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A Shady Plot Summary in English by Elsie Brown
A Shady Plot Summary in English
‘A Shady Plot’ is a story within a story. The narrator is an author of short stories about ghosts. In this story he reveals how he gets the plot for his latest ghost story.
The narrator had been told by the editor of the magazine that frequently published his stories to write a ghost story as his ghost stories were well-liked by the readers. As he sat thinking of an idea for a plot, the narrator was confronted by a ghost. She slowly materialised in a dark comer of the room like a moving picture cartoons being put together.
First an arm came out, then a bit of sleeve of a stiff white shirtwaist, then a leg and a plaid skirt, until at last, there she was, complete. The ghost was angry at being called to help. In fact, she informed the narrator that it was she who had been supplying him with plots for his ghost stories. She claimed she had been a writer in her other life. Now she, and some other ghosts who had been writers earlier, had organised ‘The Writer’s Inspiration Bureau’. They put ideas into the mind of a writer without ideas and with a mind soft enough to accept impressions. Though initially they had done this willingly, but lately they had been called out too often and so they wanted to put an end to the practice. The ghost wanted the narrator to get all his friends and acquaintances to stop using the Ouija board.
Just then the narrator’s wife, Lavinia, came in. Much to his dismay, she informed the narrator that she had bought an Ouija board. Nothing the narrator said dissuaded her from using it.
The next evening, when the narrator returned, their maid Gladolia met him in the hall. She informed him that his wife had organised an Ouija board party that evening. By the time he changed into his second best suit and a fresh shirt and collar, the guests had arrived. They were mostly elderly people belonging to Lavinia’s Book Club. They were sitting in couples and between each couple was an Ouija board! He looked around for the ghost but could not see her. His wife told him to partner with Laura Hinkle.
When the Ouija board began to move, the narrator at first thought that Laura Hinkle was cheating with that board. But then the board spelt out aloud the word ‘T-r-a-i-t-o-r’. It also told Laura Hinkle to ask the narrator what it meant. The spirit identified herself as Helen. Other couples with Ouija boards also claimed they had received communications from Helen for the narrator. The narrator’s wife looked at him suspiciously. The writer left the room. Angry and suspicious, Lavinia slept in the guest room that night. The next morning she threatened she would be going back to her grandmother and that her lawyer would communicate with the narrator.
John sat in the study, upset with the turn of events. The ghost of Helen arrived again. She said she had been sent to ask when his wife was going to get rid of that Ouija board. At that moment Gladolia called to say she was quitting her job. Lavinia came in then wearing the brown hat and coat she usually travelled in, carrying a suitcase which she set down on the floor.
Since Helen was there in the room, the narrator tried to get her to leave. Just then the door opened and Gladolia announced she was leaving because she would not stay in a place where there were Ouija boards. Lavinia told her to bum the Ouija board. She then suspiciously asked him who was hiding in the room. Helen spoke to Lavinia. She introduced herself as Helen of Troy, New York. And saying so, she left, waving a hand in farewell. Lavinia forgave her husband who declared he had the best plot for a ghost story.
A Shady Plot Summary Questions and Answers
Question 1.
Based on your reading of the story above, answer the following questions by ticking the correct options.
a. The narrator earns his living by …………………
(i) writing ghost stories
(ii) working as a reader for a magazine
(iii) working as a stenographer
(iv) working as an accountant in a lumber company
Answer:
(i) Writing ghost stories.
