Title - A Ghost Story By - Melanie Marchand Primary Subject - Language Arts Secondary Subjects - Language Arts Grade Level

- 11-12

Short Story Unit

Class
Introduction Mark Twain's Ghost Story

Duration

Content

1-2 classes Short Story Elements; includes brainstorm, handout, quiz. Elements; includes group work, re-working a paragraph of 1 class the story Lesson includes biographical information, writing style, The Reaper's Image, by 1 class application of elements to contemporary story. Assign Stephen King culminating activity (see below). Shirley Jackson's The 1 class Plot & theme; includes comparison to current events. Lottery Richard Connell's The 3-4 classes Setting and Character; includes watching movie Most Dangerous Game Compares styles of stories that were emphasised. Work on Conclusion 1 class culminating activity.

A Short Story Overview Lesson 1

Purpose: It is important that students are exposed to many different aspects of writing. The short story is a very manageable segment of writing; therefore the quick progression that is possible with short story should keep the students interested. As well, this unit gives the students a chance to cultivate writing skills in a creative way. This unit also enhances students' analytical skills by identifying the various elements contained within the short story. Objectives: When this unit is finished, the students will have: 1. Been exposed to the elements of the short story. 2. Further developed functional writing skills in accordance with their ability. 3. Read a selection of short stories. 4. Had experience in creatively writing a short story. Resources: Stories (Mark Twain, Ghost Story; Stephen King, The Reaper's Image; Shirley Jackson, The Lottery; Richard Connell, The Most Dangerous Game); Movie (either The Blair Witch Project or Hitchcock's Psycho); Various Web-sites (see lesson plans).

A Ghost Story - Lesson 2 Purpose ~ To familiarise students with the central and defining elements of the short story, through application.

Objectives ~ Upon completion of this lesson students will have: 1. Read "A Ghost Story" by Mark Twain; 2. Discussed the short story; 3. Demonstrated an understanding of the central elements of the short story, and be able to point them out; Activities/Procedures ~ 1. As a class we will read aloud Mark Twain's "A Ghost Story". Students may either volunteer to read parts, or I will read the story to the class. (Create a mood, dim the lights, pull the curtains, perhaps play some dreary music in the background.) 2. Following reading the story the class will then discuss "A Ghost Story". Was it scary, suspenseful, and exciting? Who was the narrator? Where did the events take place? Etc. 3. Next I will refer to the handout of the elements of a short story. The class will then break into groups, in which they will use the handout to find the elements of "A Ghost Story". 4. Each group will then have the opportunity to discuss their results, and support them with parts of the story. At this time I will address any further questions that arise. Homework: Students will be asked to right one additional paragraph that might be added to "A Ghost Story", either in the beginning, middle, or end. The paragraph must alter one of the elements of the story in some way. This will be handed in next class. E-Mail Melanie Marchand!

A Ghost Story - Mark Twain

I TOOK a large room, far up Broadway, in a huge old building whose upper stories had been wholly unoccupied for years, until I came. The place had long been given up to dust and cobwebs, to solitude and silence. I seemed groping among the tombs and invading the privacy of the dead, that first night I climbed up to my quarters. For the first time in my life a superstitious dread came over me; and as I turned a dark angle of the stairway and an invisible cobweb swung its slazy woof in my face and clung there, I shuddered as one who had encountered a phantom. I was glad enough when I reached my room and locked out the mould and the darkness. A cheery fire was burning in the grate, and I sat down before it with a comforting sense of relief. For two hours I sat there, thinking of bygone times; recalling old scenes, and summoning half-forgotten faces out of the mists of the past; listening, in fancy, to voices that long ago grew silent for all time, and to once familiar songs that nobody sings now. And as my reverie softened down to a sadder and sadder pathos, the shrieking of the

