Hi Everyone!! This article will share Scaring A Ghost Questions & Answers.
In my previous posts, I have shared the questions & answers of The Autograph, The Moonlight Sonata and Trouble On The Rohini so, you can check these posts as well.
Scaring A Ghost Questions & Answers
Question 1: How did the Otis family react when they saw the Canterville ghost?
Answer: On seeing the Canterville ghost, the Otis twins shot two pellets at him with their pea-shooters at once. Mr Otis pointed his revolver at him and instructed him to hold up his hands. As the Canterville ghost tried to scare them with his evil laughter, Mrs Otis came out with a bottle of Doctor Dobell’s medicine for him, saying that he was surely unwell and if it was indigestion, this medicine was an excellent cure.
Question 2: How did the ghost try to scare the family? Was he successful?
Answer: The Canterville ghost tried to scare the Otis family in several ways, but he failed every time. His first attempt on the Sunday night was in vain because he had been unable to wear his suit of armour. When he had put it on, completely overpowered by the weight, he had fallen heavily on the stone pavement, hurting himself severely. On seeing him, the Otis twins shot two pellets at him with their pea-shooters. Mr Otis pointed his revolver at him and instructed him to hold up his hands. Next, as he tried to scare them with his evil laughter, Mrs Otis came out with a bottle of Doctor Dobell’s medicine, suggesting that he was surely unwell and if it was indigestion, the medicine was an excellent cure. Angered, the ghost wanted to turn himself into a large black dog, but approaching footsteps made him hesitate. He contented himself with becoming faintly phosphorescent and vanished with a deep groan.
Question 3: Read and answer the questions:
The ghost glared at her in anger, and began at once to make preparations for turning himself into a large black dog.
(a) Who is ‘her’ in the above line?
Answer: ‘Her’ refers to Mrs. Otis.
(b) Why did the ghost want to turn himself into a large black dog?
Answer: The ghost was annoyed that Mrs. Otis was not frightened of him and instead behaved unpleasantly with him. So, he wanted to frighten her in a different way.
(c) What did he transform himself into later?
Answer: He became faintly phosphorescent and vanished as the twins came up to him.
Question 4: Why was the ghost angry with Mrs Otis?
Answer: Failing in his attempt to scare Mr Otis and the twins, the ghost decided to scare the Otis family with his evil laughter. Accordingly, he laughed his most horrible laugh, till the old roof echoed with the sound. However, hardly had the fearful echo died away, when a door opened and Mrs Otis came out in a light blue dressing-gown with a bottle of Doctor Dobell’s medicine, suggesting that he was surely unwell and if it was indigestion, the medicine was an excellent cure. This is why the ghost was angry with Mrs Otis.
Scaring A Ghost Questions & Answers
Question 5: In what way were the weather conditions favourable to the ghost’s plan?
Answer: Friday, the 17th of August, was the ghost’s chosen date for his third attempt at scaring the Otis family. Towards evening a violent storm of rain came on. The wind was so high that all the windows and doors in the old house shook and rattled. In fact, it was just such weather as he loved. Hooting owls and croaking ravens on a stormy and rainy night provide the perfect environment for a haunting.
Question 6: Describe the appearance and manner of the second ghost.
Answer: The second ghost, as it appeared before the Canterville ghost, was a horrible spectre, motionless and monstrous. Its head was bald and polished; its face round, fat and white. Hideous laughter seemed to have twisted its features into an eternal grin. From the eyes streamed rays of scarlet light, the mouth was a wide well of fire and a hideous garment covered its gigantic form. On its breast was a placard with strange writing in antique characters, some record of wild sins, it seemed. With its right hand, it held up a sword of gleaming steel.
Question 7: Read and answer the questions:
For some days after this, he was extremely ill and hardly stirred out of his room at all.
(a) Who is being referred to in the above line?
Answer: The Canterville Ghost is being referred to in the above line
(b) Why was he ill?
Answer: He had had a bad experience with the Otis family. He was also injured in the knee while trying to wear the suit of armour.
(c) What was his plan after recovery?
Answer: After recovery, he wanted to make the third attempt to frighten Mr. Otis and his family.
Question 8: Why did Mrs. Otis offer medicine to the Canterville Ghost?
Answer: By offering medicine to the ghost, Mrs Otis’ intention was not to express her concern about his health, but to show that the ghost did not scare her at all. The ghost’s anger proved that she had achieved what she had wanted.
Question 9: Why was the ghost upset when he returned to his room?
Answer: The rudeness of the twins and the unpleasant comment from Mrs Otis worried him a lot, but he was more upset that he had been unable to wear his suit of armour.
Question 10: Describe the Canterville Ghost’s encounter with the second ghost.
Answer: The Canterville Ghost glided out of his room like an evil shadow in the midnight, in an attempt to scare the Otis family once more. The moment he turned into the corner of the passage that led to Mr. Washington’s room, he fell back with a wail of terror and hid his white face in his long bony hands, for there stood in front of him another gigantic ghost—horrible, motionless and monstrous—carrying a sword of gleaming steel in its right hand. The moment the Canterville Ghost saw this figure, he trembled with fear. He fled back to his room tripping and falling and once in his own apartment, he flung himself down on a small bed and hid his face under the clothes.
Scaring A Ghost Questions & Answers
Question 11: How did the ghost find his shriek of evil laughter useful on some occasions? Why was that not effective on the Otis family?
Answer: People are usually afraid of ghosts. It would be scarier if it made shrieking sounds and laughed horribly. Many people knew that Canterville Chase was haunted by the ghost of its original owner. The ghost had probably been successful in scaring away some visitors with his wild shriek and horrible laughter. When Mr. Otis and the twins tried to drive the ghost of Canterville away with pea-shooters and a gun, the ghost got angry and tried scaring them with his evil laughter, but to no avail. The ghost was greatly disappointed when there was no expected response from the Otis family. The family probably was prepared for this as they had already been warned and the ghost’s behaviour didn’t affect them much.
Question 12: The ghost’s repeated attempts to frighten the Otis family went in vain. What do you understand about the family from this?
Answer: The family entered the house without paying heed to the warnings about their buying a haunted house. The ghost too failed in his two attempts to scare the family. Nothing seemed to affect them. This shows that the family was bold, courageous and was prepared to face challenges.
Question 13: Bring out the humour that the Canterville Ghost’s antics create in the lesson.
Answer: The very word ghost would arouse a feeling of fear and horror in a person. But in the lesson, the turn of events made the ghost look like a clown. Every act of the ghost was more humorous than fearful. The ghost’s intention was to frighten the family but on more than one occasion we see the ghost getting scared. The ghost aborted his attempt to turn himself to a large black dog to scare Mrs. Otis, when he heard some footsteps. The funniest moment was to visualise the ghost all dressed up to frighten the Otis family, running away in terror after seeing another ghost on the way. There are many such instances in the extract that make the reader laugh more than shudder in fear!
Question 14: Do you think anyone in the Otis family seemed scared of the Canterville Ghost?
Answer: No one in the Otis family seemed to be scared of the Canterville ghost because they did not see him as a non-human entity that had supernatural powers. Instead, they treated him almost as a human being who could be physically hurt by shooting pellets, or could be cured of indigestion by Doctor Dobell’s medicine. Nobody in the Otis family was scared of the Canterville ghost; instead, they made fun of him. The twin boys shot him with their pea-shooters while Mr Otis pointed his revolver at him. They did not think of him as a scary ghost and were rather amused by him.
So, these were Scaring A Ghost Questions & Answers.