b. The writer was overconfident about his ability to write ghost stories because …………………
(i) whenever magazines wanted a ghost story, they got in touch with him
(ii) he was always able to write a ghost story whenever he had to write one
(iii) the readers appreciated his ghost stories
(iv) he knew the ghost lady would help him write a good ghost story
Answer:
(iii) the readers appreciated his ghost stories
c. The sight of the ghost materialising in his room filled the narrator with …………………
(i) fear
(ii) excitement
(iii) joy
(iv) anticipation
Answer:
(i) fear
d. The ghost wanted John to …………………
(i) stop his wife from using the Ouija board
(ii) stop using the Ouija board himself
(iii) stop his guests from using the Ouija board
(iv) stop people from using the Ouija board
Answer:
(iii) stop his guests from using the Ouija board
e. John wants the ghost to disappear before his wife enters the room and waves his arms at the ghost with something of the motion of a beginner when learning to swim. His movement shows his …………………
(i) fear
(ii) amusement
(iii) desperation
(iv) anxiety
Answer:
(iii) desperation
f. When the narrator says his wife is never so pretty as when she’s doing something she knows he disapproves of his tone is …………………
(i) amused
(ii) ironic
(iii) angry
(iv) irritated
Answer:
(ii) ironic
g. The ghost says “It’s all your fault. ‘It’here refers to …………….
(i) the narrator’s wife’s anger
(ii) the ghost’s anger
(iii) the narrator’s wife leaving him
(iv) the ghost materialising in sections.
Answer:
(iv) the ghost materialising in sections.
h. Gladolia wishes to leave the narrator’s house as …………………
(i) she does not like the Ouija boards .
(ii) she is afraid of the ghost
(iii) she is afraid of magic and hoodoo
(iv) she likes Ouija boards and hoodoo
Answer:
(iii) she is afraid of magic and hoodoo
Question 2.
Answer the following questions briefly.
a. What genre of stories does Jenkins want the narrator to write? Why?
Answer:
Jenkins wants the narrator to write a ghost story because readers want to read his ghost stories, and his ghosts are well-defined characters like living beings.
b. Does the narrator like writing ghost stories? Support your answer with evidence from the story.
Answer:
The narrator did not particularly like to write ghost stories. He does feel that the editor is exploiting him as he says, ‘Well, I was in no position to contradict Jenkins, for, as yet, his magazine had been the only one to print my stuff.’
c. What makes Helen, the ghost, and her other co-ghosts organize The Writer’s Inspiration Bureau?
d. 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?
Answer:
Helen had been a writer before she died. So she and other writers who were ghosts now, had formed ‘The Writer’s Inspiration Bureau’. They scouted around until they found a writer without ideas and with a mind soft enough to accept impressions. The case was brought to the attention of the main office, and one of the ghosts was assigned to it. Helen had been assigned to the narrator. She had come to tell him that they were going on strike.
e. How does the ghost undermine the narrator’s faith in his ability to write ghost stories?
f. 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:
John says that his wife is very sensitive. The sight of the ghost in her house may drive her to hysterics. Also she may not like the presence of a woman in the house, even if the woman was a ghost. Lavinia leaves the impression of a self-centred and flighty woman, given to jealousy and hysteria.
g. Why does the narrator hesitate to be a partner to Laura Hinkle during the Ouija Board Party?
Answer:
The narrator’s wife had told him to partner Laura Hinkle as her partner, Mrs William Augustus Wainright had not come. When the narrator approached, Laura looked at him with a flirtatious smile that implied danger for him as she was untrustworthy.
h. What message does the ghost convey to the group that had assembled in the narrator’s house? What is their reaction to the message?
Answer:
The ghost called John a traitor and asked the Ouija board users to ask him why she was calling him that. The people using the Ouija boards all reported that they had received a similar message and began talking about it.
i. Why is John’s wife angry? What does she decide to do?
Answer:
The narrator’s wife was angry because she felt her husband had been trying to flirt with Laura Hinkle who had partnered him at the Ouija board. She decides to go to her grandmother’s house and communicate with him through a lawyer. The narrator is upset and is angry with the ghost, Helen.
j. Why does John wish he were dead?
Answer:
John wished he were dead so that he didn’t have to face Lavinia’s reactions to the incidents that happened at the Ouija board party.
k. John’s apprehensions about his wife’s reaction to her encounter with the ghost are unfounded. Justify.
Answer:
John felt that his wife was so sensitive that she could not bear to have a mouse say ‘boo’ to her. Seeing a ghost in her own living-room would drive her to hysterics. His fears were unfounded as she smiled at the ghost, relieved she was not Helen of Troy.