winds outside softened to a wail, the angry beating of the rain against the panes diminished to a tranquil patter, and one by one the noises in the street subsided, until the hurrying foot-steps of the last belated straggler died away in the distance and left no sound behind. The fire had burned low. A sense of loneliness crept over me. I arose and undressed, moving on tiptoe about the room, doing stealthily what I had to do, as if I were environed by sleeping enemies whose slumbers it would be fatal to break. I covered up in bed, and lay listening to the rain and wind and the faint creaking of distant shutters, till they lulled me to sleep. I slept profoundly, but how long I do not know. All at once I found myself awake, and filled with a shuddering expectancy. All was still. All but my own heart -- I could hear it beat. Presently the bedclothes began to slip away slowly toward the foot of the bed, as if some one were pulling them! I could not stir; I could not speak. Still the blankets slipped deliberately away, till my breast was uncovered. Then with a great effort I seized them and drew them over my head. I waited, listened, waited. Once more that steady pull began, and once more I lay torpid a century of dragging seconds till my breast was naked again. At last I roused my energies and snatched the covers back to their place and held them with a strong grip. I waited. By and by I felt a faint tug, and took a fresh grip. The tug strengthened to a steady strain -- it grew stronger and stronger. My hold parted, and for the third time the blankets slid away. I groaned. An answering groan came from the foot of the bed! Beaded drops of sweat stood upon my forehead. I was more dead than alive. Presently I heard a heavy footstep in my room -- the step of an elephant, it seemed to me -- it was not like anything human. But it was moving FROM me -- there was relief in that. I heard it approach the door -- pass out without moving bolt or lock -- and wander away among the dismal corridors, straining the floors and joists till they creaked again as it passed -- and then silence reigned once more. When my excitement had calmed, I said to myself, "This is a dream -- simply a hideous dream." And so I lay thinking it over until I convinced myself that it WAS a dream, and then a comforting laugh relaxed my lips and I was happy again. I got up and struck a light; and when I found that the locks and bolts were just as I had left them, another soothing laugh welled in my heart and rippled from my lips. I took my pipe and lit it, and

was just sitting down before the fire, when -- down went the pipe out of my nerveless fingers, the blood forsook my cheeks, and my placid breathing was cut short with a gasp! In the ashes on the hearth, side by side with my own bare footprint, was another, so vast that in comparison mine was but an infant's'! Then I had HAD a visitor, and the elephant tread was explained. I put out the light and returned to bed, palsied with fear. I lay a long time, peering into the darkness, and listening. Then I heard a grating noise overhead, like the dragging of a heavy body across the floor; then the throwing down of the body, and the shaking of my windows in response to the concussion. In distant parts of the building I heard the muffled slamming of doors. I heard, at intervals, stealthy footsteps creeping in and out among the corridors, and up and down the stairs. Sometimes these noises approached my door, hesitated, and went away again. I heard the clanking of chains faintly, in remote passages, and listened while the clanking grew nearer -- while it wearily climbed the stairways, marking each move by the loose surplus of chain that fell with an accented rattle upon each succeeding step as the goblin that bore it advanced. I heard muttered sentences; half-uttered screams that seemed smothered violently; and the swish of invisible garments, the rush of invisible wings. Then I became conscious that my chamber was invaded -- that I was not alone. I heard sighs and breathings about my bed, and mysterious whisperings. Three little spheres of soft phosphorescent light appeared on the ceiling directly over my head, clung and glowed there a moment, and then dropped -two of them upon my face and one upon the pillow. They spattered, liquidly, and felt warm. Intuition told me they had turned to gouts of blood as they fell -- I needed no light to satisfy myself of that. Then I saw pallid faces, dimly luminous, and white uplifted hands, floating bodiless in the air -- floating a moment and then disappearing. The whispering ceased, and the voices and the sounds, and a solemn stillness followed. I waited and listened. I felt that I must have light or die. I was weak with fear. I slowly raised myself toward a sitting posture, and my face came in contact with a clammy hand! All strength went from me apparently, and I fell back like a stricken invalid. Then I heard the rustle of a garment -- it seemed to pass to the door and go out. When everything was still once more, I crept out of bed, sick and feeble, and lit the gas with a hand that trembled as if it were aged with a hundred years. The light brought some

