Question

Shady plot is not a spine chilling and scary ghost story . It is full of humour and pun. Explain with reference to text.

Answer 1

It is true ‘Shady Plot’ is not a spine chilling and scary story at all. on the contrary it is full of humor and pun. The character of John Hallock is really funny. His confession about his ‘idiotic grin’ when he is nervous is quite funny. The character of Gladoila with her African accent adds to the humor in the story. The Ouija party scene, when Helen, the ghost appears in all the Ouija boards and creates an embarrassing situation for the narrator is also very funny.

The pun on the name of Helen is quite amusing. Lavinia, narrator’s wife considers Helen to be Helen of Troy. At the end she is relieved to see that Helen, the ghost was an ugly ghost with whom her husband could not have an extra-marital relation at all.