme .

QUE: Based on the definitions above can you predict what the story will be about? Make a brief note of your prediction . ANS : I think the story would be about a mysterious plan . It would deal with the mystery . Perhaps one or more characters would be of dubious character and would be involved in illegal activity . The chapter could also be about writing a mystery story or a novel.

QUE : What genre of stories does Jenkins want the narrator to write ? Why ?

ANS: Jenkins wanted the narrator to write in the super natural genre . The public were eager for ghost stories was exceptional .Jenkins thought his ghosts were live propositions and therefore asked him to come up with a ghost story .

QUE : Does the narrator like writing ghost stories ? Support your answer with evidence from the story.ANS : The narrator does not especially like or dislike writing ghost stories . It is more a necessity for him to come up with good stories whenever Jenkins demands them . He says that the stories seemed to specialize in him . He had been able to produce good ghost stories under pressure in the past and was cocky and overconfident regarding his ability

QUE : what makes Helen , the ghost , and her other co – ghosts organize THE WRITER’ S inspiration Bureau ? ANS : When Helen was a human she had worked as a reader on a magazine . The quality of stories and other work made life difficult for her . When she died she found other ghosts who had suffered similarly and they organized “THE WRITER ‘ S INSPIRATION BUREAU to help writers who were looking for inspiration .

QUE : Why had Helen ,the ghost been helping the narrator write ghost stories ? Why was she going on strike ? What condition did she place for providing continued help ? ANS : The narrator had been desperate for inspiration . Helen found his mind soft enough to accept impression and helped him . She was going on strike because the new fad of Ouija boards had people calling up on ghosts to answer questions all the time . She was exhausted and needed rest . She wanted the narrator to exert his influence and get all his acquaintances to stop using Ouija board .

QUE : How does the narrator describe Helen ?

ANS : Helen seemed to materialize out of thin air . She was long and angular in structure . She was wearing a big bone rimmed spectacle and had fishy eyes . Her hair was tied in a tight wad at the back of her head . She had an angry expression on her face . She was wearing a stiff white shirt waist and a plaid skirt .

QUE : Why does John wish he were dead ?ANS : John reads his wife ‘s note in which she writes about leaving the house and filing for a divorce . He feels his entire world is crashing around him . He loves his wife a lot and cannot bear the thought of losing her forever . He is devastated and wishes that he was dead .

QUE : WHY is john ‘s wife angry ? What does she decide to do ? ANS : John ‘ s wife is angry because she believes he is cheating on her . At the Ouija party , the ghost of a women named Helen tries to communicate with John and calls him a traitor . It makes everyone suspect John of doing something wrong . She decides to leave John and file for a divorce .

Presented BY :

Abhishek dev

XRoll no.03