little cheer to my spirits. I sat down and fell into a dreamy contemplation of that great footprint in the ashes. By and by its outlines began to waver and grow dim. I glanced up and the broad gas flame was slowly wilting away. In the same moment I heard that elephantine tread again. I noted its approach, nearer and nearer, along the musty halls, and dimmer and dimmer the light waned. The tread reached my very door and paused -the light had dwindled to a sickly blue, and all things about me lay in a spectral twilight. The door did not open, and yet I felt a faint gust of air fan my cheek, and presently was conscious of a huge, cloudy presence before me. I watched it with fascinated eyes. A pale glow stole over the Thing; gradually its cloudy folds took shape -- an arm appeared, then legs, then a body, and last a great sad face looked out of the vapor. Stripped of its filmy housings, naked, muscular and comely, the majestic Cardiff Giant loomed above me! All my misery vanished -- for a child might know that no harm could come with that benignant countenance. My cheerful spirits returned at once, and in sympathy with them the gas flamed up brightly again. Never a lonely outcast was so glad to welcome company as I was to greet the friendly giant. I said: "Why, is it nobody but you? Do you know, I have been scared to death for the last two or three hours? I am most honestly glad to see you. I wish I had a chair -- Here, here, don't try to sit down in that thing!" But it was too late. He was in it before I could stop him, and down he went -- I never saw a chair shivered so in my life. "Stop, stop, You'll ruin ev--" Too late again. There was another crash, and another chair was resolved into its original elements. "Confound it, haven't you got any judgment at all? Do you want to ruin all the furniture on the place? Here, here, you petrified fool--" But it was no use. Before I could arrest him he had sat down on the bed, and it was a melancholy ruin. "Now what sort of a way is that to do? First you come lumbering about the place bringing a legion of vagabond goblins along with you to worry me to death, and then when I overlook an indelicacy of costume which would not be tolerated anywhere by cultivated people except in a respectable theater, and not even there if the nudity were of YOUR

sex, you repay me by wrecking all the furniture you can find to sit down on. And why will you? You damage yourself as much as you do me. You have broken off the end of your spinal column, and littered up the floor with chips of your hams till the place looks like a marble yard. You ought to be ashamed of yourself -- you are big enough to know better." "Well, I will not break any more furniture. But what am I to do? I have not had a chance to sit down for a century." And the tears came into his eyes. "Poor devil," I said, "I should not have been so harsh with you. And you are an orphan, too, no doubt. But sit down on the floor here -- nothing else can stand your weight -- and besides, we cannot be sociable with you away up there above me; I want you down where I can perch on this high counting-house stool and gossip with you face to face." So he sat down on the floor, and lit a pipe which I gave him, threw one of my red blankets over his shoulders, inverted my sitz-bath on his head, helmet fashion, and made himself picturesque and comfortable. Then he crossed his ankles, while I renewed the fire, and exposed the flat, honey-combed bottoms of his prodigious feet to the grateful warmth. "What is the matter with the bottom of your feet and the back of your legs, that they are gouged upso?" "Infernal chillblains -- I caught them clear up to the back of my head, roosting out there under Newell's farm. But I love the place; I love it as one loves his old home. There is no peace for me like the peace I feel when I am there." We talked along for half an hour, and then I noticed that he looked tired, and spoke of it. "Tired?" he said. "Well, I should think so. And now I will tell you all about it, since you have treated me so well. I am the spirit of the Petrified Man that lies across the street there in the Museum. I am the ghost of the Cardiff Giant. I can have no rest, no peace, till they have given that poor body burial again. Now what was the most natural thing for me to do, to make men satisfy this wish? Terrify them into it! -- haunt the place where the body lay! So I haunted the museum night after night. I even got other spirits to help me. But it did no good, for nobody ever came to the museum at midnight. Then it occurred to me to come over the way and haunt this place a little. I felt that if I ever got a hearing I must succeed, for I had the most efficient company that perdition could furnish. Night

