Reading
Mary
Before you start reading, study the following vocabulary:
Ghost
Convince
Ordinary
Iron
Kerosene
Haunt
Do you believe in ghosts? If you do not, what could convince you that ghosts exist? If I told you a possible ghost story, would you think about it?
I once heard a rather convincing story about a ghost. The story was told to me years ago. I still lived in a small town in Southwest Florida then. The story interested me because it was not dramatic. In fact, the story showed little fantasy. The objects involved were everyday things. No one could have made Hollywood movies using such ordinary objects.
The story concerned Mary, a young girl who had died perhaps fifty or sixty years earlier. I was told that she had died after a tragic accident with an old-fashioned iron. If I made up a story about a ghost, I would certainly include something more exciting than an iron.
People said that Mary had lived in one of the few big, old houses in the town. I can remember the wooden house quite clearly. It had charming white wooden trim and was painted a soft peach color. The house had been built in the early days of the town. Commercial fishing and shipping had made the town and the man who built the house prosperous. Perhaps that was why the house had a veranda with a direct view of the bay.
Young Mary had died on that veranda. She had run there after her kerosene iron had exploded and had set fire to her clothing, according to the story. Her spirit was said to haunt the house since that time.
I do not know if anyone had ever actually seen Mary's ghost. If I made up a story about Mary, I would certainly include Mary's appearance as a ghost. I could include warnings or threats or pleas for help from Mary's spirit.
The reported manifestations were quite different. Several families had lived in the house since Mary's death. No problems were reported if the families living there had no young daughters. Even if a family had young daughters, nothing happened as long as their parents were at home. Problems were reported only when young girls were at home alone. Then dishes would fly out of cupboards and irons would mysteriously be turned on. If the young girls lived in the house until they were older than Mary had been, the problems stopped.
So Mary's story would not be interesting to anyone writing movie scripts or cheap books. If you wanted to have a book or movie about Mary, you would need at least an appearance by her ghost. Or if she had written messages on mirrors, you could have made something exciting out of that. If your ghost just turned on irons and tossed dishes about, who would buy the story? Certainly no one in Hollywood.
That is why I wonder if there might be some truth to the story I heard about Mary's ghost. If you had money to spend investigating ghosts, you could start by investigating the story about Mary.
Questions
Choose the correct explanations…
- The narrator…
- Only young girls…
- According to the story about Mary she haunted the house because…
- The house was unusual because…
- This ghost story…
Are the following statements about the article correct?
1. The narrator thinks this ghost story is unusual.
2. The narrator investigates ghost stories.
3. The narrator knows that Mary haunted the house.
4. The narrator talked to people who actually knew Mary.
5. Mary's house was dark and frightening.