after night we have shivered around through these mildewed halls, dragging chains, groaning, whispering, tramping up and down stairs, till, to tell you the truth, I am almost worn out. But when I saw a light in your room to-night I roused my energies again and went at it with a deal of the old freshness. But I am tired out -- entirely fagged out. Give me, I beseech you, give me some hope!" I lit off my perch in a burst of excitement, and exclaimed: "This transcends everything -- everything that ever did occur! Why you poor blundering old fossil, you have had all your trouble for nothing -- you have been haunting a PLASTER CAST of yourself -- the real Cardiff Giant is in Albany! Confound it, don't you know your own remains?" I never saw such an eloquent look of shame, of pitiable humiliation, overspread a countenance before. The Petrified Man rose slowly to his feet, and said: "Honestly, IS that true?" "As true as I am sitting here." He took the pipe from his mouth and laid it on the mantel, then stood irresolute a moment (unconsciously, from old habit, thrusting his hands where his pantaloons pockets should have been, and meditatively dropping his chin on his breast), and finally said: "Well -- I NEVER felt so absurd before. The Petrified Man has sold everybody else, and now the mean fraud has ended by selling its own ghost! My son, if there is any charity left in your heart for a poor friendless phantom like me, don't let this get out. Think how YOU would feel if you had made such an ass of yourself." I heard his, stately tramp die away, step by step down the stairs and out into the deserted street, and felt sorry that he was gone, poor fellow -- and sorrier still that he had carried off my red blanket and my bath tub. END.
1

A fact. The original fraud was ingeniously and fraudfully duplicated, and exhibited in New York as the "only genuine" Cardiff Giant (to the unspeakable disgust of the owners of the real colossus) at the very same time that the latter was drawing crowds at a museum in Albany.

Modern Fear and Suspense - Lesson 3 Overview: This lesson will be used to open the students' interest in the contemporary short story. By using a famous author, it is hoped that the students' appetite will be wetted sufficiently. You are unlikely to have much resistance to the use of one of King's stories because of the popularity of his novels, short stories, and movies. Most students should already be away of King through at least one medium. Purpose: The main thrust of this lesson is to introduce the form in a way that the student can relate to. From there the student will be able to form opinions on what makes for a successful short story in the genre of fear and suspense. The students will then be asked to relate their findings back to classic works of fear and suspense. By the end of the unit, the student should have an understanding of the format used in short stories, as well as techniques and conventions of those are the genre of fear and suspense. Objectives 1. Introduce King's background (i.e. age, lifestyle, education, and inspirations). 2. Read the story aloud with the students. 3. Label the components of the "The Reapers Image" (i.e. introduction / antagonist / protagonist, inciting incident, rising action, crisis, climax, conclusion) giving specifics for each. 4. Introduce questions to be posed to groups, followed by group discussions. 5. Set-up for next lesson. Activities and Procedures 1. Introduction to King's background should contain connections to his style of writing. -- Born 1947 in Portland, Maine. -- Father left when he was young, leaving behind a plethora of science fiction, fantasy, and horror novels. -- Lived on the edge of poverty until he 'made it' as an author. -- Inspirations: John D. MacDonald, Ed McBain, Shirley Jackson, J. R. R. Tolkien, Ken Kesey, Margaret Mitchell, Andre North, Jack London, Agatha Christie, and Thomas Hardy. 2. Read the story "The Reaper's Image" aloud with the students. Either read it yourself, or have the students take turns reading paragraphs. This will allow you to gage the students' interest in the story. 3. Lead a critical analysis of the structure and main components of the story. This should tie back to the introduction lesson on the short story and its form. Point of view, introduction , inciting incident, rising action, crisis, climax, and conclusion should all be clearly identified. 4. Break the class up into groups of 5-6. Have each group tackle one of the following questions: -- Who is the reaper in this story? Where is he seen? -- What kind of place is the Samuel Claggert Memorial Private Museum?

-- Describe the characteristics of Mr. Carlin and Johnson Spangler. What kind of person is each one? -- What does the author tell us about Delver Mirrors? -- What is the significance of the statue of Adonis? (May require a bit of background given out to the group -- Do you like the ending? Give your reasons. Continue the story with an additional episode. 5. As an assignment, have the groups pass in their finding on the following day at which time they will be discussed. This will then lead into the next short story to be studied. Introduce the culminating activity!!!!!! (See Unit Plan) Shirley Jackson's The Lottery - Lesson 4 Overview - Students will read "The Lottery" and respond to the themes of the story through small group discussion, and personal questions. Outcomes -- Students will have practise in responding to themes in a short story. -- Students will be able to use prior knowledge of elements of short stories to discuss the use of suspense and drama in writing. Procedures 1. As a class read Jackson's "The Lottery". 2. At the end of the story ask students to write down their immediate reaction to the story and after a few minutes ask for their opinions. 3. Ask the class these important questions: Why are the townspeople holding the lottery? Why don't they stop? From here, you can talk a little about the sacrifice rituals of other cultures, making moral judgements on those cultures. Is this writing style a type of horror? What type of atmosphere does Jackson create at first, and how does that change? 4. Have the students supply the definition of a theme or image pattern in stories and novels. 5. From their thoughts and definition, ask the students if there are some themes that appear in the story. Some typical ones are evil disguised as good, prejudice and hypocrisy, minds slipping the bonds of reality (from Friedman's analysis) 6. In small groups ask students to look at the story again and discuss how the story provides a commentary on these situations: -- How does "The Lottery" prevent the breakdown of society in this community? -- Respond to the roles of the men and women, how the children act, and what the social and business goals are for each facet of this society. -- Sacrifice rituals operate on the principle of "scapegoating". After defining the term, describe how the process of "The Lottery" uses the scapegoat and tell what end is desired. Are there any examples in our current society of using scapegoats? -- "The Lottery" has been used to describe the emotions of people in medicine misdiagnosis cases. Draw the parallels between elements in each situation and describe how this can be true. 7. Have the class report their findings and report back to the class. Encourage discussion

and full explanations of each report. Evaluative Assignment - Using the knowledge of plot and short story elements, write a page long response as to how Jackson creates a sense of horror from the elements of what should be an innocent story about small town America. Comment on the use of withheld knowledge, the irony that can be seen in the names of the characters, and any of the other elements discussed in class. Homework: Read "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell for next class. The Most Dangerous Game - Lesson 5 Purpose: This lesson will focus on setting and how the setting can influence the psyche of a character. Objectives: When the students have finished this lesson, they: 1. Will be able to define setting. 2. Will have examined different methods that authors use to instil fear in readers. 3. Will give special attention to setting = fear in a creative assignment. Resources: Short Story, The Most Dangerous Game, by Richard Connell; and movie The Blair Witch Project, released summer 1999, or Hitchcock's Psycho. Tasks: 1. Ask what made The Most Dangerous Game frightening, or was it at all? 2. Define setting; talk about it in relation to The Most Dangerous Game. Note that setting can pertain to physical surroundings as well as state of mind (psychological setting). Where is the story set (geographically)? What kind of island is it? What are the buildings like? What is the difference between this island and one like, say, Bermuda? Would the setting be scary if General Zaroff didn't live on the island? If the island were inhabited, would the story be as scary? 3. Discuss the state of mind of Rainsford before he lands on the island versus that after he meets the General. What is different? (Especially about how he perceives animal feelings.) 4. Talk about how Connell inspires fear without obvious bloodshed/grotesqueness. Hopefully, they will come up with some of the following: isolation, setting, power/powerlessness, conflict, suspense, and control/lack of control. 5. Ask why The Blair Witch Project (or Psycho, depending on which movie you choose to use) was scary. Note that the subtlety/lack of overt violence (left up the observer's imagination) added to the fear. 6. Draw parallels between the movie and The Most Dangerous Game. Homework: If you were going to direct the movie The Most Dangerous Game, how would you do it? You are going to pitch your idea to a big-shot Hollywood producer who will decide if they will fund your movie. If they agree to make the movie, you will have

an unlimited budget. Pay particular attention to setting. How would you make it as frightening as possible? Who would you cast in the roles? Where would you shoot it? How would you shoot it? Would you have it narrated or would you just have it acted out? Pitch your idea to me on audiotape and hand it in next class. Conclusion - Lesson 6 Overview: This is the final lesson of the unit and this time should be used to bring a sense of closure to the previous stories and concepts that have been introduced - the parts of the short story and the use of suspense/horror in writing - in keeping with the build up to Halloween. Outcomes: -- Students will be able to identify the various ways in which writers use suspense to create an atmosphere for the writing. -- Students will be able to discuss the different aspects of short stories as discussed and featured in previous lessons. -- Students will be able to apply their knowledge in the continuation in preparation for their cumulative activity. Procedures: 1. Take a moment to review the titles and plots of the stories previously discussed in class by placing the information on a chart or on the board. The key concepts might also be placed there in parenthesis (i.e. narrative voice, suspense, parts of the story, etc.) 2. Ask the students from a crafting viewpoint, which story do they feel drew best on the elements of suspense, horror, form/structure, etc., and why. 3. Alternately, ask if there were any of the aspects that they did not see well demonstrated in each of the various stories: -- Did an element of horror appear in the opening "Three Little Pigs" story? -- What made the style of Mark Twain different from that of Stephen King? How did a psychological element come into play in the Jackson, or the Connell? Which worked better, in your opinion? -- How is the structure of the story manipulated so that suspense is capitalised? 4. Use class time to work on the culminating activity. Students should be encouraged to use their peers as editors and critiques for the design of their "sequel" to match style, monitor pacing, and form final editing ideas. If desired, a small part of the mark could be given for the editorial participation.

Culminating Activity Overview: This is the culminating activity of the unit. It is linked to lesson three, 'Modern Fear and Suspense - Stephen King's "The Reaper's Image"'. The activity requires the students to come up with a short story detailing the events that led to one of the follow incidents with the DeIver mirror: 1) during the school tour, when Sandra Bates brother

saw the reaper's image; 2) during the party that the English Duchess was attending in 1709; or, 3) during the evening in 1746, when the Pennsylvania rug merchant first acquired the mirror. Motivation: This activity will test the students' knowledge of the short story (i.e. format, development, etc.), as well as their ability to use that knowledge to create a original piece of work. At the same time, the exercise will require creativity, writing skills, and grammar skills. Activity: The students' will each come up with an original piece of work based on the short story "The Reaper's Image". The story should be approximately 3-4 (although the students may go over, within reason) typed pages in length, and time may be given in class to work on their story. The students will be informed that the following grading scheme will be used: 30% 20% 20% 20% 10% Format (rising action, climax, etc.) Creativity - characterisation -convention usage Flow & Grammar Breakdown

Grading Scheme Explanations: Format - The student is asked to use proper short story format as discussed in earlier classes. Creativity - The student is asked to demonstrate a certain level of creativity. This will be the most subjective of the marked areas. The student will be informed that characterisation and use of conventions will be the focus areas of creativity. Flow and Grammar - Organisation of the story (flow) and proper sentence and paragraph structure. Breakdown - Following the story, the student is expected to give a critique of his/her story. They should include such things as: what is the critical incident, what is the nature of the conflict, what is the climax of the story, etc., etc. Emphasise to the students that this is a creative exercise, but that they must adhere to the format studied. Any obvious failings to do so will affect the students' mark on this project. The students' should choose one of the following plot lines for their story to follow: 1. A group of high school students are taking a tour of the Samuel Claggert Memorial Private Museum, when one of the students notices something strange in the DeIver mirror. Suddenly, the student finds himself wishing he was back in his class. 2. An English Duchess has just been given the DeIver mirror as a present from her fianc. Tonight, she and her future husband are throwing a party. However, their celebration will take a turn for the worse. 3. A Pennsylvania rug merchant has just had a successful business trip to New York. So successful, in fact, that he decided to celebrate his earning buy acquiring a new piece of art. Unfortunately for him, he chose the DeIver mirror. As he settles in for an evening of

quit relaxation he notices something strange about his new piece. 4. Alternately, the students may approach you individually with their own ideas. Emphasise that original plot concepts must be past by you first. Reflection: Have the students discuss whether or not they believed that this project helped them to further understand the concept of the short story. Did it clarify how some of the conventions of fear and suspense function? Overall, did they enjoy the activity? If not, what would they change?